Do you have to remove the grass under a raised bed?

Not for ordinary cool-season lawn grasses — fescue, bluegrass and ryegrass die under 10 or more inches of soil with a cardboard layer over them, and they decompose into organic matter where they lie. Removing sod is worth the effort in two cases: aggressive rhizomatous species such as bermudagrass, quackgrass or nutsedge, which push through cardboard and around bed edges, and shallow beds under 8 inches, where there is not enough soil to smother anything.

What do you put under a raised bed on grass?

Plain corrugated cardboard, overlapping the sheets by 6 inches and running it a few inches up the inside of the frame. Remove tape, staples and glossy printed labels first. Wet it thoroughly before you fill so it stays in contact with the ground. It blocks light for the three to six months the turf needs to die, then breaks down and leaves the soil interface open so roots and earthworms move freely between bed and ground.

Can you use landscape fabric instead of cardboard under a raised bed?

You can, but it is the worse option. Fabric does not decompose, so it stays as a permanent barrier at the base of the bed — it clogs with fine sediment over a few seasons, slows drainage, and keeps roots and earthworms from reaching the soil below, which is one of the main advantages of a bed on open ground. Woven fabric also lets persistent rhizome grasses thread through it. Cardboard smothers better and then gets out of the way.

How deep does a raised bed on grass need to be?

Ten to twelve inches. That is enough soil to kill the turf beneath by exclusion and enough root zone for most vegetables, given that roots can continue into the ground below once the cardboard breaks down. Six or eight inches works for shallow-rooted greens on open soil but leaves grass a real chance of pushing through at the edges. If you plan to grow root crops or tomatoes, 12 inches is the sensible floor.

Will grass grow up through my raised bed?

Cool-season turf almost never does under 12 inches of soil and cardboard. Bermudagrass, quackgrass, Johnsongrass and nutsedge frequently do, because they spread by rhizomes or tubers rather than seed and can travel horizontally under the frame and emerge inside. For those species, strip the sod, dig a 6 to 8-inch trench around the bed perimeter or install rigid edging to that depth, and expect to pull escapees for the first season.

Can You Put a Raised Garden Bed on Grass? Yes

Written & researched by Elena Marsh Gardening & Landscaping Editor

Updated October 2026

Overhead view of a person's hands pressing seedlings into dark soil in a timber raised bed, in soft overcast light

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Yes — building a raised bed straight onto grass is the standard method, and it works well as long as the bed is at least 10 to 12 inches deep and you smother the turf first with plain cardboard. Level the site, mow the grass short, lay overlapping cardboard sheets, fork the ground beneath if it is compacted, then set the frame and fill. The buried grass dies from lack of light within a few months and decomposes into organic matter. Leave the bottom of the bed open, and do not use landscape fabric or gravel.

What are the steps, in order?

Mow low and mark the footprint. Cut the grass as short as the mower allows so the cardboard sits flat, then outline the bed with the frame or a hose.
Level the ground. A frame on a slope leaves a low corner that stays wet and a high corner that spills soil. Cut into the slope rather than building it up, and check with a level across the frame in both directions before filling.
Fork the soil beneath. Push a garden fork in 6 to 8 inches and rock it, every foot or so across the whole footprint. Skip this only if the ground is already loose. This one step prevents most of the drainage complaints people later blame on the bed.
Lay cardboard. Plain corrugated, tape and staples removed, sheets overlapping by 6 inches with no gaps at the edges. Wet it down thoroughly.
Set the frame and fill. Fill to within 2 inches of the rim, watering in layers so the mix settles rather than slumping 3 inches a month later.

Three-quarter view of a person's hands pressing seedlings into dark soil in a timber raised bed, in soft overcast light

Does the type of grass change the answer?

Substantially. Grasses that spread only by seed and shallow tillers die under a bed; grasses that spread by rhizomes or stolons travel sideways and come up at the edges.

Grass or weed	Spreads by	Approach
Tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass	Tillers, seed	Cardboard and 10+ in of soil is enough
Bermudagrass	Rhizomes and stolons	Strip the sod; edge to 6–8 in; expect to pull escapees
Quackgrass	Rhizomes	Strip and remove rhizome fragments; every piece regrows
Zoysia, St. Augustine	Stolons	Strip sod; hard edging around the bed
Nutsedge	Underground tubers	Not a grass; tubers persist, plan on hand pulling
Creeping Charlie, bindweed	Stolons or deep roots	Strip and remove root material before building

If you are not sure what you have, pull a plug and look: a plant with visible white horizontal underground stems is rhizomatous and will need the sod stripped.

Over-the-shoulder view of a person's hands pressing seedlings into dark soil in a timber raised bed, in soft overcast light

Why not landscape fabric?

Because it never leaves. Cardboard performs the same smothering job for the three to six months it is needed and then decomposes, restoring the open connection between bed and ground that lets roots grow down, water drain away and earthworms move in. Woven fabric stays put, gradually clogs with fine sediment, and becomes a slow-draining pan at the base of the bed. It also does not reliably stop rhizomatous grasses, which thread through the weave. The one legitimate barrier at the base of a bed is quarter-inch hardware cloth, used against gophers and voles rather than weeds. The trade-offs are set out in should you line a raised bed with landscape fabric.

Wide view of a person's hands pressing seedlings into dark soil in a timber raised bed, in soft overcast light

What about grass creeping in at the sides?

This is the real long-term nuisance, not grass coming up through the middle. Turf grows toward the bed, roots under the frame, and appears along the inside edge. Three defenses work: a mown or mulched border strip 12 to 18 inches wide around each bed, rigid edging sunk 4 to 6 inches into the ground at the bed perimeter, or hard paths of gravel or pavers between beds instead of lawn. Paths are the durable answer — see raised bed spacing and layout for the widths that work.

The bottom line

Mow, level, fork, cardboard, fill 10 to 12 inches deep, and leave the bottom open. That handles ordinary lawn grass without a spade of digging. Strip the sod instead if you are dealing with bermudagrass, quackgrass or nutsedge. For depth and width decisions see how deep should a raised bed be and how wide should a raised bed be. Our best raised garden bed roundup ranks the frames that stay square once they are full.

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Can You Put a Raised Garden Bed on Grass?