Best Weed Barrier Under Gravel – Reviews and Guide

Everyone loves gardening, but when it comes to the backbreaking chore of weeding, just the thought is enough to make you weary. In that case, you can make a little investment in weed barriers, which can lessen the weed growth to a great extent.

These landscape clothes work by cutting off the supply of environmental elements required for the seed’s germination and growth. It also prevents the disposal of the new weed seed by the pollination agents.

Moreover, these fibers protect the soil from getting eroded. The fabric holds the earth in places preventing air from carrying away the upper layer of the ground. It also contains the drainage of the soil with rainwater.

Thus, with the weed barrier, gardening becomes a lot easier. And with a little investment, you can get a beautiful garden devoid of weeds.

Many brands are out there, selling the same items. So, it can be confusing to pick out the best weed fabrics for your purposes with so many brands. Therefore, here we present a list of the top 10 weed barrier for making your shopping easier.

10 Best Weed Barrier Under Gravel 2023

ECOgardener Premium 5oz Pro Garden Weed Barrier

The ECOgardener claims to provide a professional level of weed control, which will be more efficient and productive than the other weed fabrics. At the same time, they promise to make the product eco-friendly.

To keep its commitment, the manufacturer has combined the benefits of woven and non-woven fabrics to design the most robust and most advanced product. The woven fabrics provide heavy-duty strength, while the non-woven fabrics give the feature of water retention. These combined characteristics offer extreme weed control, along with conserving the moisture within the soil.

Moreover, this pro-weed control product is thick and is made of high-quality material. This makes the product very long-lasting. It is sturdy enough to stand the sharpness of stones or the strength of tough plant roots. It does not get easily ripped, so you can choose to cover the fabric with gravels or other decorative aggregates.

Furthermore, because of its two-layered needle-punched fabric, these weed fabrics can be used in warm and cold seasons.

Despite being sturdy and thick, the fabric is light enough to be handled by a single person. It is easy to work with this landscape cloth. The material gets easily cut and fits in tight spaces without any difficulty. The printed straight lines on the fabrics help you to cut them in a straight line. Besides, the thick backing prevents the unraveling of the cut edges. Even you can hold them in places by applying fabric staples that slip smoothly through them.

The fabric has a dimension of 50 feet in length with a width option of 4 or 3 feet, which you can choose according to your needs.

It is suggested to cover these weed fabrics with mulch or gravel, as prolonged exposure to the sunlight can degrade the product’s quality.

DeWitt SBLT4300

This product from DeWitts is ideally designed for the user who lives in warm areas. You can leave the weed fabric without covering, and it will not get affected by the high environmental temperatures. These fabrics are U.V. protected, and hence its quality remains enacted even if left in direct sun exposure. Moreover, these fabrics are perfect for usage in greenhouses.

The fabric is made of black woven polypropylene, which gives sturdiness and durability to the product.

The fabric has enough gaps to let the nutrients and water reach the soil, but the process is time-consuming. This problem has a couple of solutions. To ensure the earth gets enough water, you can invest in a garden sprinkler or drip irrigation system. As for the cheap alternative, you can simply add a layer of mulch above the fabric. It prevents the quick draining of the water, giving it enough time to reach the soil.

As for the installation part, it is effortless to work with this fabric. It can be easily cut with a pair of scissors or any sharp edges like a knife. Moreover, it has a printed line that helps cut the fabric straight, depending on your requirements.

These fabrics are ideal for usage for commercial purposes at the most cost-effective price. It comes in the size of 300 feet in length and 4 feet in width.

Dewitt 12-Year Weed Barrier Fabric 12YR45

As the name says, the manufacturer assures that this weed barrier item can give service for up to 12 years. The product has a unique design to delivers more benefits than the regular weed barrier items.

It is an environmentally friendly product, and hence, this weed fabric can effectively suppress the growth of the weeds in your lawn without harming the plants. It just will not let the weeds meet the environmental conditions it needs to grow.

It is made from non-woven, hydrophilic treated fabric that allows easy entry of the required environmental elements for plant growth. Its enhanced water and the nutrient flow keep the soil moist enough for the healthy development of the flowers and other plants.

Unlike the conventional weed barrier, it is joined using the spun-bond method. In this method, the 3-ply layers are fused in the sandwich form. Additionally, its improved carbon black material fabric has superior light-blocking qualities. This innovative manufacturing technique prevents the sunlight from reaching the weeds, which minimizes their growth.

