This year, in 2026, the sod from participating front lawns will be cut and removed. After this process is complete, there are two options for what the next steps are:
- The first option is to seed annual clover as a cover crop on the land. We selected annual clover (rather than perennial) to prevent the clover from returning the next year in the vegetable garden. This clover would require regular watering for several weeks - a task for the homeowners. A cover crop is important to protect the soil from drying out through wind or water erosion. It also protects the delicate system of microorganisms living in the soil. Additionally, having a plant living in the soil will limit the available space for weeds to grow. A garden with lots of microorganisms and limited weeds is a healthy garden! The clover will return nitrogen to the soil, an essential component for plant growth, and returns organic matter back to the soil by composting. While the homeowners would be watering the clover as it grows, FYRE staff would mow it for them to keep the lawn looking tidy. In the second year, the soil would be rototilled, again bringing the organic plant matter from the clover into the soil, and then plant vegetables from seed and transplants.
- The second option for the first year of a transformed front yard is layering the earth with compost and then placing a thick layer of wood chips on top. This will, similar to the cover crop, protect the soil from drying out, wind or water erosion, and protect the microbiome living within the soil. In the second year, FYRE staff would rake wood chips off of the soil, rototill, and then lay wood chips back down onto the paths. The reason that wood chips cannot be left in the garden is that when they decompose, they draw nitrogen out of the soil, which leaves less nitrogen for the desirable vegetable plants.