Sheet Mulch Success Stories

In June 2014 the City of Pleasanton replaced a large, seldom used lawn around its administration buildings with an attractive landscape that needs about 90% less irrigation, provides bird and pollinator habitat, and reduces maintenance costs. The renovated landscape, which is planted primarily with California native species, serves as a model for residents who want to learn about lawn alternatives. City staff sheet mulched the lawn in place, using layers of recycled cardboard and local, recycled compost and mulch.

In 2011, Harbor Bay Business Park sheet mulched 2.5 acres of conventional turf medians and updated the planting with summer-dry adapted grasses and perennials. Installing subsurface drip irrigation solved the windy site’s chronic overspray problem, a major source of water waste that also accelerated deterioration of the asphalt. To improve water-holding capacity in the site's sandy soil, the landscape architect specified one inch of compost on top of turf, followed by two layers cardboard, one more inch compost, and finally 2 inches of mulch on top.

In 2015, Casitas Alameda Homeowners' Association, a community of more than 400 homes in Alameda, sheet mulched 25,000 square feet of turf, and replaced that turf with 100% summer-dry adapted plants.  All compost and mulch used was recycled local material--generated from food scr tree trimmings and other clean wood waste.