Moreover, the fabric has been designed to have minimized degradation from U.V. light exposure.

With these benefits, this fabric is also sufficiently thick and long-lasting. But at the same time, it is easy to cut, and the edges do not unravel.
This weed barrier works best when covered with a layer of mulch. As the product has a minimal gap to absorb instantly, the mulch helps to hold the water. This stored water gets slowly soaked by the soil through the fabrics.

It has a dimension of 50 feet in length and 4 feet in width, which makes it perfect for edging raised beds.

SCOTTS Fabric 204133

This weed fabric from Scotts is said to be a medium-duty product. The material is relatively thicker to lasts for a long time.

This fabric is easy to cut, and the installation is also hassle-free. Even it can be easily stapled to be held in their places. This item is light enough to be handled single-handedly, which makes it maneuverable.

The material has a sufficient thickness, but it can get wear and tear from long exposure. So, you need to cover it with mulch or gravel to get the best results. Moreover, the mulch also helps to hold the water longer, as the material does not allow instant penetration of water.

Furthermore, covering the material with some other surface becomes necessary as it is not protected from U.V. radiation.

It is devoid of any linings on the surface, so you need to help yourself with the straight cuts.

It is recommended to remove the mulch or the layer of material you have chosen to put on the fabric occasionally. Following that, brush off the fabric clean and replace the old coating with a new mulch set. It helps to enhance the life of the weed barrier. Moreover, it also reduces soil erosion.

With this product, you can suppress the weed growth from the walkways and patios without the use of any chemicals.

This product’s size is 4 feet in width, and as for the length, you can choose between 100 feet or 220 feet.

Mutual WF20

This item of weed fabric is made from high-quality woven geotextiles, holding the soil in places. It can be applied under Rip Rap, precast blocks, or Gabions. It works as a perfect alternative to the conventional methods of employing sand filters or graded aggregate.

Its fabric is protected from the ultraviolet radiations and natural basics, and acids of the soil. The polypropylene fabric prevents it from rotting or any other biological degradation.

Mutual WF200 not only enhances the surface life but also steadies down the foundation. And at the same time, it also separates the aggregate and subgrade like the other weed barriers. It also resists the shifting below ground.

Moreover, it comes with printed straight lines, which will guide you through cutting the edges straight.

This weed fabric has a length of 300 feet and a width of 6 feet, as for the physical dimension. It weighs 30 lbs., which is not convenient enough for a single person to handle given its size.

But the item has the drawback of getting unravel from the edges when the cut side is not tucked down properly. It is prone to bear holes if it is walked over a lot.

It works best when you put a layer of pavers or gravel over it. This also helps to keep the soil in position.

As far as the other qualification is concerned, this fabric is 90 percent resistant to U.V. rays and has an apparent opening size (A.O.S.) of 40 US Sieve. It has a grab tensile strength of 205 lbs, with a grab elongation of 15 percent. It has a trapezoid tear limit of 75 lbs. And a puncture limit of 100 lbs. And a mullet burst limit of 400 PSI. In the end, it has a permittivity of 0.07 secs.

Scotts 25-Year Pro Fabric

Scotts manufactures this item with a promise of 25 years of a long-lasting feature. It is a satisfactory product to use for completing landscape projects irrespective of their sizes.

The brand is known for offering reasonable control over soil erosion and weed growth. But the weeds may show their heads if there remains any fray or broken area. So, make sure to fold the edges and the overlapping regions before stapling them.

Though the fabric is a heavy-duty product, it can easily take in staples. Moreover, you can smoothly cut into required shapes without much struggle. The material weighs only 4.69 pounds, which is light enough to be handled by a person. These features make the product maneuverable.

Its woven surface allows the flow of water and air, making the soil healthy, but it is time-consuming. It may take a day or two to let the water pass through, so adding a mulch layer is essential. The mulch helps to retain the water for longer so that the fabric can absorb it slowly.

This fabric is devoid of any printed lines, which makes its installation a bit tricky. You will not get any help for cutting straight edges or holes or laying them along the sides.

The product is thick but not strong enough to remain undamaged by long sun exposures as it is not U.V. protected. So, it needed to be covered by gravel or mulch for better results.

It has a length of 150 feet with a width of 3 feet.

