How to Get Rid of Grass and Grow What You Want | No Chemicals, No Digging

Got grass or unwanted plants where you want to grow food? There's an easier way — no chemicals, no digging, and it works on everything from backyard beds to large paddocks. In this video, Dr. Wendy Seabrook explains the light-suppression method using weed mat, newspaper, and cardboard to smother grass and clear ground for planting. She walks through real examples from Hilltop Farm in Queensland, including a 150-metre banana strip transformation and a large paddock alley project.What you'll learn: ✅ How newspaper, cardboard and weed mat all work on the same principle — cutting light ✅ Why you must do this job properly (the common mistake that fails) ✅ When to use weed mat vs newspaper/cardboard ✅ Why plastic sheeting is a poor substitute for woven weed mat ✅ How to plan garden bed widths around your weed mat to save time and money ✅ The transition from weed mat to living mulch for a truly low-maintenance food-growing system 📚 Go deeper with our Handbooks: ▶ ECOLOGICAL GARDENING HANDBOOK - https://learningfromnature-shop.fourt... ▶ ECOLOGICAL FARMING HANDBOOK - https://learningfromnature-shop.fourt... LEARNING FROM NATURE If you're new to our channel – Hi, I'm Dr. Wendy Seabrook, the founder and project manager of https://www.learningfromnature.com.au. ‪@LearningfromNature‬ is a social enterprise. We help gardeners and farmers grow nutritious food relying on Nature's free ecological services instead of expensive fertilisers, pest controls and other inputs. They create resilient growing conditions better able to battle floods, drought and other extreme weather. Wendy is a PhD ecologist with a diploma in Permaculture. She teaches highly specialised eco-logical approaches to growing food, supporting farmers and food gardeners internationally over the last thirty years. Her journey isn't confined to theory and scientific papers; it involves getting her hands dirty and gaining practical skills. Through these experiences, she realised that many established organic and regenerative practices could be greatly improved. Chapters: 0:00 The problem – grass and unwanted plants blocking what you want to grow 0:42 The newspaper and cardboard method 1:00 The science – why cutting light kills grass and unwanted plants 1:20 The #1 mistake people make (leave no gaps!) 1:54 Why weed mat beats newspaper for large areas 2:24 Why plastic sheeting is a bad idea 2:37 Orchard case study – clearing Brachiaria at Hilltop Farm 3:10 Transitioning to living mulch (the long-term goal) 3:57 Banana strip transformation – before and after 4:50 Paddock alley project – 170m of ground clearing 5:26 Small vs large area recommendations + planning tips🌿 Want to grow more food with less effort? #RemoveGrass #NoDigGarden #SheetMulching #WeedMat #GrowFood #Permaculture #NoChemicals #OrganicGardening #GardenBeds #SustainableGardening