Getting rid of grass

I hope this is in the right forum since it's sort of the opposite of lawn care. If I need to move, please tell me and I'll delete and repost somewhere else.
So, I've posted elsewhere in Permies seeking information to apply to a game I'm designing. Long story short, it's like a farming sim but specifically with a semi-realistic homesteading theme. I'm seeking the endless wisdom of the Permies forum-goers in order to make this game as awesome as possible.

Now, onto my question. Say you have a grassy area that you want to turn into soil to plant in. Do you just dig up the grass? If so, what do you do with it? Can you compost it or will it taint your compost with grass that'll later mess up the plants you add the compost to?
I apologize for this most basic question but it's honestly something I've never considered. I have grass in my game and need to know how the player will rid themselves of it if need be. Plus, I'll likely be able to apply this to my own home gardening XD
Thanks for your time and wisdom, it is greatly appreciated.

Sheet mulch with cardboard / newspaper. You could use plastic / carpet / other non biodegradable stuff but you'd have to take it away afterwards...

If you're giving them options, one would be to dig the grass and flip it over, exposing the roots and smothering the leaves. Seeds might still be an issue but if you give them the option to mulch too, this will further reduce the possibility of grass/weeds showing back up.

Tilling is another option but not entirely permie-like

Just a suggestion but if the game is going to be on the realistic/almost educational side, you could take each of these methods and give them advantages/disadvantages in the game. Mulching alone will take the longest to have good soil but the results will be healthier, bigger plants. Tilling is quicker but the soil won't be as fertile. Not mulching will allow weeds to show up faster...etc...

Oh yeah, meant to say: Make sure your game is as good as Hay Day which my daughter is now absolutely stuck on... but also helps you learn about permaculture (which Hay Day definitely doesn't)! And don't pitch it at too technical a level. Instead focus on fun stuff in the game... like for instance
Level 1: You get raised beds
Level 2: You get a pond
Level 3: you get ducks
Level 4: you get beehives
Level 5: you get a cob house


etc etc etc

Can I raise chickens?



http://geofflawton.com/videos/chicken-tractor-steroids/

Thanks for the suggestion. Digging up/flipping the grass will probably be the method represented in the game. Mulching will be added as a method to prevent the growth of unwanted plants/weeds.
Unfortunately, this is literally my first non-basic-website type coding project so I can't get *really* fancy, moreover, there's a balance between realism and fantasy that's gotta be maintained for the sake of fun. But I'm hoping to slowly add a variety of features from various organic farming techniques (like bonuses for companion planting), natural building (source your own clay for cob), and eventually making and selling "handmade" products like pottery or maybe textiles or some such things. And yes, there shall be chickens.

I began to take over my yard with mowed grass. It works great. I let the grass grow tall And bag it when I mow. Then dump the bagged grass on sections of yard I want to be soil. The following year the soil has started, the worms move in and I can plant right in. The first year might not be the best but soon good care takes care of that.

Hello Octavia,

It is good to hear others are doing stuff like this, well done. I was doing something similar myself, but it was going to be done on MATLAB (or preferably octave) as more of a permaculture "simulator" where there are multiple matrices denoting different qualities (eg pest species density, biomass concentration, N/P/K levels, water content, incident solar radiation, temperature etc.) each entry was to represent a square meter of soil, and the player could alter certain aspects of the land (eg plant a tree, water the soil, (or even kill the grass)) then press play and see what happened over the course of a virtual "week".

Of course the amount of data on the various plant species, and their relationships with other species required would be enormous, but I think that a simulation would be more useful, as it would allow people to stuff up in the virtual realm without making expensive mistakes in the real world.

To be honest I see real potential for a project like this, and I think that a bunch of programmers should be rounded up and crowd funded into doing it.

I was wondering how far you had come and what features you had already down, and if you know of anyone else who is doing this?


all the best and good luck,


Isaac

This method works really well. I'm on Vancouver Island. Grass grows all year.
https://permies.com/t/40424/mulch/Killing-dense-grass-garden-Dale#314561