A beautiful front yard is one of the first things you notice about a home and is one of the many things that give homeowners either a lot of pride or stress. Grass lawns require a lot of maintenance, water, and chemical-laden pesticides which is why many homeowners are looking for ways to kill off grass to prepare for growing a native-plant lawn.
A Redditor asked on the /NoLawns subreddit: "Should I use weed fabric or black plastic to kill off the grass? I have an area to kill off on my front lawn [that's] on a steep hill, so I don't really want to use cardboard and mulch. (It would just wash into the street.)"
Using fabric or plastic can leak microplastics into the soil and water supply, so many users advised alternate methods of using cardboard.
"I tried it all and cardboard was the only thing that worked. Maybe you could try a barrier so the chips don't fall down," one user said.
Another user said: "Use cardboard boxes stacked in with sticks. It'll all decompose (and actually be good for the soil) plus it will attract worms, which will fertilize the surface up by the cardboard. In the spring, pull up the big pieces left over and mulch them, then plant all of your flowers and native grasses, etc."
A third user piggy-backed off their comment to add, "Fallen branches and brush would be cheaper, if they're available."
Regardless of which alternative method is most attainable for the homeowner, it's best to steer clear of landscape fabric. According to the University of Illinois Extension, landscape fabric only works to really suppress weeds for the first couple of years. Also, the plastic can degrade into the soil, and pieces of the material can come loose when pulling weeds that sprout through anyway.
In addition to cardboard, the Illinois extension recommends newspaper and wood mulch as alternatives to landscape fabric.
There are over 40 million acres of manicured lawns in the United States, according to the National Audubon Society.
🗣️ If you were to switch from a grass lawn to a more natural option, which of these factors would be your primary motivation?
🔘 Making it look better 🌱
🔘 Saving money on water and maintenance 💰
🔘 Helping pollinators 🐝
🔘 No way I ever get rid of my lawn 🚫
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
By converting to a native plant lawn, you can discourage invasive pests, reduce carbon pollution from lawn mower exhaust, and encourage pollinators back to your area. Adding in native plants, especially long-living trees, can help slow down changes to the climate as trees can store planet-warming polluting gases.
If you are looking to convert to a natural lawn, TCD has an easy-to-follow guide on how to upgrade your yard.
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