Best way to remove sod?

[lightbulbsun]

I expanded my garden beds last year and I used a shovel to dig up the sod. It probably wasn't the most efficient way, but it was effective and I didn't have to buy any special tools.

[simpsongal]

When we made our garden 2 years ago we didn't tear up the grass we just rented a powerful tiller from Home Depot and chewed the grass up into the soil. Two birds one stone - it's a good time to work in soil amendments like compost, manure, newspaper, etc. We've got clay so we'll be working this soil for years to come.

[treedimensional]

Flat shovel. Depending on how long it's been in place, you may be able to lift it and roll it up.

[treedimensional]

Apr 22, 2014 9:56:52 GMT -5 chalupa said:

Apr 22, 2014 9:55:15 GMT -5 treedimensional said:

Flat shovel. Depending on how long it's been in place, you may be able to lift it and roll it up.

My house was built in 1926, so I'm guessing the grass front yard has been in place that long

Ok, I'm just going on what you said; you said it was sod.
If it's not, and there are no tree roots to worry about, then chop or till it up.

[new2this]

They make a grass / sod remover... you can usually rent them at tool rental places. It will basically cut the grass off the ground then you can roll it up like you see rolls of sod and reuse it elsewhere or give it away. I think it's probably only a little bit more expensive than renting a tiller and a little easier imo. We did it last year to remove some grass. We went in thinking we'd rent a tiller then when they found out what we were doing convinced us to get that (and I'm glad we did!). We rented from Home Depot (only place open on Sunday here)

[thatgirl2478]

We used a sod cutter on our small yard (house built in 1916) but it was mostly weeds with a *little* bit of grass.

At my parents house they use a flat narrow shovel with a relatively sharp edge to cut a line in the sod, then cut underneath it & lift up. Their house was built in 1855.

Age of the house has less to do with ease of sod removal than soil consistency & grass type.

ETA: if you till it under you'll be more likely to have grass growing where you don't want it... If you use a lawn killer, use a short acting one. There are some that will be out of the soil within a few days to a week and others that will stick around for months (ask me how I know... ).

[pitterwoo]

I've never used one, but the sod cutter seems good. Our neighbor used one when he planted his garden and he gave us some of the strips of grass to fill in at our place.

Last year I removed some grass, but it was only a small section. I laid plastic down for a couple weeks and then used a shovel to dig it out. When I planted I put down cardboard between the plants and then mulch over top. I love the results. This bed is far more weed and grass free than the beds that I've had for over 5 years. Cardboard for lyfe.

[housegeek]

Why don't you just put down some newspaper/ cardboard under the boxes and put them right on the grass?

[simpsongal]

Apr 23, 2014 8:48:38 GMT -5 chalupa said:

Apr 23, 2014 8:44:28 GMT -5 housegeek said:

Why don't you just put down some newspaper/ cardboard under the boxes and put them right on the grass?

The more I read about it, the more I want to give it a try! If I just mow the grass as low as I can, then layer cardboard, compost, and mulch, will the ground be too compacted? That's my only concern - if it would benefit the plants I'm about to stick in the ground more if I loosened up the soil first. 

If it'll be fine, I'm inclined to layer up the grass now, and plant in 2 weeks (after the last frost date around here). 

I've done the layering a bit.  It works.  However, I think you'll be better off investing the time to work the soil now, before you plant new things and have to "spot" amend and work around the new plantings.  The new plants will be better off.  FWIW, I don't think any of the grass returned to the area we tilled.

[Blueper]

Apr 23, 2014 8:48:38 GMT -5 chalupa said:

Apr 23, 2014 8:44:28 GMT -5 housegeek said:

Why don't you just put down some newspaper/ cardboard under the boxes and put them right on the grass?

The more I read about it, the more I want to give it a try! If I just mow the grass as low as I can, then layer cardboard, compost, and mulch, will the ground be too compacted? That's my only concern - if it would benefit the plants I'm about to stick in the ground more if I loosened up the soil first. 

If it'll be fine, I'm inclined to layer up the grass now, and plant in 2 weeks (after the last frost date around here). 

I have done manual removal, newspaper layering, paper bag layering, and cardboard layering.  Newspaper and paper bags were the easiest, but then again I was using a shovel and an edger to remove the grass bc I am frugal. This year I am expanding my garden by using this product (I figure that it will be easier than dealing with layering newspaper)
www.amazon.com/Easy-Gardener-702-WeedBlock-Biodegradable/dp/B001E08OTY/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398354365&sr=8-1&keywords=garden+paper

As far as whether or not the soil needs to be tilled, it really depends on which school of thought you decide to be in.  Gardening can be quite controversial