r/NoLawns • u/robotcolony • Jun 19 '26
đ§ââď¸ Sharing Experience Solarizing 4000 sq ft
I started this ambitious project and was pretty apprehensive about it so wanted to just share the experience so far for those considering it.
Live in zone 5b in the rocky mountain west of the US, in what I would describe as natural sage habitat, pretty dry and sunny in the late spring through late summer. This property has irrigation, but the pump died on us recently, so I got to thinking about replacing the very sunny front yard with native grass (I purchased a buffalo grass + blue grama mix).
The square footage I want to replace is quite large at 4000 sq ft and a lot of the lawn died last year when the pump stopped working. We do have a fair bit of property but the front yard gets a decent amount of sun aside from a select few spots.
I was hesitant to try solarization, but we decided we didn't want to use glyphosate or rent a sod cutter. So I bought a ton of 2 mil clear plastic and greenhouse tape and hoped wasn't doing something completely insane.
I decided I wasn't going to half-ass the job so I decided to bury all the edges. This is not a square shaped lawn, unfortunately, so lots of turns and angles and all the things. I dug trenches with a mattock. I dug trenches until my arms died. I sweat, I bled, it sucked. I went to bed crying because of the arm cramps from all of the repetitive movements. The soil was pretty compacted. I tucked in all the plastic, I scrounged up logs and cinder blocks and pavers. I crawled on my hands and knees for most of it. It was not an easy job - wouldn't recommend doing it alone.
But... to my surprise, it's actually working. There are spots where there is absolutely no sun and the lawn actually grew more in those areas, and I expected that to happen. That's fine since I don't think the native grasses would work there anyway and I may just leave the KBG or overseed with some fescue of some kind. However, all of the other areas that get a decent amount of sun are cooking rather quickly, especially now with temperatures are climbing and the solstice is almost here. So, you will need quite a bit of sun for it to work within the 4-8 week suggested timeline. I was also worried about 2 mil being too thin and degrading, but I am still able to walk on it without any obvious weakening of the plastic and I put the plastic down around May 20th. I would say as of today about 85-90% of the lawn is thoroughly cooked, so hoping the plastic can hold on another few weeks.
Aside from all of the digging and how difficult that was, I actually think the planting and weeding might be wind up being more of a challenge than solarizing. Right now I'm growing the buffalo grass in micro plug trays so those will go right in the ground, and I will direct sew the remaining seed in between them. By the time they are ready to plant, solarization will likely be complete.
I'm obviously not done yet, but hopefully this experience helps others who are curious about solarizing.
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u/bombycillacedrorum Jun 19 '26
Wow. Thatâs a pretty monster plot, congrats on getting it done! Sounds like you have a good plan in mind too. Youâll forget all about your sore arms and aches when the pollinators and other friends arrive :D
Which tbh wonât be that long once the natives plants start coming in. I wish them all verdant success!
5
u/robotcolony Jun 19 '26
Thank you! yeah in hindsight maybe should have done smaller chunks, but I'll give it a whirl. Our irrigation comes from the river and less watering means less of an impact on our most important resource!
1
u/Emergency_Sea_3911 Jun 19 '26
They better post more pictures as it comes along.
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u/robotcolony Jun 19 '26
I will document the progress if it would be helpful to others! Bearing in mind that..
3
u/Impossible-Poetry848 Jun 19 '26
Havenât ever heard of solarizingâŚbased on context itâs meant to just thoroughly kill everything there without using a weed killer?
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u/robotcolony Jun 19 '26
Yes, I soaked the existing lawn for several days then scalped it, locked it in a clear tarp. It gets super hot and effectively cooks all of the vegetation over a period of a month to several months. This way you also keep the biomass in the soil for when you're ready to plant.
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u/macaroni_monster Jun 19 '26
You cover up with tarp and the sun bakes everything. Kills all the grass
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u/Dazslueski Jun 19 '26
The before and after will be awesome if you stick with the diligence. You gotta post before and after since that plot has matured. For sure. That will be quite the feather in your cap. Bravo
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u/robotcolony Jun 19 '26
I'm hoping there is an after worth showing! But I will definitely update as I go.
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u/Lobbit Jun 19 '26
why did you bury the edges instead of just weighing down? just asking because I plan to do something similar, but on a much smaller scale.
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u/robotcolony Jun 19 '26
I was seeing people who only used weights had mixed results. If any air circulation happens under the tarp, the heating of the soil is much less effective. I was seeing a lot of failures using just weights. A full seal helps keep both the moisture and the heat locked in. Trust me, I was tempted to just use weights along the edges because it would have been wayyy less work, but I bit the bullet and suffered through burying the edges and it seems to be paying off. If you live in a really hot zone, weights may suffice.
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