How to Remove Lawn Grass Sod or Turf

A few months ago (May), we needed to clear a part of the bermuda lawn close to the wall. This was to provide space for some new plants (see them at the foreground below). The area is a bit substantial and has a width of 10 inches and length of 6 feet.


To cleanly clear out that portion of the lawn, this is what you need to do.

1. Mark off the space that will be removed. Although you could use sticks and strings (carpenter-style) to mark the area, I simply used a machete to mark the porion. See above photo.
   
   
   
   
   
2. It's easier to remove the turf by blocks rather than removing the whole area at one time. Using the machete, cut through the soil deeply around 4 inches. The block length would be around 1.5 feet so it's easy to handle.
   
   
   
3. With a flat garden trowel, lift the turf block from the soil. It is important to insert the trowel under the roots. Do this several inches at a time to loosen the roots from the soil all around the turf block perimeter.
   
   
   
4. Carefully pry off the turf block.
   
   
   
   
   
   Lift the turf block using a spade or with your hands.
   
   
   
5. Do the same for the rest of the marked off area, one block at a time.