Discover The Trio Of Viral Lawn And Garden Hacks Sweeping the Nation
Lawns can be a fickle mistress. So many neighborhoods and homeowner associations have incredibly specific rules about them but that doesn't mean nature is ever willing to listen to them. There's only so much anyone can do to keep them from getting too dry, too long, or full of weeds.
However, that hasn't stopped people from finding some inventive solutions to beautifying their lawns. In particular, three of them have proved so effective that they've taken the internet by storm. They almost seemed like magic!
A lawn that did not survive the summer
Although this is not Reddit user stefeyboy's lawn, the way they described it mirrored the conditions of this one. As they wrote, "The grass was pretty much dead from summer heat." That was perhaps the biggest sign that it was time for a change.
While some people may have resodded the lawn and tried again, stefeyboy figured that their lawn would be a lot better if it was more in tune with the natural world. Believe it or not, that's not really true of traditional lawns.
A growing movement that dethrones typical grass
In recent years, an increasing number of people are intentionally breaking the rules of keeping lawns free of everything but grass. Indeed, many of them aren't even interested in the grass itself, but a cover of clover and other native plants to their regions.
This anti-lawn movement is all about water conversation and biodiversity, which are often sacrificed in the name of maintaining neat, uniform lawns in various neighborhoods. Not only are they better for the environment, but they're more low-maintenance.
A big idea that's sure to turn heads
However, what brought attention to stefeyboy's project here wasn't the goal it was working towards but the way the uploader went about it. As this photo demonstrates, they covered their entire lawn in wood chips and only left space for the saplings they wanted to keep growing.
In addition to blanketing the lawn, these chips also buried it fairly deep, as there was about four to five inches of cover throughout the whole lawn. Over the course of four years, stefeyboy laid down their chips twice.
Where did they even get all of them?
Naturally, this unorthodox and eye-catching approach left commenters with a few questions. Most immediately, people had to know how stefeyboy managed to get so many wood chips together not once but twice.
The answer was that the uploader was in touch with a tree removal company and happened to inquire about some spare wood chips at the perfect time. As they explained, "Both times I got a chip drop, I just saw the truck in my neighborhood and just asked if they could drop their load off in my driveway."
They didn't have to get rid of any chaff
It wasn't just the truck's appearance that made this so fortuitous. Stefeyboy also happened to ask for their wood chips right after the company fulfilled the exact jobs they needed for the right materials. That's why there were only wood chips and no stray debris strewn across their lawn.
As the uploader explained, "They were taking down a dead/dying tree both times, so I knew I wouldn't be getting as many branches/leaves as someone who was just trimming up their yard."
They were in a lucky environment for this bold experiment
Once this logistical matter was settled, people wondered how stefeyboy was able to avoid the wrath of both a homeowner's association and their neighbors. The first question was easy enough to resolve, as they mentioned that their neighborhood wasn't run by a homeowner's association.
As for the neighbors, the uploader simply stated that they haven't really heard many complaints from any of them. Either they understand what stefeyboy is doing, are quietly stewing about it, or are among the rare breed of neighbors who know how to mind their own business.
A common step that stefeyboy didn't take
When the wood chips are laid down, they're left to naturally break down along with the dead grass, which returns valuable nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous, calcium, and magnesium to the soil. This not only clears away the dead clutter but makes the soil ready for all the replacement plants.
However, those who use similar techniques are known to lay down a layer of cardboard first, as this is a wood-derived material that smothers any existing grass before the wood chips are added. As stefeyboy said, "I didn't lay down cardboard and didn't regret it until year 3."
Grass isn't as easy to get rid of as it may seem
Since stefeyboy's lawn was all but fried by the time they started laying their wood chips down, they likely figured the cardboard step would be unnecessary. However, this assumption ended up forming the basis for their answer when someone asked them what happened three years after the started this project.
As it turned out, the grass seed they buried under the wood chips had more life in them than expected. As they explained, "The grass started to come back up through the mulch with a vengeance because the soil was so much more aerated and moist."
Nonetheless, mission accomplished
Regardless of the troubles they had with leftover grass seed, stefeyboy's wood chips strategy otherwise worked like a charm. Once the four years were up, their lawn turned into a lush, green collection of local plants and pollinator-friendly blossoms like the sunflowers shown here.