Flarmor 140 GSM

This weed barrier is a premium woven landscape fabric that offers practical and long-lasting protection to your garden’s weeds. Along with being durable, this fabric has the benefit of high elasticity.

The barrier’s woven surface allows the easy flow of nutrients, water, and air through it. So, you do not need to worry about the conditions of the soil with Flarmor.

It is flexible enough to be cut with a pair of scissors or a knife. You can conveniently cut them into the required size or patches. Furthermore, the fabric has several printed lines on them that guide you while cutting. Besides, this landscaping fabric allows the staples to slide easily through them.

The installation process may take a couple of hours, but it is easy. And you will not require any assistance from the pros for the purpose.
Flarmor 140 GSM can be used for multi-purpose. Other than suppressing the growth of weeds, this fabric also helps to combat soil erosion. It prevents the soil from sudden environmental changes and holds them in places. It also serves as the separating material between the aggregate and subgrade.

Finally, the high-quality woven fabric remains undamaged by the acids, bases, and other aggressive matters that the soil produces. Moreover, it can withstand any environmental conditions and is eco-friendly.

It comes in three convenient sizes of 12 feet x 100 feet, 3 feet x 300 feet, and 4 feet x 100 feet. This makes it a suitable material for use in any projects of landscaping.

Agfabric Landscape Ground Cover

Like all other weed barriers, this eco-friendly fabric also suppresses weeds’ growth without any chemicals. When laid down on the ground surface, it also protects the soil from getting drained away with rainwater and making somewhere else muddy. As a result, these weed fabrics also help to keep your garden neat and clean.

This item of weed barrier from Agfabric is a heavy-duty product. Its quality does not deteriorate with the prolonged exposure to the sun rays and is well-protected from the harmful U.V. rays. Moreover, you can simply wash the fabric to reuse it.

It comes with printed lines on them, which guides the user in planting management. They can be used to cut straight edges or makes lined planting holes in rows.

Agfabric is made from woven polypropylene, which has a strength of 3.0 oz. It is quite a sturdy product with durability benefits and remains intact with any weather conditions. The material has strong water permeability, and the gaps between them allow the easy pass-through of the water and air. This helps you to maintain healthy soil quality.

But it has the drawback of getting fray edges if not appropriately folded before stapling them. Moreover, its rigidity makes the stapling and cutting process a bit challenging.

You can use Agfabric in your garden to protect the vegetables and fruits from weeds. It can also be conveniently used in greenhouses.
This weed fabric has a weight of 6.04 pounds, which makes it maneuverable to use and install. It has the measurements of 50 feet in length while you get to choose the width between 3 feet and 5 feet according to your convenience.

Originline Weed Control Fabric

This product’s most defining feature is that it comes with perfect round pre-cut holes for planting the shrubs. This makes the process of installation a bit easier. Like other weed barriers, it also has printed straight lines on the woven surface. It helps you plant the shrubs and saplings in a well-ordered manner, giving your garden a neat and tidy look. Thus, with Originline Weed Control Fabric, you can carry out plant management better and easier.

This weed fabric is made from woven fiber and has 3 oz. It has a size of 12 feet in length and 3 feet in width.

This brand also manufactures an environmentally friendly product, which suppresses weed growth without any chemicals.

Like any other landscaping fabric, the Origin line also gives protection to the soil from rainwater. It prevents the drainage of the topmost fertile layer of the ground and the rainwater, thus preventing soil erosion.

Orginline Weed Control Fabric is a heavy-duty product that gives long time durability it. The material is U.V. protected with which it can be laid down on the garden without adding any layer of mulch or stones. Its quality remains intact even if it is exposed to direct sunlight.

Moreover, you can reuse the product after cleaning the surface with water.

Thus, with Originline, you can prevent vegetables and fruits from weeds without much effort. It gives a clear floor surface to your garden with protection from the soil from other environmental factors. It can also be used for patio walkways underlayment to prevent weeds.

Easy Garden Weedshield Landscape Fabric

This landscaping weed barrier comes with a promise lasting for five years, delivering the best results.

The material is made from geotextile woven fabric, which allows the water and air to flow through them quickly. The micropattern holes on the surface let the moisture in

But the Easy Garden Weedshield Landscape Fabric does not allow the entry of the sunlight. These features make it the right product for keeping the weeds out.

