Would you keep your lawn or ditch it for a productive garden instead?

Yes I would totally do it!
89%
16
Nope never I love my green grass
11%
2
 
Total votes: 18
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mrsgreenthumbs
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Location: Santa Maria, California

Would u rip out the front lawn & replace with raised bed

I have a teeny tiny back yard, really nothing but a large patio sized yard but I am getting inventive and bringing more and more planting space into my garden by using raised bed's, and strategically planting, and intermixing my plant's, and soon beginning a vertical garden on my fence. Of course I have a HUGE front lawn, And I HATE it. It's alway's needing watering and really is just a place for dog's to come to poo. It's a HUGE space that I REALLY need but the DH say's no because it's a rental property, the landlord would not be happy, and how on earth would we keep ppl from stealing my hard earned veggies? (believe me it would happen in our area) I'm really thinking I might even save the land lord money by cutting back on how often I water.... also... I could sweet talk my DH with words of encouragement along the lines of "just think how little you will have to MOW!" So who else would gladly get rid of their front lawn and replace it with veggie bed's that would produce food for the table?

Thomas CA
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Location: San Pedro, CA

Absolutely!

I have done it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Food is beautiful too!...and serves a purpose! You get what you give.

Thomas CA
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I should also add that I live on a rental lot as well.
My land lady was a bit nervous when she saw first starting it, but after I finished and got it nice and organized, she thought it looked wonderful! I snap off a couple veggies from time to time for her, and all is well.

As for keeping other people out of it? I have a fenced front yard, but some cukes and grapes have a tendency to grow over it. I tell anyone walking by..."Help yourself!". I purposely over plant because I like to give.
Next thing you know, I have people stopping by to drop off something they grew or made with the veggies I offered them, for me to try!

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Ozark Lady
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Location: NW Arkansas, USA zone 7A elevation 1561 feet

I would start small, just along the edges. And just gradually, keep taking a tiny bit more. Not a big intrusive swath.

Too bad you can't have geese. Geese tell you if anyone is messing around at all!

Think decorative edibles. Then gradually move up to other things.
Think vegetables that folks won't commonly connect with eating.
Don't grow stuff that you know they will steal like tomatoes, peppers, watermelons, cantaloupe, fruits are what they are most likely to get.
Think, legumes, greens, roots... these are too much like work for thieves to harvest! I think?!

But, I would grow all the food I can, even if they steal it, perhaps some one is hungry. And grass isn't feeding anyone!

a0c8c
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Location: Austin, TX

Ask your landloard first. You need to make sure you have permission, because if you say, move in a few years, the next person might not want a ton of gardens and the landloard isn't gonna want to pay to remove it all and resod the yard.

cynthia_h
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Location: El Cerrito, CA

Read your lease FIRST. There may be legal prohibitions not from the city or county, but in your lease. Read it carefully, all the way to the end, before doing anything out front.

If it were my own property, there never would have been much of a lawn....that's why I was able to sift the Bermuda grass out of the entire "lawn" in Berkeley back when and kill the evil stuff. But we owned that 25' x 50' lot; we didn't rent.

Read the lease.

Cynthia H.

Vergil is having a better day today, but is starting to whine again...:(

GardenJester
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I would tried to landscape it so it can be easily converted back to permaculture or flowerbeds. I would do it even if I own the house, because you never know when you have to sell it and prospective buyers don't necessarily share your gardening enthusiasm.

Dixana
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Location: zone 4

I'm actually planning on ripping out the front lawn from the sidewalk to the curb and putting flower beds in. Fall project though, cheaper plants.
Doing this is going to leave me with a 4 x 5 foot space and a 4 x 8 foot space of grass in the front of the house :twisted:
Next year we're bringing ina skidloader and leveling the backyard and replacing the sod. Some "folks" that used to live here had a pool and when they tore it down never filled the hole or reseeded it. We don't have a backyard, we have a weedy, crabgrass infested mudhole.....and a garden :D

Toil
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Hey dix, you are a perfect candidate for messin' with seed balls. It's fun! Check out the permaculture department.

