What kind of experience, good or bad, have you had with weed cloth .?

Question

Hi, I am planning to de-weed many flower beds in yard and cover with weed cloth. What kinds of experiences have you had and do you have any suggestions for best brands and how well it works. I used it once 5 years ago for a smaller area, and found that many weeds grow right thru it.??? Also, would it be possible to just use fabric I have bought to sew on and don't want any more ? Would this cause a problem ? Any landscapers/gardeners out there with some good insight ?

Answer 1

There are many different kinds of weed barrier fabric available out there. Many are cheap, and with that, you basically get what you pay for. Most people who have bad experiences with it, use the cheap stuff, so is it any wonder they have a bad experience?

There is no 100% effective weed barrier fabric. The most effective ones are of a woven fiber composition. I would recommend at least a 3.5 oz. premium grade spun bound polyester. Another one that works really well is Dewitt Pro-5, a 5 oz. woven fabric. They are also commercial quality, and tend to be a bit more pricey, but they will prevent weed growth much more effectively than the cheap ones.

I have the Pro-5 in my yard, and the few weeds that I have in my stone mulch are seeds tha have blown in and are growing in the rocks without any soil. The roots get to the fabric and don't penetrate. They don't thrive so they are easy to remove. It runs for about $0.15/sq. ft. in my area and can be purchased on-line or at some nurseries/garden centers. It cost a bit more, but is well worth it and it is rated to last up to 25 years, and this is the particular item that I specify in all my projects. Cover with 3"-4" layer of stone or bark mulch.

Answer 2

I have used a few types of weed cloth with mixed success. There is one type that looks like a fine mesh, and it worked better at letting water through, but allowed more plants to grow through it. I have it around my hydrangea hedge and have to use roundup to kill the weeds pulling out rips out the fabric as well.

The other type was more like a black paper and I didn't have much of a problem with weed control, but it seemed to prevent the rain from penetrating and moistening the soil so some of the surrounding plants didn't do very well. I ended up ripping it out completely by the end of the season.

I also found it a bit of a pain to add plants to a bed covered in weed cloth. After a few failed attempts, I have completely given up on all landscape fabrics.

You could use a thin cotton fabric, but it will rot eventually and you might have mold and mildew problems while it decomposes. Synthetic fabrics would not be good for the soil or garden. They would harbor molds, mildews, and slugs.

Personallyk, the best solution I have had to weed prevention is using a bark dust mulch. Bark dust or finely ground bark is small and will make a nice 2 inch mat that will keep most weeds down while allowing water to penetrate to the soil and even retains moisture so you don't have to water the plants as much in the summer. Those big chunky bark mulches look nice, but let enough light in to keep those weeds growing through.

For a really infested area, layer a few sheets of newspaper on the soil before you mulch and it should smother the weeds and keep the new ones from getting started. You could also use a cotton fabric instead of newspaper if you wanted to.

The biggest tip I have is to not allow the dirt to stand uncovered for very long. The sunlight will trigger some weed seeds to grow. When I start a new bed, I try to turn the soil and cover it the same day to minimize weed germination. The seeds are usually in the soil already, no need to encourage them to sprout.

Fine or medium bark dust can have lots of splinters. Be sure to wear gloves and use a shovel and rake--not your hands to spread it. If you have a large area, consider having a blower truck come out and do the whole yard in one day. It costs a little more, but looks great and is so wonderfully easy.

Also, if weeds do germinate in the bark dust, they usually come out really easily since they are not rooted in soil. I use a winged weeder and just sever the stems at the soil level and they don't come back.

I have heard good things about preemergent mulches that prevent weed seeds from germinating. I think they are rather expensive thought and my garden is too large to use them. But they might be worth a try for a small area.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I used it once, and am still regretting it. You can't plant once it's down. The next year you can never find the same holes to use. The 3rd year it started to disintegrate, and I had more weeds than ever before, and I had to deal with the rotting screen. NOW, better late that never, I use Preen and mulch. Get your beds weed free, and spread Preen/directions on container. Spread your mulch, and spread Preen on the mulch. DONE! Preen lasts 6 months. Oh yeah, you may get 1 or 2 stubborn weeds, but that's all. If you haven't heard about it, Preen is a pre-emergent weed barrier. It just doesn't let the weed seeds germinate. In answer to you question regarding regular fabric, no, you can't use it. It will disintegrate even faster than the weed barrier. Just remember that once you spread your Preen there are no flower seeds that can germinate. You have to use plants. If you like it, put it in your vegetable garden, but not until all your lettuce, beets, etc. seeds have germinated.

Answer 4

Weed cloth is expensive, hard to work with, and ineffective. Recommend laying down 7 to 9 layers of newspaper and mulching over that. I haven't had one weed sneak through it yet.