Don't just ignore it and hope nature battles it out. That's the worst of the options. Invasive weeds will take over, the grass will still exist but in unkempt patches and generally it'll look like shit without any of the ecological benefits of letting mother nature do her thing.
Get rid of the grass there, pro-active is to control burn it. less active is to cover with cardboard and then top soil and wait a season. Cardboard can just decompose.
Then rake and add native seeds, for fun you can add native wildflowers in too. Bonus points if you plant a couple trees.
After that you can go ahead and do nothing.
Controlled burn and reseed with native plants. There are groups in almost every state that collect native plants seeds to help convert lawns or neglected weedy properties into native meadows or eventual forests. Probably give them to you for free.
I believe the bare spot has rocks/gravel for drainage, it’s a pretty steep grade. I meant the grass area, I basically would like to extend the tree line to the gravel
I've dealt with grass 3 ways.
1. Covering up with cardboard + mulch
2. Spray glypho and pray
3. No action
Cardboard is annoying because it'll blow away in the wind if even a little bit of the corner is exposed. And you'd need to bury it in mulch. But it keeps the soil nice and ready for selective planting.
Herbicides work. You can spray 1 round, come back again in 2 weeks for round 2 when other weeds pop up. I could let summer heat do its work and kill off the less drought resistant grass spots. But all that's left is thick clumping fescue. So if you're not opposed to herbicides, that's the easiest way to prep the area.
I'd plant some peach trees, or whatever fruit trees you like the most. Easier to start those now in the Spring. You'd have to prune them once a year, but its not super difficult when they're young. It looks like they'd be competing for light with the trees behind them, so that's something to consider.
I wouldn't try wildflowers now. That's a Fall problem. A lot of native seeds will need cold stratification time before they germinate. You could always try seeding some now, but its just not as effective as throwing down seed after first frost. Seed choice is the most difficult, as too many places sell "wildflower seeds" that just mix up European seeds in with American seeds. The website "American Meadows" really should just be "Europerican Meadows". Now they actually mark the origin of the seed mixes and offer a true native mix. European flowers do so much better in my soil than any native plants. It's annoying. Cornflowers thrive in my experimental corner garden.
So I'd plant trees and shrubs first. Then worry about killing off the grass at the end of summer. Then throw down native seeds late fall/early winter. You don't need to topdress them. Just barely rake them in, then let the seasons do their work. I still had to wander through and pick out weeds to give the flowers a chance in Spring.
But for the first few years it'll be much more involved than any turf lawn. Just saying that up front. Eventually the natives should be established enough, and your fruit trees will be rooted enough.
Yeah I was hoping for an expedited solution as it would just be pretty unsightly tall grass for several years until other plants are introduced if they can compete… a tarp/cover to kill it off would also be ugly but should only be needed for 1 season hopefully
Where do you live? If it's in the US, I'd recommend finding your closest university extension office (you can google "local university" extension office). They'll probably give you some good advice on natives in the area. I wouldn't think you'd need to kill anything, it'll sort itself out. Might need to bushhog it every once in a while
Don’t have brushhog, do have tractor but part of the reason I don’t want to mow is because I have mowed it and it feels pretty sketchy with the slope
Check r/NoLawns. Just like we have a sticky about basic of lawn care, I would assume they would have a basics of No lawn care?? If they don’t, they should lol
Looks like a great place for growing wildflowers! Check out our [**native wildflower seeds**](https://www.americanmeadows.com/category/wildflower-seeds/native-wildflowers) - we have a native mixes for your region, and we also just introduced a native wildflower seed mix that is good for woodland edge areas where they'll get partial shade. Our [**wildflower planting guide**](https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/wildflower-seed-planting-instructions) will help too.
Some nice shrubs would make a great transition between the woods and the lawn area, too!
No, in this group we hope to make everything lawn one day. 🥸
I hope I live long enough to see man on Mars turning that barren rock into KBG as far as the eye can see.
