That's a terrible discovery for a gardener. Unfortunately, you've got to get most of crap that has built up on the fabric off before you can get the fabric up. Maybe pull as much as you can onto a tarp. and keep trying to pull it up? You'll have to keep getting more off, I think, as just plain old dirt is quite heavy. You have all my sympathy for facing this.

Contrary to what many people believe, and what the sellers of landscape fabric will tell, that stuff does not stop unwanted plants ("weeds") growth any more than anything else. Landscape fabric may help suppress some unwanted plant growth, for a while, but the gardener will still need to work at keeping that growth under control.

kimmq is kimmsr

I've had to do that too! It's no fun, roots stuck in it from above and below. So sorry! Hopefully you'll get it up in bigger chunks than I did.

I would encourage you to not till, which would exacerbate an already serious problem, and possibly propagate/multiply some weeds instead of killing them. Putting compost &/or any other organic material on it is the way to "fix bad dirt."

For now, after you get the landscape fabric out, smothering might be the most prudent thing to do. Cover your reclaimed garden area with cardboard, overlapping edges well, then cover with compost/mulch/pine needles/any organic matter to add weight, block the light, and start decomposing so you have an excellent spot to fill with plants of your choice next spring, w/o any worries that anything unwanted is still alive at the roots. You could sit pots in the area this year. I've rushed into planting a new area too soon, skipping the smothering step, thinking I had everything pulled/dug - and have always regretted it later.

http://permaculturenews.org/2013/09/20/soil-not-dirt-dr-elaine-ingham-talks-soil-microbiology/

Thank you for your replies. You know, ironically, there are NO weeds under the fabric lol so I think tilling might be ok. I have cleared one side of the yard (5 hours and a broken back), I did put soil building compost over it, planted a few plants and am going to put some newspaper down. Can you just put soil over the newspaper? I don't like bark as my 3 and 6 year old get TONS of splinters. If soil doesnt work can I just put more of the soil building compost?

You will need something to help hold the newspaper in place and some will tell you not to use soil since unwanted plants will grow in that. However, unwanted plants will also grow in compost, bark, wood chips, stone, or anything else you put there, so use what you want and can get the easiest. Just know that those unwanted plants (the "weeds") will grow in what ever is put down there.

kimmq is kimmsr

Since soil is usually denser, I think weeds would take hold faster. Plus even though you don't see weeds in that soil now, it has weed seeds in it just waiting to sprout when the light gets to them. I use leaves on top and store them outside from the previous fall. But you probably don't have leaves right now. Your soil building compost is most likely more airy than your soil and would be a better choice. But it will grow weeds too. Try to put down the least amount (like 2 inches) so that it is less likely to support growth.

Perhaps a shredded product would be a better product than wood chips. It lays down and stays in place and I don't think there is such a splinter issue.

Lesa, I feel your pain, both literally and figuratively. I had the same exact experience when we moved into our house. I had to rake off a hugely thick layer of mulch in various stages of decomposition, lift a couple of hostas I wanted to keep but move, and then pull out a double layer of landscape fabric. Below that I found that they (or an owner previous to them) had tossed a bunch of 6"-12" boulders, plus an assortment of various shaped pavers in no particular pattern. Below that I found the occasional pile of playground sand. Mixed in with all of this were things like forgotten trowels and other hand tools, a couple of old landscape lights, a bunch of plant tags from perennials long lost, and a long piece of plastic edging that, as far as I can tell from the way it was doubled-up on itself, had either shifted dramatically or never really edged anything. It was backbreaking work, and I'm sure my new neighbor heard me cursing the former homeowners more than once. The good news is that I pulled up enough boulders to make a nice rock edging for several of my beds. The bad news is that I still occasionally find a boulder or a stray piece of landscape fabric when I go to plant something else.

What I did was to first rake off as much mulch as I could onto a large tarp. The top layer was pretty easy, but it gets harder as you work your way down and as the mulch has basically turned to soil. I dragged it to another section of the yard where I piled it up and let it further compost. Some of it I reused.

Then, I lifted and moved the plants I wanted to keep, and lifted and tossed the ones I didn't. Next, using a hawksbill knife (you could use a linoleum knife), I found an edge of landscape fabric, lifted it up, and reached under with my other hand as far as I could and cut out large sections and pulled them up. There was still some soil/decomposed mulch on it, so it was hard work. Then I just repeated that process until I was confident I got most of it out. Like I said, I still find the occasional small piece that works it's way up. If you are able to scrape all the mulch off, you will have better access to the fabric. I wasn't able to, so I did the best I could.

After that I worked in lots of organic material into the soil, which was in really bad shape after being covered by that fabric for so many years. Then I did my planting and laid down a much thinner layer of mulch. I didn't find that I got many old weed seeds that germinated. My main issue with weeds is the creeping charlie that comes through my fence from the adjacent park and the goutweed that my neighbor planted as ground cover. I keep telling myself that one day I'm going to lean over the fence and pour a bucket of Roundup on her "Snow on the Mountain" but I never do.

Thank you very much for the comments. I am glad (sorry!) to hear I am not the only one who has faced this. Funny you should mention the rocks, I have dug up a TON of them so far, I think I have enough for an edge, and have also found remnants of plastic sheeting. What were these people thinking! Oh well, I shall take your advice, continue to break my back, and use the image of what its GOING to look like to keep the faith.

That's the spirit! If you haven't done so already, take a few photos of the before, the during, and then the after. It will make you feel much better when you are all done to look back at the mess you found and see how you turned it into something beautiful.

Good luck! I was in the same boat. Here is the result of my landscape fabric and plastic sheeting removal:

I had all kind of tree roots, seedlings, and even spring flowers coming up through the mulch and fabric. What a worthless product. I also removed all the fabric closer to the street, then put the mulch back down, and it has almost all broken down now that it is in contact with the ground beneath it.

Sod is growing happily in that spot now

What nice green grass! Maybe one day! Thanks for sharing. :)

yes, so healthy!