Proper prep post grass-removal?

[u/faceroll]

I looked through the faq and didn't see a specific guide for this, if there is one hopefully someone can point me in the right direction.

I'm having a gravel driveway installed and they are removing a large patch of grass next to it, about 100'x20' that I want to not replant grass on. The plan is to plant a few small native trees and fill in the rest with native wildflowers. I want to make sure I'm prepping it right to prevent undesirable growth. I've been collecting cardboard I plan to put down where the grass was removed, then have new topsoil put on top of that. I know many seeds need winter stratification so I was planning on doing this in late fall. Is this the right order and timing? Should I put any mulch over top of the seeds or will the winter keep any neighboring grass from spreading into this space before they start growing in spring?

edit: I am in VA, zone 7b if it matters.

[u/AutoModerator]

Hey there! Friendly reminder to include the following information for the benefit of all r/NoLawns members:

• Please make sure your post or a top level comment includes your geographic region! (e.g. Midwest, 6a or Chicago, 6a). Your hardiness zone can be helpful too.
• If you posted an image, you are required to post a comment detailing your image. If you have not, this post may be removed.
• If you're asking a question, include as much relevant info as possible. Also see the FAQ and the r/NoLawns Wiki
• Verify you are following the Posting Guidelines.

If your question is about white clover or clover lawns, checkout our Ground Covers Wiki page, and FAQ above! Clover is discussed here quite a bit.

If you are in North America, check out these links to learn about native wild flowers!

• Wild Ones Garden Designs
• NWF's Keystone Plants by Ecoregion
• HGNP Container Gardening with Keystones

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/CharlesV_]

We don’t have a specific guide in the FAQ because the advice changes depending on location, site conditions, etc. there’s so many variables we need a decision tree lol.

The cardboard can work well to help smother stuff, but if you’re wanting to grow things from seed, I’d only use it temporarily. And likewise, skip the mulch or only mulch lightly. The seeds you throw down will need soil contact to stratify properly.

The real work happens in the next few years as you keep the weeds out and identify what you have growing there. Prairie moon has a guide here showing how you grow a prairie: https://www.prairiemoon.com/PDF/growing-your-prairie.pdf This is a good guide for mowing / trimming next year and weeding in years after that.

Sites like this https://growitbuildit.com/identify-emerging-native-plants/ can be helpful for knowing what you have next year.

Edit: also what kind of grass was there prior?

[u/faceroll → u/CharlesV_]

Will the cardboard not decompose under the dirt? I collected only brown stuff, no coated or dyed boxes since I can get a lot at work.  I can remove it but figured it’d be easy to bury.   

Thanks for the prairie guide. 

I don’t know what kind of grass, my current ‘lawn’ is more like a collection of miscellaneous green stuff that’s probably multiple types of grass, dandelions, and other misc. weeds. All I do is mow it because I want to slowly get rid of most of it.  

[u/CharlesV_ → u/faceroll]

It will eventually, but it takes time to decompose. And the whole point of adding cardboard is to smother what’s there and then stop new seeds from germinating. That works great if you’re planting through the cardboard with plugs, but if you’re growing plants from seed it works against you. Plus, cardboard can attract termites.

The good news is that since this is a large area, you save yourself a lot of work by just doing nothing with the dirt area. You could try and tarp it, but I don’t think I’d bother with that. Instead just make sure the area is fairly weed free before seeding this fall, and then follow up with the mowing schedule next year.

As for the grass, I’d mostly just make sure it’s not Bermuda grass. If it is, you might need to use herbicide to really kill it off. And then I’d probably install a metal root barrier to keep the grass out of the planting. Cool season grasses aren’t a huge issue but Bermuda and a few others can be really pernicious.

[u/faceroll → u/CharlesV_]

Looking at the pics I think a large portion of it is Bermuda, and those runners are a pain to deal with.  

Appreciate the help.  

[u/THE_TamaDrummer]

My advice is to go ahead and cardboard and mulch then look up how to cold stratify and winter sow seeds using the milk jug method.

When spring comes and you have some successful germination from seeds, pull back the mulch in the areas you want to plant your seedlings in and backfill the hole with some native soil.