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| |  Want to turf your lawn and put in a garden instead? It's easy. Fall is the perfect time to create a new garden, but summer is the time to get started. You may already know what you'd like your garden to grow. But if you're planning on changing a lawn into a garden, removing grass and preparing the soil is the important first step. The classic method of creating a new garden bed is this: grab a square-edged spade and start wrestling with the grass roots. The sod is cut into one-by-one squares, ripped up, then composted. An alternative to this backbreaking method is the sod conversion. Instead of being ripped up, sod is covered with a light proof material, usually newspaper. A thick layer of compost or topsoil (six inches minimum) is applied directly overtop. Eventually the grass underneath will die off and decompose. Planting can then be done without any cultivation of the soil, which saves a lot of work. Whether sod is removed or covered, additional soil or compost will be required to prepare a new garden bed for planting. That's because larger plants such as shrubs and trees have deeper roots then grass, and so require more topsoil than the six inches usually found beneath lawns. This is especially true in newer housing developments where a six-inch layer is the rule. If you live in the country or an older neighbourhood, you may have more to work with. Sod removal is hard work, but results are instant. Be ready to plant and mulch right away though: all soil contains weed seeds just waiting to sprout. If you don't, expect to spend a lot of time weeding until plantings mature and begin to spread. If you are planting seeds, mulch around seedlings while they are still young. Also, expect to cultivate and amend the soil (adding soil to what's already there). Lawns get a lot of foot traffic, and compacted soil is the result. Cultivation will make the soil easier to plant into, and will create pockets of air, essential for plant growth. And the soil probably isn't rich enough to support a garden. Mix in compost and topsoil.
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