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Nan Sterman, an instructor at the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College, who teaches a class called “Bye Bye Grass,” weighed in with some advice for residents who want to tear their lawns out. Don’t take it to the landfill, she said.
Unless you have Bermuda grass, Sterman said residents removing grass should till it under if they’re making a drought-tolerant garden. “Or make a big pile of it and let it break down and it becomes compost,” she said. “It will die and disintegrate and become compost — soil, eventually.”
Bermuda grass is a different story, Sterman said.
It’s hard to kill. It survives anything. If have patience and time, pull it out, start digging, when it sprouts again, dig again. That could take months to years. If you don’t have that much patience, use Round-Up. I often get asked, isn’t there an organic way to do it? I haven’t seen one yet.
Sterman said she uses Round-Up sparingly and does not recommend any other type of herbicide.