How to Strip Turf

Lawns are beautiful, fun to roll on, great for croquet. But they're also among the most high-maintenance, water-hogging ways to landscape - and they're tenacious, especially if they have not been maintained well. That's why sometimes you just gotta strip 'em off.

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Work Gloves
• Work Gloves
• Lawn Edgers
• Grub Axes Or Turf Stripper

1. Assess your target patch realistically. If it's relatively small, and you're strong, going after it with a grub axe (or shovel, if the soil is soft enough) is the least expensive, most sensible way to go. If it's a half-acre of matted grass growing on clay, rent a turf stripper (a huge, heavy, machine that cuts pieces of turf), or hire someone.

2. Use an edger to define the area you want to strip by making a clean cut about three inches deep.

3. Remove the top layer of soil using the grub axe or turf stripper: two or three inches should be enough to get rid of most of the grass roots.

4. Cover the exposed area with black plastic for a year. Or, if you can't wait that long to replant, spray with weed killer. (This step is not essential, but it will save you a ton of effort in weeding down the road, especially if the "lawn" you removed was infested by invasive species such as crabgrass and dragon grass.)

Tips & Warnings

• There is nothing as exciting to a gardener as a swath of what was once boring old lawn that's ready to design and plant in native species, vegetables, or flowers. For best results, rent a Rototiller.
• This is tough work, no matter which method you choose. If you use the grub axe, watch your legs, especially when you're getting tired (and be aware of your back).
• Driving the turf stripper is kind of like trying to steer a particularly unwieldy rhinoceros - it's not for the faint of heart.

on 11/22/2005 An easy way to define and kill grass for garden beds is to lay out a thick layer of newspaper or single layer of cardboard. Both can be cut to your ideal form and both will block grass and weed production.