How to Keep Grass From Growing in the Garden—So Your Plants Can Truly Thrive

Lush, healthy grass is beautiful when it grows where you planted it, but its appearance is less exciting when it pops up uninvited in various places throughout your garden. Beyond aesthetics, grass growing in garden beds can rob desired plants of water and essential nutrients. Fortunately, there are several ways to prevent grass from growing in unwanted areas. Ahead, our experts discuss some helpful ways to keep grass out of garden beds for good. 

Apply Mulch 

Mulch is one of the best defenses gardeners have against grass in the garden, as it blocks sunlight from reaching grass seeds. Apply a 3-inch layer of mulch where you want to prevent grass from growing. "Maintain a fresh mulch layer yearly to discourage grass seed germination," says landscape designer Jan Johnsen. This mulch could be shredded leaves, dried grass, straw, wood chips, and similar organic items.

Hand-Pull Grass

Physically removing the grass by hand-pulling creates immediate visual improvement and relief for the plants. "For small areas, the best approach is pulling out the grass by hand, roots and all," says Johnsen. "Wet down the soil before—this makes it easier to pull out. You can use a weeding tool or hori-hori knife to loosen deep-rooted grasses." For larger areas, she recommends using a spade for grass removal.

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Use a DIY Spray

Many gardeners experiment with DIY weed sprays that use ingredients like vinegar or dish soap. "You can spot-treat persistent grassy weeds with horticultural vinegar," says Johnsen. But take care to only spray the grass, as these targeted herbicides can kill desirable plants, too. 

Choose Your Grass Variety Wisely

Grasses that spread from rhizomes, such as Bermuda grass and Zoysia grass, grow quickly and are more difficult to eradicate than others. "Manual removal or using herbicides may not eradicate all the roots, allowing the grass to keep growing back or popping up several feet away, even months later," says Teresa Watkins, landscape designer and garden author. She advises being stringent with root removal.

Use Border Barriers

Another way to keep tough grasses out of the garden is to use metal edging around the outside of the garden bed, notes Watkins. "Placed 4 inches below the top of the soil will prevent surface stolons from penetrating the garden," she says. "Those roaming rhizomes will halt at the barrier and go no further." 

Add an Edge

Johnsen recommends opting for something even simpler than a border barrier and adding a well-defined edge to your garden area with bricks, rocks, or other materials. "If there is a clear, deep edge, it prevents the grass from encroaching," she says.