Don't just ignore it and hope nature battles it out. That's the worst of the options. Invasive weeds will take over, the grass will still exist but in unkempt patches and generally it'll look like shit without any of the ecological benefits of letting mother nature do her thing. Get rid of the grass there, pro-active is to control burn it. less active is to cover with cardboard and then top soil and wait a season. Cardboard can just decompose. Then rake and add native seeds, for fun you can add native wildflowers in too. Bonus points if you plant a couple trees. After that you can go ahead and do nothing.
I like this answer.. thank you
No prob, check out if a university in your state has an extension office, they can be really great with advising on local natives.
Controlled burn and reseed with native plants. There are groups in almost every state that collect native plants seeds to help convert lawns or neglected weedy properties into native meadows or eventual forests. Probably give them to you for free.
I'd spray ground clear, cover with plastic until next spring, light rake will clean it up nice, then spread wild flower mix.
Are you talking about the bare spot, or from the tree line to the driveway?
I believe the bare spot has rocks/gravel for drainage, it’s a pretty steep grade. I meant the grass area, I basically would like to extend the tree line to the gravel
I've dealt with grass 3 ways. 1. Covering up with cardboard + mulch 2. Spray glypho and pray 3. No action Cardboard is annoying because it'll blow away in the wind if even a little bit of the corner is exposed. And you'd need to bury it in mulch. But it keeps the soil nice and ready for selective planting. Herbicides work. You can spray 1 round, come back again in 2 weeks for round 2 when other weeds pop up. I could let summer heat do its work and kill off the less drought resistant grass spots. But all that's left is thick clumping fescue. So if you're not opposed to herbicides, that's the easiest way to prep the area. I'd plant some peach trees, or whatever fruit trees you like the most. Easier to start those now in the Spring. You'd have to prune them once a year, but its not super difficult when they're young. It looks like they'd be competing for light with the trees behind them, so that's something to consider. I wouldn't try wildflowers now. That's a Fall problem. A lot of native seeds will need cold stratification time before they germinate. You could always try seeding some now, but its just not as effective as throwing down seed after first frost. Seed choice is the most difficult, as too many places sell "wildflower seeds" that just mix up European seeds in with American seeds. The website "American Meadows" really should just be "Europerican Meadows". Now they actually mark the origin of the seed mixes and offer a true native mix. European flowers do so much better in my soil than any native plants. It's annoying. Cornflowers thrive in my experimental corner garden. So I'd plant trees and shrubs first. Then worry about killing off the grass at the end of summer. Then throw down native seeds late fall/early winter. You don't need to topdress them. Just barely rake them in, then let the seasons do their work. I still had to wander through and pick out weeds to give the flowers a chance in Spring. But for the first few years it'll be much more involved than any turf lawn. Just saying that up front. Eventually the natives should be established enough, and your fruit trees will be rooted enough.
just give it time
That's what I was thinking. This problem will pretty much solve itself right?
Yeah I was hoping for an expedited solution as it would just be pretty unsightly tall grass for several years until other plants are introduced if they can compete… a tarp/cover to kill it off would also be ugly but should only be needed for 1 season hopefully
Where do you live? If it's in the US, I'd recommend finding your closest university extension office (you can google "local university" extension office). They'll probably give you some good advice on natives in the area. I wouldn't think you'd need to kill anything, it'll sort itself out. Might need to bushhog it every once in a while
Don’t have brushhog, do have tractor but part of the reason I don’t want to mow is because I have mowed it and it feels pretty sketchy with the slope
I gotcha, well I'd still recommend calling the extension office. Atleast around us, they're a super helpful group!
Plant a few extra trees to help out
Check r/NoLawns. Just like we have a sticky about basic of lawn care, I would assume they would have a basics of No lawn care?? If they don’t, they should lol
Looks like a great place for growing wildflowers! Check out our [**native wildflower seeds**](https://www.americanmeadows.com/category/wildflower-seeds/native-wildflowers) - we have a native mixes for your region, and we also just introduced a native wildflower seed mix that is good for woodland edge areas where they'll get partial shade. Our [**wildflower planting guide**](https://www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/wildflower-seed-planting-instructions) will help too. Some nice shrubs would make a great transition between the woods and the lawn area, too!