Carrot Aioli: it’s better than grass
Nearly 2% of the land in the lower 48 states is lawn. In most populated areas the percentage is even higher. It’s fair to say that most of us have too much lawn and not enough garden. Especially this time of year, when you keep getting ambushed by little plants at the farmers market. You bring them home and have nowhere to put them.
If you are lucky enough to have some lawn at your disposal, chances are you may have turned it over in your mind. Sure, it’s nice to frolic on freshly-mowed grass once in a while, or whack around a croquet ball, but it would also be nice to have space for more tomatoes.
Lawn conversion can be a grueling project. Or it can be as relaxing as a cup of tea. I choose the path of least resistance, but to each their own.
To plastic, or not to plastic
The hard way to replace a lawn is to dig out the thick sod, shaking the dirt from the hefty roots. You then must dispose of all this plant matter, and the wasted potential it represents. Those roots are made up of a lot of carbon, which would be really good to have in your future garden. The problem is that as long as those roots are alive they won’t decompose. And they are nearly impossible to kill. And no matter how hard you try to remove every last root, you will still probably have grass sprouting in your garden.
The easy way to replace a lawn is to cover it with a sheet of black plastic. You can then attend to other matters while the lawn becomes a worm farm. Two months later, what had been turf is now a sea of soil, mostly soft worm poop. Weed-free and ready for planting.
The only problem with the easy road is you have to wait for results. The problems with the hard road are that the results are less perfect, and you have to get to work, now.
Each path is therapeutic in their own way, and fortunately we don’t have to choose. We can actively dig one spot, while elsewhere, tucked under plastic, the earth turns itself. And the when the time comes to garden, the digging will be easy as butter.
If you get that plastic on soon, you could have a garden spot by mid-summer, which would be a perfect time for planting a fall garden.
Kale, spinach and carrots can grow through the fall and even overwinter if you take measures to keep them warm. Beets, radishes, salad turnips and many other short season cool weather crops can also produce bigly with an early July start.
While you work on your new garden spot, move your piece of plastic to its next location: the future garlic patch.
Garlic is planted sometime in the fall, by about Halloween. So if you were to move your plastic in the middle of summer, the new spot would be right on schedule for garlic. When the frost is on the pumpkin and next year’s garlic is in the ground, you can fold up that sheet of black plastic after a productive season, and keep it safe for next year’s lawn killing adventures.
How to Plastic
The hardware store should have black plastic, although it might not be in the garden section. You want at least 6 mil (0.006 inch) in thickness. At my local Ace, a 10 foot by 25 foot piece cost me $30.
Before you lay down plastic, first rake and mow the spot, leaving the clippings scattered. After the plastic is in place, set heavy objects like bricks or pieces of wood around the edges to keep the wind from getting under it. Furniture works, too, depending on the exterior decor you are going for.
Before you plant, consider digging a trench around the edge of the new spot and installing some kind of edging to block the grass roots from invading. Some pieces of 1×6 or even 2×4, buried with the thin edge at ground level, will stop the march of the persistent lawn, or at least slow it to a manageable pace.
In honor of our future harvests of carrots and garlic, here is a recipe for carrot aioli. Garlic and carrots are always in season, even in the middle of winter when they are storing patiently in the pantry. Being a form of mayonnaise, carrot aioli makes everything taste better.
Carrot Aioli
In this recipe, steamed carrot functions in place of egg as a thickener, if not an emulsifier. The tangy, rich sauce is good on bread, chips, pasta, protein, raw or cooked vegetables, and just about anything savory. Or straight off the spoon.
Makes 4 large servings
1 pound carrots, trimmed, peeled and cut to 3-inch lengths
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon salt
Juice of ½ of a lemon, and zest
1 cup olive oil
A pinch of thyme, oregano, or anything green from your herb garden
Steam the carrots until you can easily thrust a fork through, about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, add the garlic, salt, lemon juice and zest, oil and optional herbs to a blender and blend until smooth. Add the carrots, still hot so they cook the garlic a little, and blend until silky smooth. Add a little more olive oil if necessary to help it achieve a nice vortex in the blender.
Serve as a condiment, sauce, dressing or main course. Refrigerate any leftovers.