Sheet mulching is a permaculture practice used to convert thirsty (or dead) lawns or bare soil into low-water landscapes while building healthier soil over time. The technique layers cardboard, compost, and mulch directly over existing turf or bare ground. The layers of organic materials smother lawn and suppress weeds while decomposing in-place, creating a rich growing environment without the need to remove sod, kill sod with herbicides, or replace poor soil.
Lawn/sod and soil should never be placed in the green bin or landfill bin. Poor quality soil should rarely, if ever, be replaced with new soil. Sheet mulching is capable of revitalizing even the poorest of soils. If you treat soil as a living thing and feed it with organic matter through sheet mulching, your soil will revive - even extreme clay or sandy soils.
Sheet mulching is an easy entry point for homeowners looking to reduce water use and create beautiful, climate-adapted gardens. It's also a practical tool for gardeners and landscape professionals working on lawn conversion projects. While sheet mulching is often used to establish a new landscape, it can enrich existing plantings as a maintenance technique.
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Looking for In-depth Sheet Mulching Resources?
Visit the Lawn to Garden Website
Resources on Lawn to Garden
- Step-by-step sheet mulching instructions
- Materials calculator to estimate compost, mulch, and cardboard quantities
- Water savings calculator
- Lawn conversion payback calculator
- Design resources for low-water landscapes
- Information about lawn conversion rebates and discounts
- The Compost and Mulch Marketplace
Additional Resources relating to Lawn Conversions
- Learn about AB 1572's statewide ban on irrigation of non-functional turf in the Landscape Compliance & Resources section.