Garden: The Eco-Lawn Project

Well, I am finally ready to share the results of my lawn renovation project.  This project was long over-due.  We'd installed a new sod lawn back in 2008 and we did a fairly good job, I think.  But it had become compacted and lumpy and it was time for a change.  I'd read about a new method, promoted by Joy Creek Nursery in Scapoose, OR, for preparing the soil and I decided to give it a try. (Info Link) (More information about this method from OregonLive)  To be completely accurate, Joy Creek does not claim ownership of this method, which has been studied and practiced by others, but I associate this method with Joy Creek because that is where I first became aware of it. The Joy Creek method utilizes a gravel mulch which is supposed to break the surface tension of the water allowing it to percolate faster into the lawn surface.  Doing this yields two benefits--1) improved Winter drainage and 2) better water absorption during Summer.  The gravel also contributes to a deeper root run and better drought tolerance.  You can choose to renovate an existing lawn by scalping it and then topping it with gravel and compost, but we chose the more drastic method of excavating the old soil and and rebuilding the lawn base.  In subsequent years, we will mulch lightly with gravel and compost.  Heavy annual mulching  can gradually raise the grade of the lawn, so I opted to amend the soil heavily all at once with the hope that I will need to apply less top-dressing during subsequent years.  I want the surface of the finished lawn to remain even with the surrounding hardscape instead of becoming mounded.

So, here's how the project unfolded:

Back in April--the 19th, to be exact--we pulled the truck into the driveway and began to strip the sod. It is a small space (less than 200 square feet) so it seemed easiest to do this by hand.  Our goal was to remove about 4-5 inches of soil in order to accommodate the new soil preparation.

As you can see, we are pros at this.  Projects like this are why we keep a truck.  We also have a couple of motorcycle loading ramps--they make it a breeze to get the loaded wheelbarrow up into the truck.

Half done!

A couple of hours later, we were about half done.  We finished-up the next day after a few more hours of work.  

The next phase of the project was to install broken concrete as lawn edging.  We went to our local concrete recycler and crawled around in their piles of dumped concrete (or "urbanite") to select the chunks most suitable for our use.  It's not glamorous, but it's free!  We had to make a couple of trips and went to several different locations to find what we needed.  

Installing the broken concrete lawn edging.

I roughly leveled the soil upon which I wanted to install the edging.  Then I compacted it well with a chunk of 4X4 fence post (makes and excellent pounding tool) and a "real" dirt-tamping tool.  I back-filled as needed with quarter-minus crushed rock to level the urbanite.  Since our yard slopes in every direction, it is hard to use a level to check the height and slope.  I used a long 2X4 board balanced across the poured-in-place pavers, the work I'd completed, and pegs that I'd pounded into the ground to represent the finished grade.  I tried to keep the lawn-side of the edging flush with the curved shape of the lawn while creating variety in the shape and width on the garden-side.

Rough fitting the urbanite.  I tried to keep a smooth edge on the lawn side.

Then, I raked the soil smooth and topped it with 2 inches of "quarter-10" crushed rock--that was about a yard and a half of crushed rock.  Quarter-10 is sharp, crushed rock that has been graded using a 1/4 inch screen and then washed free from fines.  You wouldn't want to use gravel containing fines because that would inhibit drainage.  Obtaining the gravel proved to be difficult.  Quarter-10 is common near Scapoose, in the Portland area, but is uncommon in Seattle.  I had to special order the gravel and waited nearly two weeks for delivery.  Since then, a new gravel yard has opened (The Dirt Exchange) and they do stock this product.

Sharp gravel installed and raked out.

Then, 2 inches of compost went in.  This is where the project went sort-of sideways.  I think we wound-up with really poor quality soil.  We went to the place where we normally purchase Cedar Grove compost and paid for for two yards of compost.  But when we looked at the product, it was clear that it wasn't Cedar Grove.  It was very rough and was not fully composted.  But, we'd paid and we couldn't get a refund so we chose, instead, their premium garden blend.  Big mistake.  The soil looked OK at first, but proved to be full...FULL...of big chunks of uncomposted material (including weeds).  Beyond that, it compacted hard as a rock and proved to be of low fertility.  But, we didn't realize any of this as we filled the area with the new soil and meticulously leveled and rolled it. 

Ready for planting.

Late May, now, and we finally got the new grass seeded.  I used "Rough and Ready" eco-lawn mix from Pro Time Lawn Seed that was recommended by Joy Creek.  This seed is a mix of grasses and micro-clover.

The seed really had a hard time getting started.  I attribute the difficulty entirely to the poor soil.  I ended up reseeding and topping the lawn two times with different organic supplements.  But, eventually, it ended up looking like this:

New clover eco-lawn.  It needs a trim!  Clover tends to look lumpy if not trimmed short.

Here is our new eco-lawn.  It still has a few thin spots that will need another application of seed, and it gets mighty lumpy when it needs a trim, but it should stay greener in the Summer with less added water (due to the clover and to the inclusion of the gravel) and dryer in the Winter due to improved percolation and drainage.  

Here's hoping that it lives up to my expectations!