731greener101
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Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2009 12:36 pm
Location: West Tennessee Zone 6b

I am currently in the process of organizing ie;removing those previous planted ornamentals(by others)and replacing my girlfriends yard.By California standards it is a large yard.By reshaping corners and removing obstructions I plan to make it easier to mow and weedeat.I have begun to build raised beds and have built both a cold compost bin and a hot compost tumbler.So yes I would do this.One caveat is she owns her property.Have you considered removable raised beds given your situation?Maybe not what you had in mind but doable.Rod

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rainbowgardener
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My front yard has too many big trees and shrubs, too shady for veggies. If it weren't, I would rip out the grass (or the grass/weed mixture I call a lawn) in a heartbeat. But there again, we own this place and don't have a landlord to deal with (and the bank keeps its mouth shut!).

GardenJester
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Just an idea... you could try train a fruit tree up the south face of the house. An apricot fan would both look good and productive.

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mrsgreenthumbs
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Location: Santa Maria, California

GardenJester wrote:Just an idea... you could try train a fruit tree up the south face of the house. An apricot fan would both look good and productive.

lol.... all ready done! It's a peach tree

Dixana
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Thinking from the prospective of a landlord, if someone came to me wanting to put in raised beds in a front lawn I would let them.
With a signed lease ammendment stating the beds will be removed and sod replaced before leaving the property.
It's a good way to A: show the landlord you intend to stay long enough to make it worth all that work and B: that you're not going to leave some big mess behind.

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stella1751
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mrsgreenthumbs wrote:I have a teeny tiny back yard, really nothing but a large patio sized yard but I am getting inventive and bringing more and more planting space into my garden by using raised bed's, and strategically planting, and intermixing my plant's, and soon beginning a vertical garden on my fence. Of course I have a HUGE front lawn, And I HATE it. It's alway's needing watering and really is just a place for dog's to come to poo. It's a HUGE space that I REALLY need but the DH say's no because it's a rental property, the landlord would not be happy, and how on earth would we keep ppl from stealing my hard earned veggies? (believe me it would happen in our area) I'm really thinking I might even save the land lord money by cutting back on how often I water.... also... I could sweet talk my DH with words of encouragement along the lines of "just think how little you will have to MOW!" So who else would gladly get rid of their front lawn and replace it with veggie bed's that would produce food for the table?
mrsgreenthumbs, I do agree with all the postings re: leases. You will want to be certain a front-yard garden is acceptable before you begin! However, I can respond to the query about how you might prevent people from stealing your veggies. In my experience, they don't. Following is a photo of my front-yard garden, which runs along the sidewalk, just in front of my front-yard fence:

[img]https://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/mitbah/front_yard.jpg[/img]

In the late summer, when the produce is ripe, I allow my dogs free access. I also leave the front porch light on. With the exception of the bikers next door (they like jalapenos), I don't think anyone has stolen so much as a pebble 8)

I just previewed this message, and I can see that the year this photo was taken, I also used the garden for campaign signs. The election is over, just in case anyone worries I am using THG for political purposes :oops:

Dixana
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Aww don't lie, we all know the real reason you put the signs in your yard is so you can use em in your garden after election is over ;) :lol:


Edit: let's all once again pretend I know how to type :oops:

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stella1751
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Dixana wrote:Aww don't lie, we all know the real reason you put the signs in your yard is so you can use em in your garden after election is over ;) :lol:


Edit: let's all once again pretend I know how to type :oops:
I should have known I couldn't slide that past my garden buddies! Two more and I can have a floating row cover. Anyone want to post their signs in a high visibility location? :lol:

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

I have a front yard that's bigger than my back yard too, and it's sunnier to boot, though the soil is thoroughly compacted clay that dries to solid hard-pan during the summer drought.