Not only has the lawn itself completed a major transformation, but the sycamore sapling that once stood out among the wood chips can't even be captured in this photo. That's because it's thrived enough to grow beyond camera range.
Not everyone understood the vision
Ultimately, those wood chips helped stefeyboy accomplish everything they set out to achieve. They don't have to worry about watering their lawn, and they have incontrovertible proof that the local insects love it. That proof came in the form of some surprise visitors.
As they said, "I've had pesticide people come to the door offering to spray. Had to tell them I did this BECAUSE I want the bugs. He had the most confused look, like it was a foreign concept." Although the anti-lawn movement may be gaining ground, that confused reaction shows it's still not quite mainstream.
Another method that improves a little on the technique
Although stefeyboy was ultimately happy with how their lawn turned out, the incursion of the grass seed they were trying to get rid of proved annoying enough for them to mention it as a regrettable setback. Fortunately, there's a way to prevent that from happening.
As they mentioned and as a TikTok user named Brandon Gentry demonstrated, all it takes is a layer of common cardboard and a spare hour to make this process go so much more smoothly. Observe!
An important step to make this work
Although Gentry didn't explain every step of how he made this work in detail, there were some clear steps to his process. For one thing, he overlapped the cardboard to ensure there were no gaps between the sheets for any tenacious grasses to grow through.
He also hosed the sheets down to ensure enough moisture to speed up their eventual decomposition. Beforehand, he also cut the cardboard to fit the shape of his garden, and precision was key during this step.
Dealing with the wind in between steps
Of course, not every environment in which someone attempts this project will be completely idyllic. Indeed, those who try this can generally expect the wind to try and blow their cardboard sheets away. To deal with this, one has to jump ahead a little in the process.
That's because this garden transformation requires enough potting soil to cover the desired area. However, that potting soil should stay in the bag while the cardboard is being set up since the bags can weigh the sheets down.
At last, it's time to open the bags
As Gentry demonstrated, each of the soil bags can be opened where they are once the cardboard stage is complete. After he emptied the bags until they left rich mounds of soil on the sheets, he spread them around until they covered the desired area.
Although this can be done with a rake if needed, Gentry was content just to use his gloved hands. However it's done, the soil should cover the garden in an even layer measuring a few inches thick.
Don't worry about the cardboard beyond this point
Although this is a relatively quick and easy hack to transforming a garden, some worried that it only appeared that way during the first application. That's why one woman asked if the cardboard can be left here from then on.
As she saw it, it's not saving a lot of time if the sheets have to be replaced each year. Fortunately, Gentry said that at no point during his tending of his garden after this process did he have to add more cardboard. There is one step later on that does need additional attention, though.
Then comes the next layer
After Gentry spread the potting soil out into the thick, even layer, it was time to add the mulch. In his case, the mulch was a thick, black layer that sat atop his soil. It's worth remembering that keeping the mulch away from the home is a good way of decreasing the risk of termites.
Much like with the soil, there should be enough mulch to cover the whole area in an even layer. This is also where that rejuvenating step that was mentioned earlier comes in.
This part is going to require a rake
Although there's nothing wrong with using a rake to spread the potting soil, it's a much more valuable tool when it's time to spread the mulch. Without the rake, it's much harder to get an even layer of mulch than it is with it.
Once that mulch is spread and all three layers are complete, this garden-to-be is all ready for planting. Depending on the size of the desired area, the whole process should take between 30 minutes and an hour.
This is where the rejuvenating step comes in
As mentioned before, neither the cardboard nor the soil should need to be adjusted once this process is complete. Instead, the cardboard should decompose into the soil within a year, but likely before that time elapses.
The only upkeep that Gentry noted here was that the mulch needs to be periodically refreshed. Aside from that, the soil should now be rich enough to sustain whatever new plants a gardener has in mind. However, some weren't willing to believe that Gentry's "no dig" method is as easy as it looks.
Doubling down on the technique
One of the most prevalent concerns was that Gentry was inviting a mold problem by burying a layer of wet cardboard under all that soil and mulch. Once he heard enough of them, his response was perhaps a little petty.
Not content with using the "no dig" method on his flowerbed, Gentry did it again on the walkway in his front yard. As this shot from much later shows, the decomposition and plant growth worked as intended with minimal weeds.
Long-lasting success
As for the main flowerbed, refreshing the mulch and maintaining the plants he grew in it seemed to keep the plot healthy. At the very least, there weren't any mold incidents or weed and grass outbreaks, as some of Gentry's commenters had expected.
