Advice for killing grass on a large lawn

[Janeth paige]

I'm a new gardener working on a large project, it is over 3,000 square feet of lawn that I want to replace with native flowers and groundcovers. Cardboard and mulch seem effective, but way too expensive for this size. Since I have time and energy, I'm thinking of manually removing the top layer of grass (about 1–3 inches) and returning the soil on top. Would this method damage my soil long-term, or is it a good approach?

 

[SirNobody65]

Manually removing the top few inches of sod and returning the soil can work fine and wont harm your soil longterm, especially if you add organic matter back in to restore nutrients. Its definitely labor-intensive, but since you have the time and energy, it's a good low-cost way to clear the lawn and prep the space for your native plantings.