Lawn Liberation is one way to help make your home a place of production rather than consumption and uses ideas from the permaculture design principles. This presentation shows how sheet mulching can be used to transform an unproductive lawn into a bountiful fruit and vegetable garden in Aotearoa New Zealand.

1. Lawn Liberation
… one way to help
make your home
a place of
production
rather than
consumption
Some ideas inspired by permaculture design
shared by Vanessa Witt

2. Why liberate your lawn?

3. • Grass lawns take considerable time and
energy to maintain – what do they give us in
return?
• Access ways
• Recreation areas
• Aesthetic value
• How much lawn do we need to meet these
needs?
• Could some areas be used to obtain a more
valuable yield for us, e.g. food?

5. • Soil, water flows, energy flows and
people flows were all observed and
considered in the design.
The front lawn – before
liberation.

6. In the
beginning …
Trial patch of
sheet-mulching
New fence
kept low
enough for
people to
interact.

7. • Water is caught in sunken paths (swales)
and stored in the soil.
• Rainwater is harvested from the roof.
• Heat is stored in rocks.
• The sun's energy is being stored in the
food.
Digging out the paths/swales.

8. Making sure the water
flows away from the
driveway.

9. • We're growing food rather than
lawns.
• We are making new connections
with people in our local community.
We made sure it was visible!
Many people stopped to look
and talk about what was
happening.

10. • The garden is seen as an on-going
experiment that is constantly being
observed, discussed and adjusted as
required.
Looking at the soil profile when
we start – not far down before
reaching the hard layer.
It will be interesting to compare
after a year!

11. • Free/inexpensive local resources were
used for creating the raised beds – e.g.
boxes from local shops, barley straw,
sheep dags/manure from local farms.
• Ducks control pests and add
fertiliser.
• And we now use
chickens to remove
barley seeds and add
manure to the straw
before using it …

12. Yum!
Love this
barley!

13. • A productive food garden reduces human
energy and fuel wasted on lawns.
• Energy is not wasted transporting food over
long distances when it is grown at home.
• Garden surpluses are preserved or shared / swapped
with others, fed to animals (goats, chooks, or worms) or
composted for return to the garden.
Waste paper and cardboard was used for
mulching.
Friends came to help with the job, and will
be able to share future harvests too.

14. • The large curving paths were planned
first, with smaller paths and stepping
stones added later.
• Placement of larger trees and shrubs
within beds was decided before details.
The garden is taking shape.
Earthworks are done and it is
ready for sheet mulching.

15. Mulching in
progress.

16. • The garden is both functional and
attractive.
• Crushed limestone on paths gives slowrelease calcium and a sturdy surface.
• Plant needs are supported through companion planting.
• A low fence encourages people passing by to interact.
The fence was kept low along the
front edge with the footpath.

17. Everyone was on the job helping.

18. • While liberating the whole front lawn
may seem like a major undertaking to
some, the idea of families growing more
of their own food is a small and slow
solution to the big global problem of
unhealthy, unsafe and unethical
industrial food production.
Everyone can do it!
Showing a group of friends
around – sharing the ideas.

19. • Many types of plants are grown,
especially compared to a lawn.
• Food and habitats are provided to
encourage a diversity of insects and
animals.
• Diversity = resilience!

20. • Internal paths are designed to maximise
edges for ease of access.
• The food garden also fronts on to a
busy footpath, just over the road from a
high school.

21. • The lawn liberation is part of a creative
response to life changes (e.g.
retirement) when there is more time
available to garden and less money
available to buy food.

22. Liberated! 

23.  And the ducks love it too …

24. If you don’t want to liberate your whole lawn,
just start with the edges …

25. The magic of sheet mulching!
(Also called ‘no dig’ or ‘lasagne’ gardening)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Improves and protects existing soil.
Builds new soil.
Reduces weeding.
Reduces watering.
Recycles waste products.
Grows great vegetables.
Makes you feel great! 

26. How I like to mulch it …
• I prefer to build up the sheet mulching using many thin layers.
• Alternate green (nitrogen rich) and brown (carbon rich) layers.
• Use what you have available, e.g. waste paper/cardboard, lawn clippings,
leafy weeds, fallen leaves, manure, etc. – it shouldn’t be expensive.
• Diversity is good, so use a range of materials if possible.

27. Let’s liberate some lawns! 