Yesterday, I finished converting 100 square feet of lawn into garden space.

It was an expansion of some existing beds at the front of my yard. I converted a bed of the same size on the opposite side of the gravel pathway last week.

The area before:

After sod removal, during amending process:​
​

How long this took

I completed each bed over the course of three days. First, I removed the sod. Next, I amended the area with compost and expanded shale and re-installed the edging. (My father helped me trim down the composite edging. I know how to work a circular saw, but my Pops–a master woodworker–lives two houses down. Soooo, ring ring, “You got a minute, Pops?”)

I almost hired a company to do this entire project for me, but figured that I would be hovering over them the entire time anyway (there are few companies that build beds correctly). So, I did it myself. It only cost me the amendments (roughly $270 per bed) and a few sore muscles. Paying a company to do this would have cost me $3,000 to $5,000 with labor, raw materials upcharges, etc.
​

The sky's the limit

Knowing how to confidently convert lawn into garden can open up so many possibilities for you. Best of all, you’ll get more space to fill with all the seedlings you’ll be starting indoors soon! (Reminder, the indoor seed-starting class starts next week.)

Bed-building class

Just in time for you to build some new beds before spring planting begins, I added a new class to the course library today: “Step-by-Step Building a Garden From Scratch”. I detail my entire process including where I buy my amendments, what tools I used, and what I’m doing with the leftover sod.

In this class I cover:

• Site selection
• Site preparation (including how much compost and shale to use)
• Raised bed considerations
• What to expect year one

Enrolled students have instant access

When you enroll in The Dallas Garden School, you get instant access to this class and dozens of others, and you can also submit questions to me before you break ground on that new bed. Plus, you can join next week’s live class: Indoor Seed-Starting. Go here to join the fun today!

​

​

​

​