Replacing Grass with a Herbal Alternative
Answered by: Inge Poot
Question from; Julie Bensch

I would like to replace my ugly urban grass (which has many weeds in it) with something much more interesting. I was considering thyme as an alternative. Is wild thyme agressive enough to take over the grass? How long might this take and which is the best method to do so? I was hoping I could just sprinkle seeds in the spring as the area is not a great size.

Wild thyme would make a lovely replacement lawn (and you could use the clippings for cooking!), but you would have to kill the grass first before sowing the seeds to give the chosen plant a chance against the aggressive grasses. You can either rototill or spade over the area several times in the spring, before you plant the seed. To have less problems with weeds in your new herblawn, you might wish to grow your plants in a small propagation area and wait with transplanting until the grass is good and dead and the new seedlings are a good size. Plant the seedlings on 10 centimeter centers, mulch with some weed free straw and keep well watered. In a year the new "lawn" will be nice and thick and fragrant!

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