It has a weight of 2.39 pounds, which is very light and can be handled by a single individual. Installing this product is easy, which makes it maneuverable.

The fabric is quite challenging and can withstand the pulls without getting ripped; even it can hold out against the gravel’s sharp edges without tearing if you plan to put on any. On the other hand, despite this toughness, the process of cutting and stapling is straightforward. And you do not need to put extra effort into that purpose.

As far as the physical dimension is concerned, it has 100 feet of length with a 3 feet width.

These fabrics can be used for other purposes, like making pockets for pallet gardens and easy potato bags.

Things to look for before buying a Weed Barrier

If you invest in any gardening product, you must want a durable one with the best qualities. Similarly, when it comes to the weed barrier, you want a long-lasting fabric so that you do not need to replace them every fall. So, while buying a landscape fabric, consider the essential criteria carefully and select the best one that matches your budget.

Here we present a list of the criteria you must check before you place an order.

Material Quality

The material quality of the weed barrier determines its durability. Of course, you do not want to replace the fabrics every season.

Most of the weed barrier is made from geotextile fibers composed of polypropylene. Some are built from a heavy-duty sheet that has pre-punched holes that allow water and nutrients through them. These landscaping fibers are rigid enough to withstand the weather elements and any rough surfaces. Thus, these weed barriers work best and have long durability.

Sometimes, the manufacturer also uses polyester to produce weed barriers on a low budget. These barriers have looked like the polypropylene one but lack quality and develop wear and tear in little time.

The products on our list are all made from woven material, which ensures durability.

So, always check the quality of the material before ordering.

Thickness

The low price of the thinner weed barrier may tempt you to buy them, but over time you end up losing extra money for replacing them frequently.

Thus, another factor that determines the durability of the weed barrier is its thickness. The thicker is the barrier, the less prone it is to damage and develop wear and tear.

Water permeability

All the products on our list are permeable to water, while few need less time than the other. As mentioned earlier, to let the water through the fabric, adding a mulch layer can help. It holds the water for a long time over the cloth.

Quantity you need

You must consider how much area you need to cover with weed fabric before buying any fabric. The material’s cost varies depending upon its brand and quality, but an approximate start price is $ 0.45 per square foot. At the same time, the highest can go from $ 0.85 to $ 0.90 per square foot.

Typically, the weed barrier comes in the folded or roll form, with the length varying from 50 feet to 300 feet with a width of 3 to 6 feet. So, make sure you estimate the area before placing the order.

Weight of the fabric

With the thickness and sturdiness of the material, the weed barrier becomes weighty. Sometimes, it becomes too bulky that you need another person for assistance.

Choosing the thicker and weighty one for longevity is the right choice. But if you can find a lightweight product without compromising the sturdiness, always go for it.

U.V. protection

In case you are planning to leave the weed fabric uncovered, you should buy a robust and well-protected one.

Most of the weed barrier comes with U.V. protection, which helps them withstand the intense sun rays’ damage. This also adds a durability feature to the material. Some weed fabrics’ brands from our list, like Scotts, DeWitts, ECOgardener, offer this benefit.

Additional feature – Printed lines

Almost all the weed barrier comes with straight printed lines which helps during the process of installation. For example, it allows you to make measurements and plant the saplings in a bar.

Additional feature – Premade holes

Some weed fabric, such as Easy Garden Weedshield Landscape Fabric, has this feature. The fiber sheet comes with premade holes. You can opt for such a weed barrier if you plan to add the fabric to the flower bed. The pre-cut holes save you from the hassle of cutting gaps in the material, and you can install the saplings.

How to install Weed Fabric?

Covering the garden surface with landscape fabric is the simplest and most effective solution to prevent weeds from your garden. The fabric blocks the weed seedlings from germinating in the soil or even landing on the earth. Simultaneously, the micro-holes on the fabric’s surface let the water, air, and some nutrients through it. This keeps the soil healthy and feeds the plants of your garden.

With all these benefits, users prefer these weed barriers to keep their garden devoid of weeds. But it has a specific installation process that must be followed thoroughly to get the best result.

The steps of installing weed barriers are-

Clear off all vegetation

In this step, you need to remove all the weeds, crabgrass, and other vegetation from the garden where you plan to put the fabric. For this purpose, you can use a garden hoe or shovel, which will help you uproot the roots’ vegetation. Make sure to clear them off from the deep grounds, as any leftover can lead to weed growth even when covered with fabric.

