Lawn Alternative Experiment, Part 1: Prepping & Seeding!

At long last! The first stage of my experiment on lawn alternatives! I prepped for 3 different sowing methods: Removed the sod to plant on bare dirt, Aerated to get the seeds deeper into holes and mowed low to integrate the alternatives with the existing lawn. I spread seed for 4 varieties of ground covers: Micro Clover, Dutch Clover, Crimson Clover and a Dry Land Mix of drought tolerant grass and low growing wildflowers.

Even though I was extremely late in spreading this seed, it all germinated! The Dry Land Mix died in the frost - but under the frost blanket it did alright (so far at least, time will tell). The clovers seemed to continue growing despite the cold temps, which leads me to believe that even with all of the instructions saying to sow at least 6 weeks before first frost that they can actually tolerate a lot more cold than grass can. Again, we'll see in the spring if any of this survives! Stay tuned!

If you missed my rant on how much I hate lawns, watch it here:

Links:
Micro Clover

Dutch White Clover

Crimson Clover

Dry Land Mix

Our website

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[GardenUPLandscape]

Thank you so much for watching! Remember to subscribe so you don't miss the rest of this experiment as well as future gardening videos!
So many fun videos planned for this year, including lots of xeriscapes, meetings with other professionals in the landscape and gardening business as well as lots more tips about gardening in general!

[imCobiwan]

thanks for sharing your knowledge and I am with you on the mission to eradicate the waste of traditional grass lawn. Rock on Sista!

[arabianknight]

Extremely informational video, thanks so much for taking the time to put this together!

[kathybuttsarnold]

Thank you for this! My son encouraged me replace my fescue lawn with clover since the yard will be destroyed by septic work. I’m far away in Zone 7b. My extension service says I may want to reseed the fescue later since clover goes dormant during cold weather, but our winters are so mild, I’m trying it out for a year first. I look forward to seeing the results!

[adlumiafungosum]

Loved your experiment. Can you please let us know briefly how things turned out! I am contemplating a microclover lawn here in 6a Massachusetts, and wonder how your did.

[christinebezanson]

I’m planning to convert my lawn this year. Too much drought in my area and micro clover seems like such an excellent alternative to all the upkeep. After seeing this I’m thinking I’ll hire a landscape company to remove the sod.

[MickeyRBE]

Following owthis the best i can it is September 2 and 109 today... Guess i wait another week!

[amirfardin]

Would like to see how they look like now. Can you post a short update please.

[suzieqsbakery]

Question, I am really interested in doing a small clover lawn but I have dogs. Do I need to keep them off the patch while the seeds germinate? Or will it be ok if the run on it?

[DTCHANNEL]

You are so wonderful, wish you a new day full of joy and happiness.  Always accompany and develop with you like6

[KrystleW]

Wow great info!!!! Thank u for sharing!!!! new sub!!!

[wk]

What low, growing, white clover variety would you recommend for zones 9, 10a ? It can get quite hot in this area, and would like to plant this along a hillside, mostly between oleander, pines and eucalyptus.
Looking forward to your reply.

[Jen-zkse]

Is there an update on how this grew in?

[mmanwell]

Irony. My number one problem is all the grass up here (in the Pacific NW). I have tried to replace grass but I probably need to do more.
Those of us who grew up in Northern California are tuned to aquifer depletion. So...thank you!

[LydJaGillers]

If you really want to save water and also your local environment, the best lawn replacement are native grasses with native wildflowers/groundcovers. The native pollinators prefer those native plants and those native plants have evolved to work in this region best. Still like this video and what it is striving to do with killing the lawn.

[adgs]

Grass is not all the bad. It absorbs carbon from the air as any other plant. I agree that we can transform our lawns into polinator friendly areas in order to help them and the wildlife.

[georgegates]

Between the water, labor, fertilizer, week killer, and gasoline for your grass. Grass lawn worship is garbage.. And expensive. You, lady, are one of the bright ones.

[sonyaweinreis]

Like she said water is expensive and not very good

[TheRoadfarmer]

My yard looks fabulous, and I don't waste any water cause I don't put any water on it. So I guess that means I don't have to change how I want to manage my property just because some liberal wants to tell me what I can or can't do.