Four years after he laid the cardboard down, this is what his flowerbed looks like. The only things growing here are the plants he wanted to. Whenever anything else did sprout up, he considered it easy to remove.
Sometimes, the nuclear option isn't necessary
Although both of the hacks discussed here are fairly quick and easy ways to transform one's entire lawn or garden, it's also true that the job isn't always that big. Sometimes, only part of the lawn is the problem.
Indeed, it's not uncommon for otherwise healthy lawns to have some brown patches. According to the Royal Horticultural Society, anything from drought to blunt trauma to fungal infections to an overabundance of pesticides or fertilizer can be responsible for those patches.
The key to fixing things isn't what anyone would expect
As Tiktok user jasondub demonstrated, it turns out that these patches aren't so tough to get rid of. In fact, one of the main ingredients is as common as it gets. And yes, it's exactly what it looks like.
It's worth noting that Jason never claimed to be the inventor of this unorthodox toilet paper technique. As it turns out, his video was part of a trend that has circulated the platform for a while. Although some Tiktok trends are deeply ill-advised, this is one of the better ones.
All of the ingredients are easy to come by
The toilet paper is one of just three parts of the simple yet effective mixture at the heart of this viral technique. Although a whole roll is needed to make the project work, it's worth it to deal with a persistent lawn issue.
There are three ingredients in total, as the toilet paper roll is then submerged into a bucket of water. Once again, this mixture mostly consists of ingredients that most households are likely to have on hand anyway.
The final piece of the mixture
Naturally, water and toilet paper aren't going to do much on their own, which is why the last part of the mixture Jason added was grass seed. When put together with the other components, this grass seed gives the mixture its goopy texture that makes it look like Nickelodeon Gak.
However weird this looks, this goopy consistency is the sign that the mixture was blended properly. Right after it looked like this, Jason started spreading it over the burnt-out patches on his lawn. Yet, he didn't stop there.
Some additional supplements are required
Although the main mixture in this lawn hack consists of three simple ingredients, a few other additions are needed before it can work on the lawn effectively. As Jason demonstrated, the first of these supplements was some compost.
After he dumped the compost over the green goo, he used a rake to make sure the new addition was spread evenly. However, there was still one more component that Jason needed to add before his lawn was truly ready to be rejuvenated.
Once this is added, it's almost ready to go
As helpful as the toilet paper and grass seed mixture is when blended with the compost, there's still one more product needed to make this project work. As Jason showed, the last thing he needed to add was a growth booster like this.
However, this is where the full ingredient list truly ends. It's also easier to apply than the compost was because all Jason appeared to do was spray it over the areas where he dropped the green goo.
After that, it just needs a lot of hydration
Although this combination of supplements can give the brown patches on a lawn a great head start to recovery, sprinkling it all on the lawn isn't the end of the journey. No matter how evenly and carefully all of these materials are spread, the lawn still needs hydration.
And considering how dead those patches in Jason's lawn looked at first, it needed a lot of it. That's why he was sure to turn the sprinkler on the relevant areas every day. However, it's worth noting that he didn't need to do it for long.
This is how it was at the beginning
Although previous shots from Jason's yard showed some clear browning where he first applied the mixture, it was hard to get a sense of how dire the condition of his lawn was until he zoomed out like this.
Considering how much more brown than green existed on his lawn, nobody would have blamed him for using one of the other techniques discussed here and transforming it entirely. However, it turns out that his way may be even more efficient than the others.
Unbelievably rapid improvement
Although the other tactics can take months or even years to work effectively, Jason's lawn went from nearly barren to fairly healthy in just one week. Although it's clear from this picture that there's still a way to go, the progress in such a short time was staggering.
This speaks a lot to the effectiveness of the combination of the toilet paper mixture, the compost, and the growth booster. Moreover, it's also easier to stomach the cost of watering every day when it's clear that this only needs to happen for a week.
A shocked but mixed reception
For the most part, commenters were stunned by how lush so much of Jason's lawn had become so quickly. That was an especially strong feeling in light of how dry and nearly dead it all looked when he started.
However, others had quibbles with his choice of annual ryegrass and believed that the same effect could be achieved by using hydroseed. Still, the technique Jason tried — as well as the others explored here — provide a range of options that depend on what people have with them.