As an easy alternative, you can also spread herbicide. It is recommended to remove the weeds which are responsible for spreading rhizomes or stolons.

Clear and smooth the surface

After removing the vegetation, rake the surface thoroughly. You can use a garden rake to do so. Clear off all the uprooted weeds, twigs, loosened stones, or any sharp objects that can damage the fabric.

Level the soil into a smooth and flat surface.

Lay down the weed barrier

Roll out the fabric to lay it parallel to the ground. Cut it into required shapes and sizes with some sharp knife or scissors. Using a sharp utility prevents the fray from the edges. If you are not sure about the dimensions, you can keep the edges extra-wide, trimming off after installation.
In case you need more than one roll of fabric, overlap the ending by at least 3 to 6 inches.

A weed fabric has one shiny side, while the other side is dull. While laying down material on the ground, make sure to put the right side up as directed by the manufacturer.

To secure them temporarily, you can keep some stone or heavy objects on the edges.

Secure the weed barrier using staples

To hold the fabric to its position permanently, you can use landscape fabric staples. Fold the cut edges by at least 2 to 3 inches and pin down the stapes at an interval of every 10 feet or using a hammer. Don’t forget to staple the overlapping areas and other areas where you think it is required.

Planting through the fabric

If you plan to add plants in that area, cut the desired spots in an X-shaped incision with a sharp knife. To avoid the fray, cut the holes towards the center cutting, just enough to plant a sapling. For making such holes in straight rows, you can take the help of the printed lines.

After that, flip the cut edge aside to dig the soil out. Plant the sapling and fill the gaps with the ground and moisture the earth. Now, put the four flaps back to cover the base of the plant.

Add mulch or gravels.

When covered with the weed barrier, the environmental elements fail to reach the soil directly. They need to pass through the fabric.

As few fabrics take longer to let the water and other nutrients through them, adding a mulch layer prevents water drainage from above the cloth. The mulch holds the water above the fabric, which slowly soaks them in. As a natural mulch, you can add a 2 inches layer of pine needles or wood chips. Level the mulch smoothly with the help of a garden rack without damaging the fabric.

In case you are installing the weed fabric in the walkways, you want to put some gravel or other decorative stones over it. You can put a full coverage of rock for such occasions, avoiding the sharp one, which may damage the fabrics. Install two inches of layer and spread them evenly with a rack.

And your garden is ready to suppress the growth of weeds without the use of any harmful chemical.

Point to keep in mind

No matter what landscape barrier you are using, you cannot stop the wonder of Mother Nature. The weed barrier contains environmental elements like sunlight and water from directly reaching the soil. This, in turn, prevents the weeds from germinating under the barrier.

However, no matter how efficient the product is, the wind will carry soil dust and deposit it on the fabric over time. Moreover, if the fabric is covered with gravel or mulch, the deposition remains unseen. And with the rainwater and sunlight, the soil deposit on the material becomes a new bed for the weeds.

But this new bed does not have too much earth to allow young weeds to make deep rooting as the fabric separates the aggregate and subgrade. This makes their uprooting much easier.

So, cleaning and brushing the fabric become necessary to keep the weeds off occasionally. If you have mulch or stone above the material, remove them to clean the fabric surface and replace a new mulch layer. This helps you to remove the blown-in soil or the young weeds (if any).

Ultimately, the weed fabric acts as a perfect barrier between the soil and the air. And what you will get is much fewer weeds which you can remove effortlessly.

Final words

A beautiful garden needs a lot of maintenance. With that comes the list of chores, out of which some can be backbreaking. Weeding is one of them.

The most efficient and most straightforward solution to this problem is the installation of weed fabric. The function of the weed fabric to suppress the growth of weeds and crabgrass.

While a landscape fabric makes weeding a lot easier, choosing the best one is not that simple. An efficient weed barrier makes gardening more comfortable, and you will find yourself spending less time weeding.

So, we have prepared a list of the top 10 picks for narrowing down your choice list. To make an efficient purchasing choice, checking a few key points is also essential. For example, you must go through the material quality, weight, protection, etc., mentioned by the manufacturer. But most of the buyers miss out on a few points.

Hence, a buyer guide will be useful for you to get the most efficient weed barrier within your budget.