permaculture

["Graham Burnett" <gburnett@unisonfree.net>]

>
> My parents moved into a new place in IA and want to remove some grass to
> plant a garden and flowers. Does anyone know a good way to get rid of
> grass for good without herbicides?

Why not try sheet mulching, ie, obtain some cardboard, etc from skips (or 
'dumpsters' as i believe
you refer to them on the other side of the pond), lay flat over the lawn, or 
parts of the lawn that
you'd like to convert to productive growing space, then cover with @ 6" of 
well rotted compost,
topsoil, etc. You can sew larger seeds such as beans, potatos, directly into 
the compost, also
seedlings such as marrows, squashes, etc + herbs, fruit bushes, etc... Small, 
'fiddly' seeds, root
crops arn't so suitable. Flowers like marigold, nastrurtians, etc, should 
also do OK, don't forget
these not only look nice but are edible (plus attract pest controlling 
insects, etc), so if your
folks arn't so into the idea of an edible landscape you can sneak in the 
'multifunctional' elements
without being confrontational.

There's a good sheet mulching illustration/diagram in 'Earth Users Guide To 
Permaculture' by
Rosemary Morrow, also check out the 'Saxon Lodge Garden' site I've done at
http://www.lodgehome.freeserve.co.uk/page6.html, where basically all 
cultivation on a site which
was beforehand a lawn has been achieved with minimal effort by sheet 
mulching...

Give it a go anyway, good luck,

Cheers,

Graham Burnett
35 Rayleigh Avenue
Westcliff On Sea
Essex, UK
SS0 7DS

South East Essex LETS
http://pages.unisonfree.net/gburnett/