I’m looking for the best weed / landscape control fabric to help prevent the weeds going thru the fabric. Anyone have any suggestions? I would appreciate any help and a BIG thank you in advance. Scotty
Good luck on that one Scotty. In the landscaping company I work for, the only way we use that fabric is under rock, and it is mainly to keep the rock from sinking into the ground. It is counter productive to use it under mulch. Kind of defeats the purpose of mulch, which breaks down over time to add nutrients. Also. mulch tends to get blown off and shifted when it is put down over the fabric. It doesn't seem to "prevent" weeds from growing through it, and they are a pain to pull out too. I see weeds growing through the fabric all the time, and the fabric breaks down and becomes an eyesore. So, all that being said, it depends on where you want the fabric, and what its purpose would be.
Cardboard is the very best. Smothers weeds, is cheap and isn't a nuisance if you need to redo parts over time. Ever tried to redo an area where landscape fabric or plastic liner has failed? Yep, lots of cardboard, with a little mulch thrown on top for good looks. If you live in a windy area a few wooden stakes to anchor the cardboard might be beneficial.
If you have a really large area and not enough cardboard then get the black landscape plastic instead of the fabric. The fabric has holes in it and weeds love the challenge of seeing if they can squeeze through those tiny holes...they usually win and celebrate by telling all their buddies that they can do the same thing. And it's impossible to pull up those weeds, the fabric pulls up or rips and you can not get it back down in place without redoing the whole thing.
I'd say cardboard also... or at least a nice thick layer of newspaper. I've only used that fabric once (at my aunt's house)... I swear it made the weeds triple!
Thank you everyone for your advice. I think I’m going to go with the fabric because I’m going to put stones in the gardens. S
Hay there Scotty13. I think "stuff" under mulch goes in cycles. As people herd think and follow others they find out there is a better way to do things. So the cycle goes like about every 20 years when they find that the old way doesn't work. LOL I think the fact is that no one knows the best until after some 20 years goes bye. I like to do my own thing. If you look at some of my posts, you will learn I certainly do use lots of mulch. It is about 70 cubic yards, that's about 3 triaxal truck loads over flowing every year. I just love it. I used to use plastic and landscaping cloth and for many reasons, I have found that a good load of just mulch is the best for me. If it doesn't kill the weeds they will certainly be able to pull out in a jiffy. I have tons of gardens and when I take my little walks every day I just pull along the way. The key is to keep up with weeding. When I say a good layer of mulch I start with 4 or 5 inches. What I really like it that it decomposes in time and nourishes my garden. I want that to happen. Plastic and other things make that action take a little longer. That's my 2 cents worth.
