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This is incorrect unless you buy the wrong fabric or cheap kind. Weeds will never grow "through" it. They grow on top of it but easily can be pulled out.
I got my commercial type at Home Depot and Costco, never had a weed grow "through" it. 8 yrs now
I'm glad it's worked out for you, but that hasn't been my experience at my house, my parents' house, or a number of places I've seen where rocks or mulch have been for a long time.
I always use cheap 6 mil black plastic sheeting. Know this will last forever.
Have used under mulch. And under gravel/rock. My area can get a dark red color rock. That looks like mulch from a distance.
That also last fore ever. Sometimes small river rock.
Also best bet for the weeds that are there. Use original roundup. This is designed to kill anything and then allow you to plant 2 days later. (originally invented for farm use)
Writerwife, I won't have your problem. This place has never had anything there except for some wildflowers I once planted and never has had any type of fabric laid down.
My point was... there was a mass of weeds growing under the fabric (no matter which layer it was) and they were choking off the plants that were planted there. And you do still have to pull weeds (although I find it much easier) that grow on top and adhere to the fabric. I spent 4 hrs yesterday doing just that in a flower bed along my driveway. Have another strip to work on today that is covered in weeds and there is also landscaping fabric there also (just 1 layer).
Just letting you know it doesn't automatically create easy street.
Cambium's method is what I do also. If you are the one who put the fabric down then when you want to plant something there you'll need to cut an opening in the fabric and dig a hole.
You can accomplish the same effect by using very, very deep mulch but there are deep-rooted weeds that love mulch that can be a problem. I use deep mulch in my veggie garden for weed control and preserving moisture and pull it back to plant summer crops. Weeds are much fewer. This is "permaculture" type of gardening and the mulch breaks down over time and becomes compost. Most of the weeds are gone in that area, easily removed.
I've done cardboard mulch in the past but get tired of pulling up the packing tape haha. It worked great to create a fast "lasagna" bed (look it up) but don't need that now I have a real garden.
I've used landscape fabric multiple times in the past and it's always worked great for me. The key is you can't have any gaps in the fabric and you need to secure the fabric to the ground using staples.
I plan to take out a few weeds, but briars are my main problem I found some gloves with long arm covers that works great for that and I've already pulled out a bunch of blackberry briars. But I have to cover the rest.
I normally don't like to use pine straw but this time I think it would be best on top of the fabric which is the most expensive one I could find. I am going to prepare this and make slits for my 3 small trees afterward.
What's the opinion of pine straw vs mulch? I could do either.
I thought about round up but I'm just afraid it might be bad for my plants, no matter what they say.
Also best bet for the weeds that are there. Use original roundup. This is designed to kill anything and then allow you to plant 2 days later. (originally invented for farm use) end quote.
Do this and you will be paying for the brand name. The active ingredient is glyphosate. Look for other, cheaper brands of weed killer that have the same ingredient, in the same percentage. Ready to use Roundup has a very tiny percentage of glyphosate, and is not a cost effective purchase. Look for any brand that has 40-50% glyphosate and thin according to the label.
When using any spray weed killer, always use a couple of squirts of dish soap in the sprayer, it will cut the surface tension on the weed leaf, and assist in getting the active ingredient to stick, allowing it do it's work.
I plan to take out a few weeds, but briars are my main problem I found some gloves with long arm covers that works great for that and I've already pulled out a bunch of blackberry briars. But I have to cover the rest.
I normally don't like to use pine straw but this time I think it would be best on top of the fabric which is the most expensive one I could find. I am going to prepare this and make slits for my 3 small trees afterward.
What's the opinion of pine straw vs mulch? I could do either.
I thought about round up but I'm just afraid it might be bad for my plants, no matter what they say.
Dont worry. You can actually plant in 24 hours. Also it is only absorbed thru the leaf blades. Kills from the top down.
Soil sterilant. The extended control roundup has a little of this extra chemical. Gets absorbed thru the roots and stays in soil.
I have used original roundup a few hundred times. To kill undesirable weeds and grass. Then plant the 2 days later. Just my method even if Roundup was invented for farmers to kill plants and then reseed the next day.
The plastic will also kill the weeds. Then for my house in a mulch bed you have the occasional weed come up.
A empty windex bottle set to a stream. Allow you to sort of surgically spray any weed. Just have to get it on the leaf blade. And not desirable plants.
Even if it rains and washes into the soil. It will not hurt anything. Again only kills if on leaf blades and from top down.
Okay, i am a sinner. I kill off the existing "vegetation" with round up. At least two "doses".
Then i do everything i can to remove the remnants of the weeds. They are never all dead, and there are new crops coming along "perennially".
Once the surface is ready, i put down landscape fabric-- the best i can buy. Stay away from the crap they sell at, for example, Sams Club. Get the best you can afford.
I put the fabric down and staple it tightly, allowing for holes around existing plants, and then cut in an "X" for new plants.
Once done planting, i give the whole thing a good layer of ground hardwood mulch.
The wild onions come back through the fabric. The rest of the weeds grow anew on top of the fabric. There is just about nothing other than more roundup for killing the onions. The rest of the weeds mostly do not put roots down through the fabric and are much easier (compared to bare ground) to remove by pulling or scraping them off and re-smoothing the mulch.
Gardening is a very labor intensive hobby. There is no getting around it, no matter how many "solutions" you use to avoid the down on your knees hard work to maintain pristine gardens.
Prefer to till and work with a clean slate but put some cardboard down first, then fabric, then mulch.
I'm gonna help you with Pictures because they are worth 1000 words...
A picture of my 8 yr old fabric. It's still in 100% working condition. You can see the old dirt from the old mulch too. The weed on the right is because I cut around the shrub and left a hole. I am impressed how well its worked and how I haven't needed to "dig" up a weed in so long.
Same pic without the weed there, see it? Fabric still in tact except where I left the rip under the Shrub. This are was full of weeds all the time.
Here's another bed I did 2 years ago... No more weeding!
Add mulch and you're done. Just have to replace the mulch every couple years or when it breaks down enough.
Here is that garden bed today. See that 1 weed (grass) under the chair? It's not what you think...............
That was formed inside the mulch, NOT from under the fabric. Weeds will grow from the mulch, not under the fabric so that means you can easily pull them without effort. Also, 1 or 2 is better than 10-20 weeds to deal with.
One more ... Fabric has been a life saver
Don't get discouraged with what people tell you, it's worth the investment and time.
Where do you keep the gorilla that moves those rocks around for you?
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