How to Kill Grass for Reseeding

Renovating an old, neglected or weedy lawn can be a big project. Herbicides are available that make killing an old lawn fairly easy, but these products can carry the risk of accidentally landing on plants you want to save. They can also pose a hazard to the environment when they wash into nearby bodies of water and groundwater. A safe and easy method of killing grass, weeds or any other small plants comes from permaculture and is called sheet mulching. It smothers grass with newspaper or cardboard.

Lawnmower
Newspaper or cardboard
Rocks or bricks

Instructions

- 1
  Mow the lawn you want to kill as short as possible. Mow on a dry day when rain is not forecast and do not irrigate your lawn after you mow it.
- 2
  Flatten large cardboard boxes and remove all tape, staples and other objects. Alternatively, unfold double sheets of newspaper and create piles several layers thick.
- 3
  Spread the flattened cardboard or thick layers of newspaper on top of the grass area you want to kill. Overlap pieces to completely cover the grass without leaving any areas of greenery or soil exposed.
- 4
  Anchor the paper at the corners and seams using rocks or bricks.
- 5
  Spread a 2 to 3 inch layer of topsoil on top of your paper covered area if you want to reseed immediately. Otherwise, leave the paper on your grassy area for several weeks until it is thoroughly dead before you work the soil for reseeding.

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