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My front yard has fist size rocks played over weed barrier fabric. Can you advise me as to the best way to change out the weed barrier and how I do it "Please"? treyolsen03@gmail.com
Please edit your email out of this post and people can direct message you through this website. There is no way unless you remove all the rocks and put new week block down and replace the rocks once you have the weed block down.
We put down a 4" layer of rocks along our house to avoid weeds and requested weed barrier go underneath - it was great the first year, but the second year the entire rock bed filled with weeds for the very reason people have mentioned - weed seeds land ON the rocks and end up growing regardless. Fortunately, because the roots are shallow, they are extremely easy to pull.
[quote=Trey Olsen;51311959]My front yard has fist size rocks played over weed barrier fabric. Can you advise me as to the best way to change out the weed barrier and how I do it "Please"?
Not sure what you're asking. In my mind I'm thinking your goal is to change the weed fabric. Then you'd take the rocks off. Maybe you're thinking what a chore removing all those rocks?
I've had great experience recycling. A guy comes around from nearby a couple of times in the fall and collects all my pine needles. (He wants my pine needles). Last couple of years I haven't even seen him. One day he did half the area so I called and assured him he could come closer to the house, we didn't mind,and sure enough next day it was all clear. He does the same with the neighbors.
A woman stopped as we raked lately and asked if she could be on our list for the pine-needles- and-leaves mixture. (The guy just wanted pine needles alone.) They come and get them.
So, maybe you can see if someone wants to landscape with your rocks. They can pick them up and get them free.
That's if you don't want your rocks anymore.
Last edited by petsandgardens; 03-16-2018 at 07:54 AM..
Ugh, rake up the rocks and remove the weed barrier fabric. It is a project. There is no easy way around it.
Weeds can push up from underneath Weed barrier fabric. Bark chips breakdown and weeds can root in the resulting dust/dirt.
Preen and round up are not only bad for the environment but for people too. https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...g-herbicide-p/
I wet newspaper and place in directly on the soil. Try three sheet or more thickness. Best use for the New York Times :-) Place bark chips or pebbles on top. This is not a long term solution and must be repeated about every three years. However, picking up the remaining newspaper is far easier than weed barrier fabric and more cost effective.
Better yet, plant ground cover. I like pachysandra, lamium, Vinca major, hostas, juniper Stay away from aggressive Ajuga.
I learned my lesson with landscaping rocks years ago, it’s way too big of a headache trying to keep leaves and weeds out of them. Rocks are only a good idea in the desert.
I have no idea what brand or quality of landscape fabric the former owners of this place used but it sure does not stop weeds. I'm in the process of digging it out of several good sized planting areas where it is buried under several inches of soil. It comes up in small bits with tough weeds and dirt clinging to it. What a total headache.
I have seen good reviews of products made by DeWitt so you might want to check out that brand. Available on lines from many sources.
I'm a big fan of Preen. Landscape fabric is a pain IMO. Just make sure if you use Preen that you use the green one. Whenever using a "pre-emergent" it will have a tendancy to take nutrients out of the soil. By using the green colored label of Preen (means it has a fertilizer) you prevent this issue.
I don't have a weed problem now and find I don't have to use the product as much as before, but that will depend on your area and what your situation is.
Public service announcement: that is hogwash. Someone misled Torrie. There is no biological way that stopping seeds from germinating would take nutrients out of the soil. Just correcting the record for when someone else reads this in 2018 and thinks it is true.
BTW, with landscape fabric it may be harder for rain water to reach roots of trees etc if the fabric is over top. Brick chips might increase the local soil pH (more alkaline) if that matters. This is probably only an issue again if the chips are on top of the roots of existing trees or shrubs.
Otherwise, the choice of brick chips is a personal one.
any reason to pull out the old weed fabric? I'd move the mulch/rocks aside, roundup the existing weeds, put new fabric down over the old and pull the mulch/rocks back over. In instances that I do want to remove the fabric, cutting the fabric into small sections with a heavy duty utility knife make removal pretty easy.
I use fabric wherever I use rocks as mulch if for no other reason than to keep the rock from working into the soil. That said, I prefer to use bark/wood chips without fabric and add add'l material every couple years or as needed.
The only weed fabric I have ever seen that’s any good is the commercial kind that nurseries use, it’s usually black with green lines on it. I have some I put down ten years ago that’s still working.
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