- Author: Kathy Gage
This segment will discuss remaking our back yard. We also took on the project of replacing our front lawn once the backyard renovation was mostly complete, but more on that in the next post!
In late 1996, my husband, two children, and I moved from Montana to San Ramon. In Montana, we had tried to make a living in a rural setting, but “You can't eat the scenery", I learned too late. When we moved to San Ramon, for a variety of reasons, we needed to find an empty house read for immediate possession. The house we bought came with a big backyard pool. We certainly enjoyed having the pool for many years, but once the kids were out of the house, we didn't use it much. The solar panels used to heat the water meant the pool was only hot enough to swim in from mid-May through September. While the maintenance costs weren't astronomical, we spent plenty to keep it in good condition. Other swim venues were very close at hand – San Ramon's huge swim complex is right over the creek at California High School – and I belonged to 24 Hour Fitness so I could swim there in an indoor pool any time of day.
At the time of the pool's deconstruction (as I like to call it) I was in the midst of my Master Gardener training through Contra Costa County and University of California County Extension Program (UCCE).
I knew from my MG training I wanted to have raised vegetable beds and to plant easy-care plants and shrubs. Since we live near the entire spectrum of K-12 schools, we also decided to add lawn for salability purposes. Many parents would want to have a play space for their children.
Our house is a typical tri-level suburban house that sits on a 70' x 100' sf. lot. In my Soils class, I learned our house sits on clay soil with no nutritive value, suitable only for supporting a 1500 sf. house. I would have to bring in lots of good stuff if I expected anything to grow! Because of San Ramon permit requirements, we had to replace our pool, and concrete decking with the same type of soil our house sits on. We had a soils engineer overseeing the placement and compaction of soil trucked in from the East Bay Hills. Only the final 12 inches could be ‘living' soil we could plant ornamentals and trees in. We were assured the soil was decent, though we might want to add compost and other amendments to attract worms and the like.
The hillside at the back of the property was covered with mulch, which was easy to live with and easy to replenish as necessary. The landscaper first moved the mulch to the level surface around the grass and the raised beds, and then added soil to the hillside. I have since added a lime tree, two miniature agapanthus plants, and three pittosporum bushes to the hillside, and creeping rosemary and white yarrow against the date palm behind a stone wall barrier. The fourth side, along our other neighbor's fence, now has agapanthus, two rhododendrons someone gave me, a transplanted ornamental onion set, and in the corner, a leafy grape plant that so far does not bear fruit but turns a lovely red on the fall. My neighbor's vinca minor has been creeping into that corner as well, and I am doing my best to encourage it.
My two planter boxes hold a mishmash of plants. Last year's crop of heirloom tomatoes, tomatillos, various peppers and artichokes were a wash-out due to the lack of enough hours of sun. Now I am using the beds as a nursery of sorts, to grow small plants and seedlings for re-planting elsewhere. I also have one artichoke that is blooming, and some red onions and garlic that I expect will make it and be edible
I have barely touched the surface of my efforts, but I am happy to know that every plant is there because of me. It's okay if some die, because I know where I can get more. I have to admit I did not enjoy the work initially because I had so little confidence. I thought I had a ‘black thumb.' Now I know that is not true. Although I have a long way to go to become a ‘master' master gardener, I know I can accomplish what I set my mind to achieve. And boy, oh boy, is that a great feeling!
Next chapter: My front yard conversion: a lot more work that continues to this day!
Client's Request to MGCC's Help Desk: Hopefully the Water District will soon approve my plans to replace the back yard lawn with a Zen rock garden utilizing black and white gravel. I have two small dogs so I don't want to use chemicals to kill the grass. Do you have suggestions to kill the grass that are pet friendly? I went to the rock supply business and they advised me to put some black material over the dirt to prevent weeds/grass from sprouting up. Should I dig up the grass or is there another way?
Advice From the MGCC's Help Desk: The current drought situation has motivated people such as yourself to replace their lawns with alternatives that use less water. Your idea of a Zen rock garden sounds like a wonderful option. There are several ways to remove lawn grass. The one you choose will depend on how large your lawn is, how much manual labor you want to invest, how much you want to spend, and how big of a hurry you are in.
Herbicide
Although you said that you have two small dogs and don't want to use chemicals to kill the grass, after considering the available options, you may want to reconsider ... of course following all required instructions and precautions. There are a number of herbicides that will kill lawn grass, but most are not substances that Master Gardeners would endorse using as your primary solution as they often leave residuals that carry too much risk of eventually ending up in runoff and/or problems with adjacent plants. Some herbicides, such as glyphosate (the active ingredient in widely available Roundup™), leave much less residual, but overspray can also damage adjacent vegetation. According to the manufacturer's label, Roundup is safe for pets and children to walk on after it has dried completely. However, you may not want your pets eating plants treated with glyphosate. According to the National Pesticide Information Center, pets that come in contact with wet glyphosate products may drool, have stomach upset, lose their appetite, or become sleepy. If you were to decide to use glyphosate, you should follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully.
Physical Removal
Removing sod doesn't work if you have a persistent perennial lawn grass like Bermuda grass – however it will work with Blue, Rye, and Fescue grasses. Simply removing the sod on Bermuda guarantees that it will be back, since the roots go down for several feet, and it only takes an inch of root to grow it all back. In this case, the only way to get rid of the lawn is through solarization or herbicides — plus several months of waiting to be sure it's really gone.
Solarization
Weed Block Fabric
Because you mentioned that you had applied to the Water District for a rebate, you will need to use a biodegradable weed block fabric because your Water District considers “non-biodegradable weed-block material” as a non-qualifying rebateable material. Your hardware or home center should be able to provide you with the specifications of their weed block material so that you can confirm that it is biodegradable.
For even more information on lawn removal see the U.C. website http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/TOOLS/TURF/RENOVATE/comremtrf.html.
Please feel free to contact us if you need more information.
Good luck on your lawn removal and Zen garden project.
Master Gardeners of Contra Costa Help Desk
Note: The Master Gardeners of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/