The front lawn needed water every evening from September to April. We decided it could go.
No digging, mostly
Instead of lifting the grass, we smothered it. We cut it short, covered it with flattened cardboard boxes, wet them, and piled 10 cm of compost and wood chips on top.
Planting through
Six weeks later the grass underneath had died. We cut holes through the cardboard and planted straight into the soil below.
What we would do differently
- Start in late winter, so the bed is ready for the first spring rain.
- Use twice as much cardboard as you think. Kikuyu finds every gap.
- Leave paths before you plant, not after.