Weeds cause some severe problems in your garden. They steal the nutrients and water from the plants. Getting rid of them can be very time and effort consuming.
There are many ways you can control the growth of the weed, like herbicide. It kills unwanted weeds, but it also negatively affects the environment.
Other tools of weed controlling include the weed barrier. The weed barrier can stop the supply of sunlight to the weeds, and without it, they can’t grow. There are many types of weed barriers you can use like Mulch, papers or cardboards, plastic covers, and Landscape fabric.
Here we are going to talk about Weed Barrier Fabric.
What is Weed Barrier Fabric?
A Weed Barrier Fabric or landscape fabric or weed barrier cloth is a way of stoping weeds from growing and spreading in your lawn. It is mostly made out of polypropylene or polyester and is breathable like a burlap.
It is one of the best ways to solve the problems that weeds cause in your garden. You just have to lay the Wed barrier fabric where you want a weed-free zone, and it keeps the weeds away from your garden.
It stops the sunlight from getting through, which is vital for weed to grow properly. The weeds don’t have a chance to absorb what they need to grow and can’t survive.
It lets water and air get through so your desired plants can still get what they need and grow without any inference from weeds. It may not be the perfect solution for getting rid of the weeds, but it is a very effective technique if you do it correctly.
It keeps the moisture to the soil and avoids water evaporation. It works great for water beds that you plant every year. You can take the fabric out, clean it, and use it for a long time.
Advantages of Weed Barrier Fabric
Stops Weeds
A landscape Fabric stops Weed from infiltrating your garden. It doesn’t allow the essential things that keep weeds alive get through to them, so they cant survive. It helps in reducing the growth of weeds.
Keep The Moisture To the Soil
The landscape fabric is woven, so it lets the allows water and air to get through it. The water can easily reach the roots of your desired plants. It also stops water from evaporating and keeps it to the ground so you won’t have to water your plants more often.
Environment-Friendly
Herbicides can also be used in controlling weeds, but it affects the soil’s fertilization and harms the plants in your garden. The landscape fabric doesn’t have any negative impact on the soil or plants. It helps your plants grow more quickly by keeping the weeds away from them. Some of the weed barrier fabrics are made from recycled material, so it helps to keep nature clean.
Durability
Unlike other tools of weed barriers, you can use the landscape fabric for a long time. Mulch and paper can decompose over time, and plastic can tear up in a year. If used correctly, a Weed Barrier cloth can be used for five years.
Erosion control
If you have a sloppy landscape, then heavy rain can do some damage to your soil by erosion. The landscape fabric is very effective erosion control. It can hold the soil in heavy rain and control erosion.
Disadvantages of Weed Barrier Fabric
Discourages Worms
Some worms move around under the ground, and they mix the soil, which helps the nutrients to go deeper inside the soil. It helps improve the soil’s fertilization. The landscape fabric can disrupt their process, and as a result, the soil won’t get enough and proper nutrients.
Doesn’t let Natural Nutrients get through
Mulch and grass clippings act like natural nutrients to the plants. The Weed Barrier Fabric don’t let them pass through, and they cant get to the roots of the plants. The plants are not able to get extra nutrients that are given to them by nature.
Less Flexibility
If you are a person who likes to replan their landscape often, a Weed barrier fabric might not be the right choice for you. You can not easily change the place of the fabric as it weakens after reuse. It is not very effective if you move it around too often.
So you need to place it where it can be left alone to do its work.
Effectiveness Decreases Over-Time
Landscape fabric is not a perfect system for weed control as it works great for one year, but after that, it loses the ability to work properly. Some weeds like scutch grass can still grow through the fabric.
If you cover it with mulch, then with passing time, the mulch decomposes and gives a fresh ground for weeds to grow, then weed can grow through the fabric and do damage to it.
How To Install Weed Barrier Fabric
Weed Barrier Fabric needs to be installed correctly to do its work correctly. It is only effective if you install it the right way. So let’s check out how you can do it.
Find Good Quality Fabric
Your Weed Barrier fabric’s effectiveness and life expectancy depend on the quality of the fabric. You should not buy a low priced landscape fabric as it can not effectively pass the water and air to the plants. If you buy a fabric with bad quality, it is more likely to fade out more quickly.
Some manufacturers also supply UV protected fabric, which can last longer than the usual fabric. The weeds will make their way through the fabric if they do not have a good product. So it is crucial to get a good quality Weed barrier fabric.
Clear and Level the Ground
If you are installing the weed barrier fabric on a ground where you don’t already have any plants, then before installing the fabric, you need to clear the ground of any left vegetation and stones. Use the right garden tool to remove all the debris and take out any stone that is above and under the ground.
If there is any vegetation left on the ground, it can come out later and cause damage to the fabric. If you left any stones, they could tear up the fabric.
Now that you have cleared the ground successfully, it is time to level the ground. Use a reck to reck the soil thoroughly. You need to do this until the ground is flat and smooth.
Add Compost and other Nutrients to Soil
If you are installing the landscape fabric, you won’t be able to add nutrients to the soil for a long time. So you should use compost on the soil according to the plant’s need that you will grow there.
You can test your soil and add the right amount of nutrients that your plant will need over-time to the soil.
Install The Weed Barrier Fabric
Now lay down the landscape fabric on the ground. The ruff side of the fabric should be facing downwards so it can grab a hold to the soil. Cover the whole ground where you are planning to add the plants.
You can overlap the fabric if you want. Keep the fabric 4-5 inches longer than the size of the ground so you can pin the edges of the fabric to the ground.
Put Ground Staples
You need to put staples on the fabric, so it doesn’t move from its place. Staples hold the fabric to the ground, so you need to plant them every 5-6 feet, so it gets a better hold of the ground.
Not putting the staples correctly can result in the fabric coming out of the ground, which will not look good, trust me.
Cut Holes In the Fabric
If you have installed the fabric properly in its place, you need to make space for your plants to grow. You can make an X, or you can cut the piece out from where you want to add plants.
Use a knife or a scissor to make proper holes so the plants can grow through them without dying or tearing it up.
Add Mulch
You need to cover the Weed barrier fabric to protect it from the direct sunlight. It is understandable; If you do not want to look at the landscape fabric, you can cover it with mulch. Spread the mulch around the fabric and cover the whole area.
To Conclude
Installing the weed barrier fabric to your garden can certainly help you with stopping weeds, but you need to do it correctly. It is a very effective and reliable tool.
While it may not be a perfect way of getting rid of weeds, but finding a good quality fabric and installing it correctly will solve your weeds problems for a while.
Let me know if this article was helpful.