Timothy wrote:
On Tue, 07 Mar 2006 19:13:11 -0800, persephone wrote:

I bought some because a landscaper relative said it was better than
plastic - kept weeds down but didn't block flow of water to soil.

Had a yard party - several friends came over and redid a rose bed - took
out the weeds and dirt, smoothed down area, installed landscape cloth,
re-covered with dirt. Looks gorgeous!

Comes my gardener and says that this doesn't work. Weeds come up anyway,
and are harder to pull out because stuck in the cloth.

Oy!

Any wisdom out there?

Persephone


I would agree with your gardener. I find weed cloth to be more work than
it's worth. Many folks use it under mulch, ground tree bark or wood chips
which seems to defeat the purpose IMHO. I recommend using weed fabric
under rock or paver slabs but never for any area that will have organic
matter piled on top of it seasonally.

Common sense would dictate that over time the weed fabric would get buried
deeper and deeper. The fabric has become useless at weed control and
now could hinder root development of other trees and shrubs. These roots
will have a harder fight to 'rise' in the flower bed as the mulch
accumulates.

Or, and I've seen this happen too many times, the organic material on top
depletes faster than it's replaced, and you end up with the fabric --
usually tattered edges -- sticking up, looking ugly as all hell.

I use multiple layers of newspaper -- at least 8 layers thick, and
overlapping. It cuts off the light so annual seeds don't germinate, and
makes it difficult for grass runners to sprout, too. Tough perennial weeds
with big tap roots can sometimes make it through, and some small weeds may
germinate in the organic material on top of the newspaper. But those are
very minor problems, and quite easy to control.

Eventually the newspaper decomposes, so it doesn't get in the way of
intentional plantings. But by the time that happens, the weeds, while not
totally eliminated, are easily controlled. And if you let it get away from
you, five or six years down the line you can repeat the process. That's
generally longer than the cloth fabric will last before you're going to want
to just pull it all up.

Now that it's down, you might as well let it there. If you're not ready to
pull it up next year, you'll be ready the following year.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.

Power Lawncare Tools for Spring Clean-up:
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blackanddecker/