re: removing lawn

Hi once again from the Algarve, 26'C (79'F) and blue sky.
 
I'm a great believer in using Round Up (glyphosate) weed killer for this. One spray will kill off 90% of the grass and weeds and a second spot treatment some time later will kill off any patches you missed and the more resitant weeds - usually those with tap roots. To be honest a few weeds will survive even the second treatment and these I would dig out by hand.
 
Using Round Up does not disturb the soil structure or bring up weed seeds to the surface. Most times when I've treated a lawn like this I have then covered with a membrane and gravel and planted in holes through the membrane. It is important to remember that often lawns are laid over very shallow soils (in new houses often over builders rubble). When planting through a membrane I have just improved the soil  at the planting point and not worried about the soil elsewhere.
 
I like roundup - it is very safe, not too expensive and is neutralised when in contact with soil. One "organic" method I've tried is to just cover the lawn with black plastic or old carpet weighed down and held in place with rocks. It kinda works, but you have to leave it down for quite a while (months) and it is very unsightly. Amazingly quite a few weeds will survive for months without light and they still have to be dealt with when you remove the cover.
 
Just digging over the lawn is too much like hard work to me and you have to deal with weeds for months to come - especially from root sections that you have broken up.
 
Until last year I lived in the West of Ireland, and there we have a great "organic" way of removing a lawn based on the traditional way of growing potatoes on grass pasture. I don't think it would work very well in a dry mediterranean climate but you may be interested. It is called the "lazy-bed" method - because you dont have too much digging to do. The pasture or Lawn is divided into a series of parallel beds each say 1 metre (3 feet) wide. In Ireland the beds vary quite a bit in width (up to 8feet )depending on the site, soil depth, soiltype, drainage etc. The beds are separated by about 40 - 60 cm (18'' - 2'). Potatoes are planted directly on the grass ( or on seaweed or manure spread thinly over the grass).Then the space between the beds is dug out as a trench with the sods of grass removed and placed grass side down over the lazy bed covering the bed and the potatoes. The trench is dug out until the bed is completely covered with soil. It is a matter of pride to produce neat beds with a flat surface and sharp clean sides - all done with just a spade. In time the potatoes come up through the sods  and are then earthed up with more soil from the trench. The potatoes quickly shade out any weeds,  you do get some growing along the sides of the trenches but they are easily removed. It is a great way to grow potatoes and a great way to "clean the soil".  You will quite often see it used in front of a new house to clean up the weeds or remove a lawn before starting a garden. OK it takes a growing season to work, but you do get a crop of spuds.
 
I assumed that I would find pictures of lazybeds on the web, but there really arent  any good ones. I assumed I would have taken photos of some of the ones I've made over the years... but apparently not. The best I can do is direct you to the following web site:
 
 
It describes how to make them and there are diagrams...BUT...the photos of the final bed show a desparately messy bed - no self-respecting farmer in the West of Ireland would have one looking like this - as I said the top and sides of the beds should be flat and smooth.
 
 
Any way must go lunch is ready - fresh baked tuna and stir fried vegetables from the garden.
 
Yours with an appetite
BrianO
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