DIY: Transforming My Front Yard From Grass to a Vegetable Garden

A few years ago, when we moved into our new house, the yard was just a plain lawn full of grass. At first, I didn't think much of it, but my wife had a vision to transform it into a beautiful garden. This transformation would bring a couple of benefits:

• First, we wouldn't have to mow the lawn anymore, which saves us time and effort
• Secondly, by turning the lawn into a vegetable garden, not only would it look better, but we’d also get to enjoy the produce it provides.

So, we took on the challenge and started the makeover of our front yard.

In this guide, I'll walk you through all the steps we took to transform our yard into a vegetable garden, enabling you to harvest fresh produce and bring it to your table.

This guide contains 7 main steps:

1. Build A Fence
2. Remove The Sod
3. Build Garden Beds
4. Fill The Soil & Mulch
5. Plant The Vegetables
6. Install The Irrigation System
7. Harvest!

For each step, I’ll provide a high-level overview. The additional resources are below if you like to replicate what we did.

• Making fence, fence gate, removing grass to become garden (*.html file. Download first, then open with a browser)

We started by building a fence. A fence serves multiple functions: it provides privacy when we spend time in the garden. It looks more appealing from the curbside. It also offers some protection from the wild animals.

To build the fence, I first mapped out the area where we wanted it to be. Then, I began digging holes for the posts. We needed to dig 19 holes, each at least 18 inches deep and 10 inch wide, which was quite a challenging task. I used several tools for this, including:

• an auger
• a shovel
• a pry bar

Once the holes were ready, I bought concrete mix and 4x4 treated lumber to start installing the posts. This was probably the most difficult part of building the fence as it required a lot of effort and time.

With the posts securely in place, building the rest of the structure was relatively easy. I cut the 2x4 lumber to the desired length, which serves as the rails, and then attached them to the posts. Next, I cut the cedar board to the desired shape and size to serve as the picket. Once the fence was built, the yard immediately looked different. I also installed solar lights on all the posts, so at night, they light up and create a beautiful ambiance. Lastly, we also stained the fence to provide a layer of protection and give it a more attractive texture and color.

One of the first and most important steps in transforming our lawn into a garden was removing the sod. Some might wonder why this step is necessary. Removing the sod has several key benefits:

• Firstly, it eliminates the grass and its root system, which can compete with our new plants for water and nutrients.
• Secondly, by removing the sod, we create a clean slate for our garden. This allows us to properly prepare the soil by adding compost or other organic matter, which can significantly improve soil health and fertility.

We went to the local hardware store and rented a sod cutter. The sod cutter sliced the top layer of grass like icing off a cake. We then manually rolled the sod like carpet and moved it to our backyard to serve as compost.

After removing the grass, the next step was to build some garden beds.

Raised garden beds help improve soil drainage, which is essential for plant health. Additionally, they allow for better control over soil quality. You can fill the beds with a customized mix of soil and compost, providing optimal nutrients for your plants.

Secondly, raised beds make gardening more accessible. They reduce the need for bending and kneeling, making it easier to plant, weed, and harvest.

To build the garden beds, we purchased some 2x10 lumber and framed them to form rectangular shapes. While these boards may deteriorate after a few years, we chose them for their affordability and the ease of working with them compared to other materials. We found that the 2x10 lumber provided sufficient depth for most vegetable roots, ensuring healthy growth.

Once the beds were built, we began filling them with a mix of soil, compost, and other organic matter. We carefully layered the soil and compost to ensure that the beds had a rich, fertile base for planting. This mixture provided the essential nutrients needed for our plants to thrive and promoted good drainage.

The next step was to fill the garden with soil and mulch. Following recommendations from various resources, we used a combination of three layers after removing the sod: cardboard at the bottom, soil and compost in the middle, and mulch on top. The cardboard acts as a barrier to prevent weeds from growing, the soil and compost provide essential nutrients, and the mulch retains moisture while suppressing weeds by blocking sunlight. Additionally, as the mulch breaks down over time, it adds organic matter back into the soil, further enriching it.

We ordered a few yards of soil and mulch and had them delivered to our driveway. The kids loved it. Watching the soil being piled up like a mountain on our driveway, they immediately jumped onto it and started playing. It was a great way to involve them in the gardening process and make it a fun family activity.

This was probably my wife’s favorite step. She visited the nursery to pick out a variety of plants, vegetables, flowers, and seeds. The kids were enthusiastic helpers, eagerly anticipating the day they’d see the plants grow.

We planted a range of vegetables in the garden beds, including:

• Zucchini
• Cucumber
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Snow pea
• Sweet pea
• Raspberry
• Apple
• Pear
• Blueberry

We also planted many different kinds of flowers. The bees and birds love them, and in the summertime, the lavender is surrounded by bumblebees busily pollinating the flowers.

Selecting and planting the vegetables was an exciting process. We carefully chose varieties that would thrive in our climate and provide a continuous harvest throughout the growing season. The kids loved getting their hands dirty, planting seeds, and setting seedlings into the soil. Each plant was spaced appropriately to ensure it had enough room to grow and receive adequate sunlight.

Building a drip line irrigation system is a great way to efficiently water out garden. It delivers water directly to the roots of our plants, minimizing waste and ensuring that each plant gets the right amount of moisture

To install the drip line irrigation system:

1. First, we started by purchasing all the necessary materials, including the main tubing, branch tubing, drip lines, stakes to secure the tubing, and the connectors.
2. Second, we laid out the mainline tubing along the garden beds and the areas where we wanted to install the irrigation. The tubing will carry water from the faucet to the different parts of the garden.
3. Third, we connected and secured the dripline to the branch tubing and the branch tubing to the main tubing. We also installed a watering timer to automatically water the garden twice a day.

After setting up the system, we tested it and made any necessary adjustments to ensure everything was working correctly.

With some fine-tuning, the system works like a charm, efficiently providing water to our garden and helping our plants thrive.

Harvesting is one of the most rewarding parts of our garden transformation. It’s the culmination of all the hard work and care we’ve put into our garden, and it’s incredibly satisfying to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

One of the joys of harvesting is the connection it creates with the seasons and the natural growth cycle of our plants. We carefully monitor the ripening process, picking vegetables at their peak for the best taste and nutritional value. There’s nothing quite like the taste of a freshly picked cucumber or the sweet, sun-warmed berries straight from the bush.

Harvesting not only gives us a chance to enjoy the results of our gardening efforts but also allows us to assess how well our plants have grown and adjust our gardening practices for future seasons. We keep notes on which varieties thrived, which struggled, and any pests or diseases we encountered. This information helps us make better choices and improvements in the next planting season.

Thank you for joining me on this guide. I hope our garden inspires you to create your own green haven, whether it’s for growing food, enjoying flowers, or simply finding a quiet spot to relax.