I have a small city backyard behind a connected row house with a 10×12 foot grass bed.
The person who flipped the house broke up the concrete and dumped driveway gravel in. That took days to remove!
4 years ago we brought in soil and planted grass but now it’s mostly weeds. I have allergies so mowing the lawn is a nightmare… my dog loves it but it gives her fleas!
I want to get rid of it and am looking for affordable tips:
- Hiring someone to put pavers or turf in is out of my budget. I’ve heard it’s too hard to DIY.
- This is a row house so any supplies/trash has to be carried up and through the entire house.
- Id consider concrete but am a bit hesitant bc of aesthetics and environmental factors (flooding). Still if you can convince me, I’d consider it. There is a grassy backyard behind me that’s 10 feet below my yard.
- Any ball park ideas of cost would be helpful.
Thank you!
by wildhorses66
23 Comments
Get a garden weasel ($35) and go to town (free-sweat equity) If you want groundcover, clover is super low maintenance and awesome, a 3 lb bag is super affordable and will definitely cover your area.
Cover with cardboard until spring and plant a pollinator garden, several species of flowers that bloom at different times.
I would smother it with card board or a tarp then lay down mulch. It will absorb all the water and stop most things from growing for quite some time. Just do a weekly pass and pick anything small that makes its way through so much easier than mowing.
Dog should be on flea/tick + heartworm preventatives and that part won’t be a problem.
You could go for a wildflower patch but then the dog won’t be able to use it. Id lay down cardboard over the whole bit, cover in with 4-5 inches of soil then put down clover. It’s not native but can handle dogs on it, solves the grass allergy and requires far less maintenance.
6-12 inches of wood chips on top of cardboard. Chipdrop app can help with free chips maybe
clover! clover! clover!
You could solarize them.
It’s so small, rather than wait months to smother that lawn I would just dig the damn stuff up.
Boiling hot water.
You’re welcome.
As others have said, sheet cardboard, mulch or soil. Then any low growing, fast spreading, tough plant — clover, creeping thyme, speedwell, ajuga, etc. weeds for me lol but for you they would make an attractive carpet you and your dog can use and never mow! ([Stepables](https://www.stepables.com/3/STEPABLE_AllTerrain_Groundcover_NoMow_PlantingArea.html%20) has some options, don’t have to buy from them but more suggestions).
Clover and some easy to grow flowers. Get a wild flower mix or cosmos. Cosmos are really easy and bloom right into October.
Does this happen to be in San Francisco or the greater Bay Area? No problem if not, just looks that way to me.
If so, or if you are anywhere in California, there are state programs that will help you pay to replace your lawn with native plants and pollinators. That could help cover the cost to bring someone in to figure it out.
Smother it with cardboard then plant a native mint. If you let me know where in the world you are I can send you some options. Native mints will choke out any weeds that try to grow there.
A flat shovel and an afternoons work.
Cardboard for the win and clover or creeping thyme seeds in the spring. As time progresses you can add some perennials around the edges.
Lift the sod.
I would cover the grass with clear plastic tarps over the winter; that should kill the sod so you can start over in spring. In the spring, cover with cardboard or newspaper or paper grocery bags, water those down, then cover with garden soil or top soil (I’d guesstimate 18-20 bags @ about $3-$5/bag). Then you are ready to plant whatever you want. Carpet thyme is a good choice of non-grass ground cover for such a small space, and is pretty, flowers in spring, smells good, and is low-mow or no-mow (make sure you get the stuff that only grows to 2″-3″ so it stays very low). There are tons of other things you could plant; if cost is an issue I’d recommend talking to friends who are gardeners and ask if anyone has any plant divisions to give away or trade (most of us do!!!) and/or go to your local library and ask if they have a seed catalogue; you can get a lot for free. I’d have suggestions if I knew your gardening zone and what exactly you’re allergic to… Also matters: how much time if any you want to spend gardening and/or pruning.
Put down tarps. This will kill the weeds.
Unfortunately this will continue to grow things.
You could try putting in a tree for shade, and a good 6” of Mulch Something like a Maple will prevent a fair bit of growth under it.
Cover in cardboard
I did our backyard (about 3x this size) with a shovel a few months back. It wasn’t easy but definitely doable particularly if you soak your lawn beforehand. Dig down about 4-5 inches then turn the shovel horizontal and shovel underneath the grass.
Can’t trash be thrown over the fence that faces the street? It personally doesn’t look very weedy to me. I’d just string trim it with a n95 mask and some Zyrtec. Or pay someone $5 to mow it.
Your dog can get fleas regardless of what is back there. They need a flea preventative if going outside. It’s nothing you do or did, fleas live on wildlife and regularly jump off and look for other hosts, they also spread parasites and diseases from that wildlife.
I’m honestly a huge clover fan but there are a lot of low carpeting plants you could use depending on where you live.
1. Dig the grass out in square patches with a shovel. It will take you an hour. Put mulch on top. Plant stuff next spring.
2. Mow the grass short, then put 4 – 6 inches of mulch directly on top of the grass. It will die over the winter. Plant stuff next spring.
As for what to plant. There’s a lot you can do. Image searches on pinterest are good for inspiration, but also look into attending flower shows and botantical gardens around you, which will have more specific desins. Here’s a few suggestions:
1. Understory tree, like a dogwood, service berry or white fring – it’s hard to tell from the picture where the wires are, but understory trees can usually be pretty close to wires. Ferns against the fence.
2. Raised beds for vegetables or fruits.
3. Manicured-ish garden. Divide the yard into quadrants with paving stones. Put your table and chairs in the middle of the square. Plant stuff in each quadrant like evergreen bushes and flowers.