Hey I'm looking for any recommendations for what you would do too turn this sod into compost for next year.
I just added a new flower bed and opted to remove the grass as sod. I'm going to use a bit of it to patch spots in my yard but most of it I just want to turn into compost.
Should I let it dry out to remove the soil? Cover it? What do you think?
by townsteadinstead
11 Comments
oh boy… you’re gonna need to drink a lot of water
Do you have a pile going or am I looking at it? Either way you’re gonna wanna chop it up wet or dry doesn’t really matter. But you want to make it into and pile and turn it keep breaking up chunks when you turn. Should be fine by next spring to spread. Try to bury the grass if possible so some other compost might help. You want to keep some soil it’ll help speed up the process
Decomposition happens faster when things are lightly smushed together and kept moist, so I’d recommend flipping the chunks of sod over and stacking them in the highest, most compact pile you can (maybe keep them contained with a Geobin or a circular “bin” made of hardware cloth). Water them while you’re stacking them up. If grass starts growing out the sides or top of the pile, cover the pile with a tarp, or consider rearranging it so that the pieces with actively growing grass are down at the bottom. It’s going to take a long time to break down, but you should definitely get some usable compost and/or soil next spring. Happy composting!
This doesn’t really turn it into compost (and doesn’t happen quickly), but I always just pile these up upside-down and in a while (a year? maybe two?), it’s just a pile of dirt with maybe a little grass and weeds growing out of the top. I’m sure covering it with leaves would turn it into better stuff, but I usually just want some fill dirt, so it works for me.
The top will still grow..
Cover it to kill the sod layers.
Keep it damp
And move it away from the structure/house
It’s not worth it. Put it online for free and someone will come haul it away then compost non-dirt things.
Put it in s flower bed root side up
Put it on local buy nothing page quickly
Its not really composting as much as killing off the grass, but just leave it stacked and covered in sheet plastic. If you really want to speed things up spread it out face down on pavement covered in plastic, you can kill the grass off in a week or two.
Solalize it then next spring you can bust it all up and reuse the topsoil. It will be great to add to the garden or use to give back to the lawn.
Any leftover root chunks then go into the compost pile and get composted like anything else.
I posted mine on FB Marketplace as free and someone literally picked it up within a few hours. Give it a try OP and save yourself the headache!
Use this as a stacking floor to grow your compost heap on 😉 That wil compost it the fastest