Landscape fabric

[enchant]

Over the years, I've never found a decent solution to weeds. I live a couple miles from the ocean and have a great source for all of the salt marsh hay I could possibly use, but it doesn't really do a good job. Last year, I put down a thick layer of the hay, but I wasn't able to put the time into gardening that I normally would, and after a few weeks of ignoring it, it was a mass of weeds.


A few years back, I bought a roll of landscape fabric at a local bargain store. It did a great job of keeping the weeds down, but any rain would roll off it as though it was scotch-guarded.


So I was thinking that perhaps if I wasn't so cheap and bought a decent brand, I might have better luck. There's a Lowes right down the street, but looking at the reviews for their landscape fabric, *everyone* says it's not water permeable. There's a brand on Amazon (ECOgardener) that gets very high marks, and although most people say that it's water permeable, some say it isn't. That bothers me.


Is there a brand that anyone can suggest that will absolutely positively absorb water?


Right now, I'm really only interested in information about landscape fabric. Things similar to salt marsh hay that get spread are kind of a lot of work, especially to clean up, and I'm getting to the age where I'm looking for less work.

[rnewste]

What I would do to test it out is to buy a roll of it, unroll about 1 yard on the dirt, then puddle up an amount of water on the surface. Check back in about an hour to see if the water has gone through the fabric and into the ground. Having the landscape fabric on the ground surface is important for it to "wick through" into the contact dirt.

Raybo

[enchant]

Originally Posted by rnewste

Having the landscape fabric on the ground surface is important for it to "wick through" into the contact dirt.

In one of the reviews I saw, the person said something along the lines of: The reason water isn't penetrating is that you're not installing it properly. You need to put the fabric down and then put the rocks or wood chips on top of it. This is what lets the water through.


But they are using it around their house under the shrubs to visually landscape their property. I won't be putting anything on top of in my tomato garden.


Thanks for the info!

[rnewste]

I would sprinkle a light laver of pine bark nuggets to hold it in place and prevent the wind from lifting it up.

Raybo

[Jesse103]

I use Landscape Fabric in my garden under grow bags. I use the Dewitt Brand is it advertised to last 12 years. I purchased it from Amazon a couple of years ago and it is still during the job. I have not had any problems with water standing. They suggest you remove (dig up) the grass before laying down the fabric. I used landscape staples to hold the fabric down. It does the job.

[MissS]

I use cardboard with some type of mulch on top of that. It works well for me for a year or two.

[wildcat62]

I use the Dewitt Brand & fill in gaps as needed with newspapers.

[enchant]

Thanks everyone for all the good info. Plants went in the ground today and I feel informed about the landscape fabric now.

[kycountryboy]

I am using DeWitt, this year, first time. I have been happy so far.

[JRinPA]

I think the way would be to fold it up into a 1 yd squares and shoot a trap load through all the layers at once. Unfold and you would have 350 1/10" holes per yard.

[ddsack]

I use weedblocker in small sections in my raised 12'x4' or 8'x4' beds, usually without a top cover. I try to buy what is listed as water permeable, have never kept track of brands. Since none of my beds are totally smooth and level, I just stick a knife in all the low spots where I can see water tends to pool for a longer time. Any weed finding the opening can easily be pulled.

[enchant]

I ended up getting the ECOgardener fabric. This past weekend near Boston, we've had endless rain, and it appears to be soaking through the fabric just fine. I went out when it was pelting, and it wasn't running off or even creating pools.

[Bruinwar]

Costco sells rolls of fabric that is quite cheap & water flows there it easily. However, light also goes through it so it takes a 4-5" of marsh hay to stop ye ol photosynthesis. I've used that method for years & only a little grass & thistle get through. I pull those when I water. At the end of the year I pull the fabric out & toss it.

[PhilaGardener]

A thin layer of mulch on top helps protect the fabric from UV damage and makes it last longer. I've also gone to using cardboard layering in paths and along fence lines - the earthworms love it!

[JRinPA]

The first four years I was doing wood chips in the path between my two long raised beds. Nice fine fresh wood chips from small branches in my shredder, not the nasty big stuff from landscapers through a 3x5. They'd stay nice for a few months. After a couple years of the wood chips they built up a few inches and I had to dig them back out and compost them and replace a few times.

Last year after I dug back to dirt I laid down some old roof shingles between beds. That worked pretty well to keep down weeds, and I didn't have to do anything except shift them one time late last summer, to move the gaps. The paths stayed drier to walk on. I could have used a few more square feet, but they were re-use.

There is an appliance store in town and I can get thick large cardboard there for the asking. Maybe I'll try that at some point, but I don't want the pathway to build up in height or stay damp.

At the comm garden they do cardboard and then big 3x5 wood chips on top (the chips are about 2" but lots of sticks too), but they are built up now so high and soft that it is hard to use a wheelbarrow on them, and frankly hard to walk on for people with poor balance.