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We've got a situation where there is beach grass growing up to and into a formal lawn. The problem isn't so much the grass popping up into the lawn, it's that the beach grass is getting nutrients and water from the lawn and growing too thick at the boundary. It needs to be edited regularly. We'd like to limit what it can get from the lawn by limiting it's ability to run to where the good stuff is.

The lawn is organically managed with no or very little soluble nitrogen and infrequent waterings.

That Idiot
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  • ...and how close is the ocean at present? My gut reaction given beach erosion and efforts to re-eastablish dune-grass in areas that it's been depleted is the cede some lawn to the buffer zone, but that's sight unseen, of course. – Ecnerwal Aug 07 '15 at 02:34
  • That would be my tendency as well. But aside from this large lawn, the rest of the property (much larger) has been planted in bayberry, cedars, baccharis, and beach grass - so I don't feel too bad about defending the permitted lawn edge. – That Idiot Aug 07 '15 at 09:32

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First thing to do is investigate! Weak lawn grass may send roots down a few inches. Beach grass might go down a foot or only spread by horizontal rhizomes.

  • determine how deep you need to go
  • I recommend EPDM 45 mil pond liner or similar product available from many hardware and home building stores. You might think it's a little pricey but it is
    • UV stabilized
    • environmentally neutral
    • stops roots, shoots and leaves
    • can be cut with a pair of scissors
  • installation is dig a slit trench and lay the liner in vertically
  • backfill so only the top of the liner is visible
  • when you have two sections just overlap them.

This has worked great for me to stop creeping weeds and cedar roots

kevinskio
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