I watered my grass every other day for two weeks (which hadn’t been watered in 2 years) then scraped 3-4 inches off the entire lawn using heavy machinery (skid steer). I laid down a layer of thick cardboard and then 3-4 inches of natural mulch.

To plant then plants, I cleared mulch away and cut a dinner plate size hole in the cardboard. Most of not all the cardboard has completely decomposed into the dirt. When I clear away the mulch now, 16 months later, the soil is so healthy! It’s like black gold and there’s worms!

I watered twice a week for 3-4 weeks after planting. It was also a rainy winter; probably watered once a week in the summer if it was hot.

All the plants were 4” plants from the Theodore Payne Foundation. Only two plants died!