How Sheet Mulching Can Transform Your Landscape (and save you time & effort!)

"How should I get rid of my grass?"

It's a question we get more than any other— and while I wish there was a one-size-fis-all answer for you, the less-shiny answer is simply "It depends." When it comes time to trade in your bluegrass for more sustainable options, there are a handful of tried and true methods (the most straightforward of which will be sodcutting or manual excavation). 

However, sheet mulching is a good option for those on a tight budget, those who want to avoid disturbing the soil, and those who have a large area to cover (that they don't mind being a little lumpy and bumpy!) 

Sheet mulching has raised a lot of questions in particular, so I thought it would be a good idea to explain exactly what sheet mulching is, and why you should incorporate the practice into your landscaping and garden projects!

What is mulch? 

Mulch, by definition, is a biodegradable, organic material that can be laid over a landscape to define the shape of the design, block out weeds, prevent water evaporation from the soil, and attract beneficial wildlife like earthworms. Most people think of bark when they think of mulch, and bark is certainly a fantastic type of mulch to use!

Some landscapers like to use rocks and plastic as a mulch, which I would strongly discourage. Rocks compact the soil and create "heat islands" in a landscape, and plastics have become a scourge in our lives that we're only now beginning to understand the long-term repercussions of. 

There are a lot of other options to use for mulch, like leaves, straw, pine needles, lawn clippings, terminated crops, and ground up yard waste. All of these materials work very well in protecting soil and insulating plant roots, as well as retaining moisture in your soil.

What is sheet mulching? 

Sheet mulching is a practice that uses an abundance of a mulching material over a cardboard or paper "sheet" to completely block out any light that could reach the soil, which smothers and kills off any plant life that is trying to grow underneath it. This can take several months to work effectively, but is a great, chemical-free way to break up with a lawn!

Sheet mulching is very simple to do, but can take a bit of time and can be pretty tiring work. Ultimately, this hard work will pay off, though, as the amount of weed pulling and landscape maintenance will be greatly reduced in the long run. A sheet mulching project will go much faster with some extra hands, and would make a great excuse for a post-project barbeque!

My favorite method of sheet mulching is using long sheets of contractor paper as a weed barrier, which can be cut to length and use landscape staples to secure in place. Once that's down, I'll cover it up with a minimum of three inches of organic mulch, which will help the paper block out any light that might reach the soil, as well as keeping the contractor paper from blowing away.

Say no to synthetic landcape fabric 

I would also like to take a moment to strongly discourage the use of weed fabric! This material is often made of plastic, which is terrible for our soil. Weed roots are prone to grow into the fabric, making them harder to pull. And the fabric creates an impermeable barrier that makes it hard for earthworms and other beneficial wildlife to get to work in your soil!

There are other materials that can be used effectively for as a weed barrier for sheet mulching, including flattened out cardboard or layers of newspaper. The only real requirement here is that you use a material that will break down over time, and that it's not treated with toxic chemicals!

The organic mulch can be bark, leaves, pine needles, or any other organic material For a long term landscape installation, bark mulch will look fantastic immediately, but you could use a less "aesthetic" choice if you intend to grow plantings which will fill in and cover the soil anyway. 

I have even used piles of leaves to act as a natural sheet mulch. 

Whether you're looking to kill off a pesky ground cover, terminate a water guzzling lawn, or just establish a pleasing, natural frame for your landscaping, sheet mulching is a fantastic method that will save you time, money, and energy in the future! If you would like to learn more, this fantastic resource page from California's Bay Area Lawn to Garden program is pretty much exhaustive.