nope.. don't do the weed cloth thing. Its useless against raspberries. I'm afraid the only thing you can do is exactly what you have read.. and install an 18" deep barrier. it may be a lot of work but it will be only for a one type big job and then nothing more. Otherwise, you'd be forever killing off stragglers.

I wish neighbors would be considerate of others. My friend's neighbour's english ivy has gotten into my friend's yard on one side and her other neighbor's mint has grown into her yard. Not to mention an invasive manitoba maple keeps sending out seeds into her yard.

hello Ianna. thank you for your comment. would you happen to know if I still need to poke holes through the black plastic mulch sheet to let water drain?

I found somewhere that this person used old billboard vinyls as root barrier. I might very well like you said need to give it a try.

I hope your friend has found a solution to all these invasive plants around her !!

yes - that's me. I got recruited to help her out. teh magnitude of the job though is rather daunting. It's going to take a lot of work.

@Ianna - Yes, I hear you on the hard work! Good exercise for may be a few hours and then your back will start telling you to stop!! :\

@GroundskeeperSmalley, thank you for your input. I've actually placed a call to the nursery that I was going to buy the plastic from and they do not think it will be helpful at all. They also think the solution is the barrier with the possibility of some escaping.

I was still thinking of may be putting on half of a better weed barrier that I found on some other forums. I was thinking of doing half of the side patch only because removing gravel will be a big pain...

It's a woven type weed barrier and may be it will be better than the regular fabric cloth that we have down right now which is very thin now that I'm thinking about it. Has anyone seen or used this before? The side that is fuzzy faces the soil.

http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/weed-barrier-20-year/ground-cover-fabric#description

4.1 oz. woven, needle punched,
polypropylene fabric designed for professional and commercial use.
Features 20 year warranty and colored lines located 12" apart for easy
plant alignment.

I would not believe that any product like that would last 20 years, but it is possible, I suppose, depending on the product. If I was going to use some sort of fabric, which I don't like and would not use for a handful of reason, I would probably look into some sort of non-woven fabric instead because it will look marginally less ratty when it is exposed and worn down.

Ive done that sort of hard work. Yes the back aches but you'll recover and be stronger in the process. That's just to prevent future back aches- hopefully.

Listen, if a small dandelion weed can penetrate aspalt, imagine what raspberry canes with their wandering roots can do.

ha yes..hopefully my back will only be stronger !!

in speaking with a friend , he's suggested I dig where the shared patio stone is and try to see what's underneath there. it might be easier than digging where I have the rocks.

and lastly he's said calmly that we all know weed will and can never be suppressed so I should learn to live with it. work around it. which is true... we will never win in a weed battle!!

flexing my arms now to get ready for Saturday lol lifting the stones might take me an hour because they are so heavy...

LOL.. you go girl!!! I'm bringing out my sport mom character.. Hahah.

Thank you Ianna!

as I was getting a little paranoid about placing cardboard so close to the house, I have decided not to put the cardboard in. Dealing with weeds is one thing but termites - RUN!!

Actually. as I was thinking today. do you think I can put a layer of black mesh between the new woven heavy duty landscape weed blocker and the rocks? in case I need to change out the barriers , I can then just pull the mesh away and rocks come along with it? or is this phantom idea??

test dig has started since earlier... turns out the difficult part is lifting the stones... it's very heavy !!! digging 9 inches is doable. seriously I think 18 is a bit too ambitious for me with hand tools. I've dug down The first test and so far all the roots have been shallow as per any google search. my barrier might have to be of a C shape where in case the roots do hit the barrier and go up or down it'll at least have a guide for it to turn around and back into my neighbors patch lol.


serious I hope to finish today ... ;/

That is quite the undertaking. Good luck, it looks like you will be building a lot of character today!

thank you !! goal is to lose 10 pounds lol

And I timed myself. approximately 6.5 minutes or 30 inches x 9 inches.

two hours... can someone let el chapo know the tunnel woll be ready ;)

Hello. I'm up to finishing my last 10 feet. although it started quite well as the digging was only 2 hours. the backfill is the backbreaking part as moving the slabs back in place is not easy !!!

I really think I've made the mistake in starting this project. it's seriously a bad idea and a lot of work....

Hopefully the barrier will help keep the raspberries from coming under the walk way! I think I would have just learned to live with the raspberries!

See, if you start using Roundup on the raspberry sprouts on your side of the fence, your neighbor will quickly become interested in keeping them from coming up on your side. Maybe somewhat cruel, but why should you have to deal with the neighbor's invasive plants. I'd probably warn the neighbors, but it should motivate them to take action. I'm not a big fan of Roundup, but sometimes.....

I used something like this to keep my neighbor's ditch lilies out of my yard; works well.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-40-Pack-0-5-ft-Black-Landscape-Edging-Sections/3685034

Oh my, did you use one of these. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-40-ft-Black-Landscape-Edging-Roll/50092426.  This is one Ive used quite a bit. I thought you'll be using one of these barriers. the cloth thing is still in my opinion, ineffective.