I posted some photos of how I'm moving out into the front yard [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=139241#139241]here[/url]. I'm starting with potatoes, corn, beans, pumpkins and gourd: Right, the Three Sisters (well, and their cousin the potatoes :P) Full plant list is described [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=133007#133007]here[/url].

After these pioneers have had the chance to work their magic, the soil should be better able to grow other crops as well. I was planning on a good stand of sunflowers too because I know how well their roots can loosen up the clay soil, but the slugs got most of the seedlings :evil: I think I might have ONE left. :roll: I think I'll plant some sweet potatoes in their place. :idea:

The pumpkins (Atlantic Giant) and gourds (Bushel Gourd) will be in charge of the "moving out into the lawn" part of the operation. :wink: (unless DH blows his top over it -- we'll see.... :>)

I also planted some Blueberries (3) and Rhubarb (1) for perennial ornamental edibles, as well as a dwarf nectarine tree. and I already have a big bed of Wild Strawberries that the kids are snacking on every day right now. :()

BTW, my edibles are currently planted well inside the front yard, away from the -- well, what I call the (public) sidewalk along the pavement, though I've noticed some folks call their own concrete walkways from the driveway to the front door "sidewalk". I'm leery of dogs on those extra long leashes peeing and pooing on my stuff -- not sure how sensitive the dog owners are about how homeowners might feel about that. They might think that as long as they pick up after them, it's OK, and pee is pee. I consider the mailbox area lost cause and only plant ornamentals there, and am careful to wear rubber gloves and/or only work there when everything is dry or after good soaking rain. I would probably leave a strip of lawn along both sides of the sidewalk for that purpose no matter how much of the front yard I end up taking over. In any case, I believe so many feet on either side is considered a public domain and all the underground cables are buried there (and can be dug up for maintenance, etc., maybe even without notice in an emergency -- like somebody's cable TV cut out during the playoffs :shock:)

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stella1751
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applestar wrote:I would probably leave a strip of lawn along both sides of the sidewalk for that purpose no matter how much of the front yard I end up taking over. In any case, I believe so many feet on either side is considered a public domain and all the underground cables are buried there (and can be dug up for maintenance, etc., maybe even without notice in an emergency -- like somebody's cable TV cut out during the playoffs :shock:)
Apple, I hope you are planning on sharing photos of those Atlantic Giants. I would love to try them, but one pumpkin would fill most of my backyard. (Teasing)

When I moved here (Casper, WY), I was surprised to learn that I own my sidewalk. Naturally, that means I am responsible for its repair, but it's kind of cool, owning your own sidewalk 8) Like Applestar suggested, you might want to consider sidewalk ownership and public domain before you establish your garden.

Notice, though, the weird sizes of my beds, especially those on the right side, facing the house. The first thing I did when I moved in was to get the utility lines located. Then I built with an eye to possible excavation. Because I use raised beds, that monstrous one was in a tricky position of either putting in two skinny beds or one huge one. I opted for one huge one.

When I'm weeding or working the soil, I hate this bed. I'm old, too old to be stretching my arms way the heck out there to weed. However, this year this bed is in a cucurbits rotation, and I can actually grow watermelons in a puppy this size, so I'm pretty excited :D

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Gary350
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Ask your landlord first. Start small and keep it looking nice. The landlord is mostly going to be worried about clean up and returning the yard to normal if you move out. The house will need to look nice and have street appeal to get it rented again. Once the landlord sees what your doing and is OK with that then he won't mind if you expand the garden larger. I would put the raised beds along the front of the house if your house has no bushes near the house that would be a good place to start. Gutter down spout can be used to water the plants. Your landlord might even have some suggestions. Show the landlord your raised beds in the back yard, draw a picture on paper some people have no imagination they need to see it first hand.

The Helpful Gardener
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Nice Stella!

Guess we all know how you voted in the poll... :lol:

HG



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