The Potrero Hill Eco-Patch: Part 2 of 2

Summer 2021

Read Part 1 Here

Watch our Landscapes of Change video about The Potrero Hill Eco-Patch here.
Preliminary successes and recommendations:
Weed management
Sheet mulching proved to be a highly effective herbicide-free tool for weed management. We would recommend it for anyone wishing to convert a lawn or weedy area to planting. Sheet mulching is a process where you layer compost, cardboard, and wood mulch over the existing ground months in advance of planting. The materials decompose over time, adding organic matter to the soil, and then plants can be planted directly through the mulch into the amended soil. The proportions we used for the Eco-Patch were a half-inch compost layer directly on to the ground, a layer of cardboard with any staples or tape removed, another half-inch of compost, then three inches of wood mulch on top. These quantities were successful for the shrub planting, but the thick layer of wood mulch made planting grass plugs difficult. For grass plugs we recommend using either a thinner layer of wood mulch, removing the mulch before planting, or waiting longer before planting to enable the wood mulch to decompose further.

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