Landscaping Fabric

[JacobMHD]

What are your thoughts on using landscaping fabric? Is it necessary?

[JacobMHD]

I guess I could be more specific. We are putting in edging around the house and under the deck. It seems to me that a nice thick layer of mulch should help keep the weeds at bay along with normal weed control.

[nofishfisherman]

I have mulch around the front of my house. I put landscape fabric under the mulch right along the house but didn't put any along the front edge as I plant annuals along the front edge every year.

The back section that has the landscape fabric rarely has any weeds, the area up front that just has mulch does get weeds and needs attention on a regular basis.

I have at least 4 inches of mulch and when needed I add a new layer to keep it around 4 inches as the mulch will break down over time.

I'd say go for the fabric and make sure to get a heavier duty option. Its not all that expensive and it will save time weeding and the cost of the weed killer you'll need sooner or later.

[LwnmwnMan2]

You can put mulch down, but make sure it's quite thick, meaning 4+".

You can use a pre-emergent such as Preen in the spring, which will keep the weeds down as well.

As you yearly add mulch, there will be debris brought in with the mulch as well as the mulch that breaks down, which will cause a dirt buildup on top of the fabric.

Eventually, you'll get weeds to come up, fabric is not a complete cure-all.

With all of that said, whenever I do installs, I use fabric.

[Steve Foss]

I use fabric for clients, because they've almost always wanted it. For my own extensive perennial gardens, no fabric. I've found it's nearly six of one and half a dozen of the other. With fabric, as mentioned, wood mulch has some fine wood dust in it, and even laid thickly over fabric, you can easily get seeds blown in or carried by bird droppings. Those seeds will grow into weeds lickety split. I've had weeds coming up (sprouting on top of the fabric, not through it) three weeks after laying down fabric/mulch.

At home, when I lay in mulch, I make double darn sure I've got all the weeds and their roots up. Especially with quack grass, where even an inch of viable root section will sprout new grass. This either involves Roundup or, the best way, turning over every inch with a spade and sorting through to get rid of the carp. This also aerates the soil before mulching.

I'd say that, with the right prep, thick wood mulch with no fabric demands a bit more weed upkeep than the fabric option, but not by much. Laying fabric also prevents the decaying wood mulch from enriching the soil below it with humus and other great stuff, which is very important to us with our poor soil up here on the ledge rock. We're literally building our own soil as the years pass.

Fabric install also demands a certain level of attention to detail. Flaps can stick up after cutting the + signs in the fabric to put in plants through, and along edges as well, if they are not tucked down and mulched heavily enough. We've got a brand new restaurant here in Ely this season with extensive and excellently designed landscaping incorporating rock, waterfall/brook, wood mulch and a nice combination of perennials and shrubs. But there's landscape fabric sticking out all over the place through the mulch.

The longer the fabric system remains in place, the more dirt gets blown/carried in, and the more weeds you get. Eventually there's enough dirt on top of the fabric that it's not serving much purpose. I will say it's easier to pull young weeds that sprout on top of fabric than it is without the fabric.

[MEGASLAM]

Might be too late but i'll throw my 2 cents in.

If you do go with fabric, make sure to cut ample space around your plants. I've extended the holes past the drip lines. Which depending on what you're planting, makes it look like swiss cheese and defeats the purpose. I found this out the hard way by losing some plants for lack of water.

My first areas (3+years ago) I used fabric and mulch and my later areas I just use mulch. I get about the same amount of weeds in both. The mulch only area gets deep rooted weeds that a little bit of weed killer takes care of twice a year.