Comments for Garden Smackdown™ by Andrew Keys

Comment on Garden Designers Roundtable: Reality Check by Andrew Keys

Andrew Keys — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:15:04 +0000

That’s actually a REALLY good point, Heather… I think I bought mine for a buck at a flea market, and I don’t imagine it had ever been sharpened, even before I used it to remove all the lawn it’s taken out. Adding THAT to the to do list for this spring for sure!

Comment on Garden Designers Roundtable: Reality Check by Heather

Heather — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:28:44 +0000

I use a half moon edger to remove sod but it helps that my partner sharpened the edge with his dremel tool. It slices through the sod pretty easily and then I get to be insufferable at dinner parties when I explain how I removed my lawn without chemicals. :)

Comment on Listen: Garden Confidential #4: Cabbage Patch by Andrew Keys

Andrew Keys — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:08:50 +0000

Thanks, Scott! Yeah, I want to try some of these newer Kniphofias too, knowing that and the fact that they actually LIKE a more average-to-damp soil.

Comment on Listen: Garden Confidential #4: Cabbage Patch by Scott Weber

Scott Weber — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:32:55 +0000

As always, great job…love these interviews! You know, I have to admit, one reason I’ve never been fond of Kniphofias has been that awful, ratty foliage. Maybe now I’ll give them another look :-)

Comment on Garden Designers Roundtable: Reality Check by Kaveh

Kaveh — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:00:17 +0000

That is very funny Scott. A friend just loaned me his little Troy Bilt tiller and I came to the same conclusion. After tilling my yard I felt as if someone had picked me up and shook me!

Comment on Garden Designers Roundtable: Reality Check by Scott Hokunson

Scott Hokunson — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:57:25 +0000

I stared at that half moon sod cutter for well over a year before I finally decided to buy one. I have come to the conclusion that it should be sold with an attachment also, a strong twenty-something operator with a good back! I still pull it out once in a while, but most of the projects we do are too large to consider using it anymore. That tool of choice now is a skilled Bobcat operator, or sheet mulching when the opportunity presents itself. A fun post, and I completely sympathize with the need for noxious weapons against noxious weeds.

Comment on Garden Designers Roundtable: Reality Check by Genevieve

Genevieve — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:49:56 +0000

OMG, Andrew, you are one tough nut for even thinking about removing your lawn by hand, much less doing it. My favorite method is cardboard. I’ve been laying cardboard around the edges of my lawn for the last year and slowly gaining more garden bed and less lawn. But, yeah – sod-cutters! Miracle tools.

Comment on Garden Designers Roundtable: Reality Check by Kaveh

Kaveh — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:55:57 +0000

Yeah I should add that if I could have afforded to hire a crew to remove my lawn I definitely would have gone that route. But the less money I spend on big hulking guys to remove my ugly lawn the more money I have left to spend on plants so…

In one of my old gardens I went the compost over newspaper route which worked out fine but there was definitely a smell of rotting lawn wafting through the air for a while which I didn’t think my new landlady would appreciate.

Comment on Garden Designers Roundtable: Reality Check by Andrew Keys

Andrew Keys — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:23:45 +0000

Well, Kaveh, I am certainly not going to berate you for it, because as you can see from this discussion, none of us is blameless here! (Also, I’m not big on berating people in general, and this isn’t a place for that.)

@Christina, I like your idea for lawn removal, and I think you and Robert are right–if you can hire a crew of a size proportionate to the lawn, that’s the best route, even if it’s just a crew of two. They’ll definitely cost more than the sod cutter rental, but they’ll be more sustainable than using a sod cutter too.

Comment on Garden Designers Roundtable: Reality Check by Kaveh

Kaveh — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:14:24 +0000

Maybe I’m going to be sent to hell by the eco gardeners but I went the round up route to get rid of my lawn. I’m pretty much OK with it too. I hate the stuff but it is just a one shot deal (albeit a very large one shot). I don’t use it for regular weed removal and generally don’t spray any toxic insect killers or use synthetic fertilizers.

I figure lawn removal is a good cause and that makes me feel better about it.