Weed fabric ?

11 years ago

So 2 weekends ago I tore up a weedy patch, put down weed fabric, cut some Xs and planted some plants and covered it all with mulch.

I did not read up on weed fabrics, or tips, proper ways of using a weed fabric or any Pro's/Con's.

Now that it is done and too late I am finally interested in knowing what I did wrong/right.

LoL ... Yea that is how l roll, I tend to like to just see how things work, I screw a bunch of stuff up, but when I have an urge, time, and energy I better get to it. I have a short attention span but like to say that I like to "experiment'.

I do have a couple of questions for next time.

How close should I let the fabric get to the plants?

How do I fertilizer them? I don't know how much water gets through all the mulch and the fabric. I have been putting the hose right to the base of each plant to water them.

Any tips, advice, and options are welcomed.

I hope to continue my little patch into a much larger area.

Featured Answer

wisconsitom

11 years ago

Landscape fabric, used as a "weed barrier" is an idea whose time has come......and gone. Absolutely of no value-the organic material on top of the fabric will very quickly rot down to a nice seed bed for weeds. Then too, some weed types having taproots will happily grow both above and below the fabric, making weeding impossible. But the biggest reason not to use that junk is that it places a barrier in your soil, such that all of that good organic stuff you're putting down as mulch can not decompose in such a way as to add fertility to the soil. Bad, bad stuff....I hate it, in case you didn't notice!

+oM

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Comments (10)

garyfla_gw
11 years ago
Hi

I have used weed block in the past and found most of my weeds loved it lol

You might check into" Lasagna gardening"?? There you cover the ground with cardboad .paper add soil on top and plant in that. The best part is no digging or weed removal.Instant gratification lol. It works but given time the weeds move in . It does seem to last longer than weed block?? gary
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
11 years ago
I agree weedblock seems a temporary solution @ best. Weed seeds have a way of insinuating themselves everywhere. On the up side, if there's a thick layer of mulch, anything unwanted that sprouts is usually easy to pull...
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laura1
11 years ago
...in addition the weed block material never goes away. After a few years it starts falling apart and you find bits and pieces of if for ever.
fawnridge (Ricky)
11 years ago
Most of the weeds you will have to deal with come from above - birds, wind, people walking by - so for the most part, weed block/fabric is useless.
Duncan Edwards
10 years ago
I doesn't seem that anyone has talked about the type of fabric. Always go with woven and not fibrous fabric. The fibrous stuff is useless because it breaks up easily and it's cheap so most people use it. You get what you pay for!. This sort of stuff is what you want. Make sure next time it is pegged down and overlapped. Hope that helps
User
10 years ago
It only keeps out the really bad runners from under it (unless there is a gap), eventually the weed seeds get on top and grow anyway. I don't care for it myself.
wisconsitom
10 years ago
Plus, if one is gardening, as opposed to "buying" a landscape as a commodity, the presence of this layer of fabric is hugely frustrating as one seeks to plant new plants, divide perennials, etc. For that homeowner or business that just wants "the landscaping" to be installed, like it was the plumbing or the wiring, sure, you might like a so-called weed barrier. But for the actual gardener, a nuisance at best, and one which over the long haul doesn't work anyway, for reasons already listed above.

+oM
cscruton
10 years ago
I just posted this comment a few minutes ago on another thread. It seems pertinent here, as well:

Another alternative is a natural fiber landscape fabric. I've seen (and used to a small degree) mulch mats made from coir and hemp. They're an alternative to other types of mulch--more expensive than newspaper, cardboard, and synthetic fabric, though. I've split an order of hemp mulch mat with my father-in-law and a friend. I'm in southern California, my FIL upstate NY. My hemp mat is going strong--no weeds, and looks good in a desert environment or in landscape. FIL used it as mulch for his tomato plants, and was very happy with it. Lasted about one season, and he tilled it in after. Coir looks similar, but much more expensive. Here's a hemp website:

http://www.woven-earth.com

And here's an example of coir:

http://www.erosionpollution.com/coir-weed-mat.html

It seems to me that if the color doesn't appeal to you, you could use it just like a synthetic fabric and place a thin layer of another type of mulch on top.
wisconsitom
10 years ago
Interesting-the hemp idea. I use coir mats and logs routinely in my job, as a part of shoreline stabilization, etc. and it is great stuff. As you said, quite spendy, but in some cases, the only way to go. I like this set of ideas and in the long run, you're not really placing a barrier in your soil that is preventing good organic matter from becoming a part of the soil. Neato!

+om