I have a lawn fescue and Bermuda grass. I’d like go overseed with clover this fall but I’m concerned the Bermuda is going to choke anything else out. It isn’t native here and it gets into everything. Killing my lawn first isn’t really an option as the Bermuda will creep back in. How can I move toward a more sustainable yard with this awful Bermuda going wild?
You’re going to need to do some weeding one way or another most likely. There are ways to kill everything but it will come back from any survivors, which could include from neighboring properties depending on your situation.
I’ve had success with overlapping layers of cardboard covered in a deep layer of mulch. Depending on how careful you are it’s likely some will still poke through and need hand pulling.
Another option if you want to preserve existing vegetation is to create an expanding circle of exclusion from which you pull it all out all of it as soon as it appears. This will require a lot of labor and diligence but if you like spending a lot of time in your garden it can work well.
But no matter what, you’ll need to stay on top of pulling it out or it will return from somewhere.