I hate the stuff. Adds nothing to the soil, looks hideous, breaks down and leaves bits everywhere...there's lots more I hate about it, but you get the idea!
Can you get grass clippings and fine wood mulch? Mixed together they make great mulch for garlic.
It seems you can still get chipped wood for free over there; the tree guys have well and truly caught on here. Grass is still free though!

I agree. Regretted using it every time, haven't for a decade and never miss it. Cardboard is a far better way to smother weeds. Pour organic matter like untreated bark chunks (not rocks) over it for aesthetics or walkability if needed. Kill weeds with a torch, strong vinegar or boiling water beforehand for added effect. Those methods will still hurt soil flora where contacted, but there's no toxic residue and the soil should recover quickly if you later want to plant there (although vinegar will acidify the area until flushed).

I used it in the vegetable gardening when I first started. The first season it seemed good and quickly went downhill from there the 2nd year.

In retrospect not sure if adding things to the vegetable garden made by a chemical company is the wisest thing to do.

Agree with above. Not only do the worst weeds in my area penetrate it and come up anyway (nut sedge, for example), but as the cover mulch on top breaks down, weeds sprout in it right on top of the landscape fabric. Boy is it a pain to take up after a few years. Don't do it!

I agree in general I don't like it either. What I have done is to buy a very heavy grade and strip it and use it for paths in the vegetable garden - this worked pretty well for about 8-10 years but suddenly there are so many weeds that come up on it that I know I need to replace it for sure. I really like that it leaves the paths nice and clean and dry - I think put straw over the entire garden (with newspaper under for the planting beds). In the fall we roll them up and stack at the side of the garden and then i just roll them out in the spring at whatever planting area widths for whatever way we arrange things that year.

But where you try to put it down and leave it down - it just never works very well.

My raised beds were built following ideas for lasagna gardening. The vegetables beds were built on old sod with all the grass varieties and weeds common to New England farms such as garden sorrel and a nasty creeping plant. Starting off with layers of wet newspaper, grass clippings, chopped leaves, etc and topped with a good aged composted horse manure (the horse owner adds wood ashes and kitchen scraps during the winter and turns the pile). Year one is great. But then the weeds slowly encroach. This year I put down black plastic for a few weeks before I planted. This killed the weeds and made removal easier. But, keep in mind, the bed wasn't terribly weedy, just around the edges. Originally my intention was simply to warm up the soil. Last fall I planted garlic in a 2 year old well weeded bed. This year part of the bed is covered with fresh grass clippings. What weeds start up are easy to pull.

I think the secret is starting with essentially weed free beds. Those layers of grass and old leaves were probably weed free. I don't think I will ever till up a garden bed again. My first bed built in 2008 has sunk down to the level of the grass. I will probably build that bed up again with more leaves, etc. The spinach I planted this year did ok but the same seed packet planted in another bed with a new application of composted horse manure is much bigger and better.

I really don't like the weed infiltration from the grassy walkways. My husband keeps them well mowed but the weeds that grow with runners keep creeping in. I changed a bed shape and needed to add some narrow paths this year. The wet newspapers topped with grass clippings help keep the weeds down. You didn't mention whether you have your beds just hilled up like mine or edged with boards.

If your beds are already built then I would put down black plastic for a month or so before planting the garlic. But remove the black plastic before planting.

I used black plastic on my tomato beds. I lay out soaker hoses, put the plastic over the top, and then cut holes in the plastic next to the hoses. I pull up the plastic every year and lay new down the next spring. I end up with much less water use and way less weeding.

I don't like them in my flower beds b/c I'm always rearranging things and it's difficult to dog through.

I was recently complaining to a farmer friend about the HUGE amount of weeds in my veggie garden. She said she uses the black fabric to make paths and it's worked well for her. I've had it in for about 2 months and it's cut down on the weeds TREMENDOUSLY. It's just sitting on the soil and I used the staples to hold it in place. I have tried newspaper and cardboard before but they break down and I needed to bury them in the soil with either mulch or more soil. With the black ladnscape fabric, it's not buried with anything and I plan to take it up in the fall and store until next spring. I plan on using it again and again.

Hi,
I'm using it this year and one BIG problem is that it lets light thru, so weeds grow underneath it! If you can find something that lets water in, but no light in, that would be good, but I've not seen it at Lowes or Home Depot. I ended up putting chopped straw down on top to block the light. The need for weeding has been cut by 80-90%, but I've probably spent $75 on the chopped straw and $100 on the weed mat and earth staples to hold it down. I guess it's worth it, but still frustrating. Garden is more pleasing to the eye though!
{{gwi:92022}}