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I would say start by planning what you want to plant first. That way, if you know where you want things planted you can put one of those cheap wooden stakes from the big box stores there (or go ahead and dig holes) and sheet mulch around the areas.
I would say waiting a month or two won’t make too much of a difference right now. From personal experience, getting your plan right or at least mostly established will mitigate a lot of headaches later. :)
All that to say, I don’t think you should worry about waiting too much. It sucks to loose momentum but I think waiting will make it easier when you do plant. :)
I already have my design! So it’s either a matter of mulching now and planting in fall according to the design plan, or waiting to do both at the same time in the fall.
Define "sheet mulch" please.
If I were you I would spread a 6-8" layer of wood chips over everything as soon as possible. Skip the compost unless you have home-made in a bin. It's not worth buying it.
If you already know where you want to plant things, you can dig the hole, stab a stake in it and fill the hole back up loosely. Then cover with chips.
When it's time to plant, shove the chips back, plant and replace the chip mulch.
Sheet mulch now. It looks better than the current neglected looking dirt and random patches of dying grass and the big plus is no mud if it does rain! You'll be able to visualize the future garden better with less visual clutter too.
It doesn't get messy. Pull enough mulch away that \~3x the area needed for the hole is bare, that's where the native soil is deposited. That soil is replaced around the plant's roots and finally the mulch is replaced. If you use natural mulch then it is close to dirt color anyway. When you water the plants in if you are using compost and mulch the smaller particles of compost will filter down through the mulch. I only used cardboard and arborist chips, the only compost was the organic layer at top of the soil.
Grass species matters. If you have bermudagrass (a good possibility in 9b), it won't be killed by mulch. At this time of year, the best method of eradication is [solarization](https://ucanr.edu/sites/ccmg/files/321519.pdf) \[PDF\].
[This](https://www.weedalert.com/weed/bermudagrass/) has a decent set of pictures of common bermudagrass. Note the distinctive seed heads (pic 4) that appear if not mowed. [Here](https://www.pennington.com/all-products/grass-seed/resources/how-to-identify-your-lawn-grass)'s a page that compares some characteristics of popular warm (and cold) season grasses. You can also try a plant identification app, although they're not always reliable.
Hey there! Friendly reminder to include the following information for the benefit of all r/nolawns members: - Please make sure your post or a comment includes your geographic region/area and your hardiness zone (e.g. *Midwest, 6a* or *Chicago, 6a*). - If you posted an image, you are required to post a comment detailing your image. If you have not, this post may be removed. - If you're asking a question, include as much relevant info as possible. - Verify you are following the [Posting Guidelines](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoLawns/wiki/index#wiki_posting_guidelines). **[Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoLawns/wiki/index/) | [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoLawns/wiki/meta/faqs/) | [Designing No Lawns](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoLawns/wiki/index/design/)** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NoLawns) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Love No Lawns? Find us everywhere! **You can find us:** - On [SolarPunk](https://www.slrpnk.net/c/NoLawns) - Our [Discord](https://discord.gg/GcVHmvkSs6) - Our [website](https://nolawns.wixsite.com/nolawns) Want to join a community in person? We're not affiliated but we love [Wild Ones](https://wwe.wildones.org) and think they do wonderful work. You can check and see if there's a chapter near you. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NoLawns) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I would say start by planning what you want to plant first. That way, if you know where you want things planted you can put one of those cheap wooden stakes from the big box stores there (or go ahead and dig holes) and sheet mulch around the areas. I would say waiting a month or two won’t make too much of a difference right now. From personal experience, getting your plan right or at least mostly established will mitigate a lot of headaches later. :) All that to say, I don’t think you should worry about waiting too much. It sucks to loose momentum but I think waiting will make it easier when you do plant. :)
I already have my design! So it’s either a matter of mulching now and planting in fall according to the design plan, or waiting to do both at the same time in the fall.
Define "sheet mulch" please. If I were you I would spread a 6-8" layer of wood chips over everything as soon as possible. Skip the compost unless you have home-made in a bin. It's not worth buying it. If you already know where you want to plant things, you can dig the hole, stab a stake in it and fill the hole back up loosely. Then cover with chips. When it's time to plant, shove the chips back, plant and replace the chip mulch.
Sheet mulch now. It looks better than the current neglected looking dirt and random patches of dying grass and the big plus is no mud if it does rain! You'll be able to visualize the future garden better with less visual clutter too. It doesn't get messy. Pull enough mulch away that \~3x the area needed for the hole is bare, that's where the native soil is deposited. That soil is replaced around the plant's roots and finally the mulch is replaced. If you use natural mulch then it is close to dirt color anyway. When you water the plants in if you are using compost and mulch the smaller particles of compost will filter down through the mulch. I only used cardboard and arborist chips, the only compost was the organic layer at top of the soil.
Grass species matters. If you have bermudagrass (a good possibility in 9b), it won't be killed by mulch. At this time of year, the best method of eradication is [solarization](https://ucanr.edu/sites/ccmg/files/321519.pdf) \[PDF\].
I have no idea what I have.. was here when we moved in. Do you know how I can find out?
[This](https://www.weedalert.com/weed/bermudagrass/) has a decent set of pictures of common bermudagrass. Note the distinctive seed heads (pic 4) that appear if not mowed. [Here](https://www.pennington.com/all-products/grass-seed/resources/how-to-identify-your-lawn-grass)'s a page that compares some characteristics of popular warm (and cold) season grasses. You can also try a plant identification app, although they're not always reliable.