What to Do With a Big, Grass Backyard?

Edible Landscaping

• The standard choice for sprucing up a boring backyard is the use of ornamental landscaping. Edible landscaping takes this concept in a new direction by replacing many of the ornamental plants you might normally choose with plants that provide food, in addition to an appealing look. These include fruit trees, berry bushes, perennial herbs and greens. An edible landscape can be more labor-intensive than an ornamental one during the harvest season, but it rewards you with exercise, family activity and nutritious food, as well as beauty.

Orchard

• A home orchard is a slightly more intensive way to make use of an open, grassy space. A single dwarf apple tree takes up only a 10-foot-by-18-foot space, but can produce up to 90 lbs. of fruit per year. Full-size fruit trees take up more space, but can provide up to 200 lbs. of fruit per year. Even a small orchard can quickly outdo the needs of a single family, but you can take your surplus to the public at a local farmer's market. You can also make it into value-added products like jam, jelly and fruit roll-ups.

Market Garden

• A market garden is the most intensive use of a large backyard. Properly managed, even an acre or less can produce a good part-time income when you devote it to fruit and vegetable production. Raised beds allow for easier maintenance and more efficient production per square foot than ground-level gardening. Running a stall at a weekend farmer's market is an educational undertaking for teenagers and can be quite profitable.

Raising Chickens

• If growing plants and trees doesn't interest you but raising animals does, use your big, grassy backyard to raise chickens. Many areas allow small numbers of poultry on residential grounds, even inside city limits. Raising chickens on pasture results in better-tasting meat and brightly colored egg yolks. By keeping the birds in a movable, open-bottomed cage called a chicken tractor, you can keep them safe from predators, while they can still eat grass and catch bugs to supplement their feed rations.