Preparation for a "soft landing" planting - Ask Extension
I want to create a native "soft landing" around two old oak trees.
My questions concern how to most environmentally get rid of the existing...
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Preparation for a "soft landing" planting #868664
Asked May 16, 2024, 8:52 AM EDT
I want to create a native "soft landing" around two old oak trees.
My questions concern how to most environmentally get rid of the existing lawn grass.
I would like to plant the natives this fall.
Since it is fully shaded, would solarization even work to kill the grass?
Which is less detrimental to the soil micro rhizi: Cardboard covered with bark or Plastic to smother the grass (which of course would be removed prior to planting)?
Is it effective to cut the sod and just turn it upside-down?
I don't want to lose all that sod bio-mass, so how would I compost that volume? What would it have to be mixed with? Could it just be run over with a rototiller occasionally to convert it to a "mulch?"
Looking forward with thanks for your ideas and suggestions.
Chisago County Minnesota
Expert Response
Using a sod cutter or a rototiller under any tree or under an oak tree will kill the tree. The tree might hang on for a year or two but rototilling under a tree will kill it.
Solarization doesn’t work in shady areas.
To preserve as much of the soil structure and its micro biome as possible I would remove the grass in a 12 inch square or circle by pulling it out. It comes up pretty easily if the ground is soaked before trying to pull it up. Plant your natives in the bare spots. Try hard not to damage any tree roots when you dig the holes. You might have to move the hole over a little bit to avoid roots. The perennials will shade out the grass as they grow. You could also weaken the grass under the tree by putting down about 2 inches of mulch. Don’t put down more than that because a tree needs water and oxygen for its roots. Too much matter over roots is suffocating.
Good luck with your project, you have a very pretty site for it.
Solarization doesn’t work in shady areas.
To preserve as much of the soil structure and its micro biome as possible I would remove the grass in a 12 inch square or circle by pulling it out. It comes up pretty easily if the ground is soaked before trying to pull it up. Plant your natives in the bare spots. Try hard not to damage any tree roots when you dig the holes. You might have to move the hole over a little bit to avoid roots. The perennials will shade out the grass as they grow. You could also weaken the grass under the tree by putting down about 2 inches of mulch. Don’t put down more than that because a tree needs water and oxygen for its roots. Too much matter over roots is suffocating.
Good luck with your project, you have a very pretty site for it.
