Landscape fabric, weed barrier and weed barrier fabric are names for the same product.ย It is a black mesh type of plastic that is used extensively in landscaping to keep weeds out of your garden. Does it keep the weeds out? Does it let water through to the plants? Lets have a look at the effectiveness of landscape fabric.
Landscape Fabric – Weed Barrier Cloth
This is how landscape fabric is advertised to work. You place it on the ground and cover it with mulch. Weeds already in your soil can’t grow through the cloth so they die. Weeds can’t grow on the cloth, so any sprouting seeds also die. Voila! No weeds.
Don’t Buy Into the Landscape Fabric Myth.
It is true that seeds sprouting under the cloth will not grow through it. However, strong perennial weeds will eventually grow through or around it. Many perennial weeds can grow quite a distance under ground and since landscape fabric comes in 3 and 4 foot wide roles they only need to grow a few feet to find an opening.
If you use a thin cover of mulch, weeds do not grow in the mulch because it is just too dry there. But in no time at all you will see the landscaping fabric stick up through the mulch and then it looks terrible in your garden.
If you use more mulch to hide the weed barrier, wind and water deposits soil particles and plant remains onto the cloth. In no time at all you have the perfect seed mix sitting right above the weed barrier, and weeds start to grow. Believe me when I say that plant roots can grow through the holes in the landscape fabric.
Weed barrier cloth is no better for controlling weeds than a 4 inch layer of mulch.
Landscape Fabric Stops Rain
Weed barrier cloth is porous (ie it has holes in it) and it is advertised as ‘letting the rain flow through’. This is mostly a gardening myth. The reality is that some rain will go through the holes, but much of it flows over top of the cloth and away from your plants, which remain dry.
Weed Barrier Sucks the Life out of Your Soil
I’ve talked many times about the importance of life in the soil. Landscape fabric reduces the air reaching the soil, and prevents any new organic matter from getting to the surface of the soil. It does not take long and the dew worms, microbes and other soil life, which depends on air and food, either leave or die. When this happens, there is a reduction of nutrients for your plants, and soil structure starts to degrade. Neither is good for your plants.
Permanent Plantings are Damaged
In permanent landscapes, plant roots will grow into and through the landscape fabric. At some point in the future when it is replaced (needs to be replaced every 10 years or so), you will damage the roots.
Is There a Good Use for Landscaping Fabric?
Maybe. If you are planting trees in uncultivated land that is very weedy, there is a benefit to using the weed barrier around the tree for a few years in order to keep the weeds down, and give the tree a chance to get established. The tree roots have less competition for space and nutrients. The loss of water due to the weed barrier is offset by the fact that the weeds are no longer using the water. The landscape fabric should be removed after a couple of years once the tree is large enough and strong enough to compete with the weeds.
Recent scientific findings, reported by Dr Linda Chalker-Scott, suggest that a 6- 12 inch layer of wood chip mulch is just as effective. I have used the landscape fabric, as described above, for trees planted in fields, but have now switched to using just mulch.
More Reasons for NOT Buying Landscape Fabric
- it is a plastic and we don’t need more plastic in the environment
- plant roots growing on top of the fabric can’t withstand a drought as easily
- moving plants, and dividing plants is a nightmare because the weed barrier prevents you from digging new holes
- if you do get weeds they are near impossible to pull out
- it is relatively expensive for a product that does almost nothing!
References:
1) Photo Source: Two Women and a Hoe
Iโm planting small shrubs and small plants in a 28 by 8 foot area next to the front of my house with a raised bed of black topsoil that they will be planted in. Iโm have a outer wall of just installed stones 3 courses high โ14inches total height โ to hold the topsoil and the plants. What is your recommendation to get the best results. I had to remove a nightmare of black 3 mil plastic, leaving only bare earth and โtonsโ of weeds. Thanks.
wood chip mulch.
I have had an educationaฤบ tour and head spinner reading all this. Will recread my notes. My first objective is to solve drainage problem and was researching best fabric to wrap the drainage pipes(weeping tile??) And discovered there’s more than one kind!!!! And a wealth of info. I live in Ontario, Canada
I have moved into a new flat and there appears to be PARTS on this black plastic underlay under parts of the garden, plenty of weeds and ivy ripping through. Best advice to get good quality soil back? Best to remove all the parts of plastic I find?
Remove all the plastic. Mulch with organic material.
So we just put down this fabric last weekend to try to kill the grass that has taken over our flower bed…. we took all plants out clean everything out and already grass is popping up through he fabric. This grass is driving me nuts!!! How do I get rid of it if the fabric isn’t working?
Remove the fabric. Kill the grass before planting. There are a couple of options.
1) Herbicide. Glyphosate, aka Roundup is extremely safe and will kill the grass. You might need to wait until the grass is big enough to absorb enough chemical, but it works 100%
2) Sheet mulching, also called lasagna gardening: https://www.gardenmyths.com/sheet-mulching-lasagna-gardening-harm-soil/
3) Hand digging – its work, but it does work. You might have to do this all summer to get rid of all grass.
I like your thoughts on plastic weed blocker. It matches my experience. I only use it for 1 year to stop aggressive weeds from invading. I have cardboard under the plastic! I monitor the water content underneath. In regards to glyphosate, note that Bayer are discontinuing in 2023 to households and have set aside 10 billion for injury law suits. And it’s extremely toxic! just one of many articles…
https://stephanieseneff.net/how-the-weedkiller-glyphosate-is-destroying-our-health/
Thanks
“Bayer are discontinuing in 2023 to households” – true – law suites are expensive – this is a business decision that says nothing about glyphosate toxicity.
“itโs extremely toxic!” – completely wrong. It is one of the safest chemicals we have – less toxic than vinegar. Even the EU has not come out with this conclusion.
https://www.gardenmyths.com/truth-roundup-glyphosate/
In fairness, glyphosate is problematic for amphibians whose populations are crashing worldwide, with half of all species at imminent risk for extinction. The causes of this decline involve many factors that differ by region.
The glyphosate risk to these animals often has to do with surfactant action rather than toxicity, but Relyea (a credible scientist, publishing in credible journals) has some interesting recent research wherein, “the data suggest that the herbicide might be activating the tadpoles’ developmental pathways used for antipredator responses. Collectively, these discoveries suggest that the world’s most widely applied herbicide may have much further-reaching effects on nontarget species than previous considered.” Additional confirming research is needed, of course.
And as you know, glyphosate is also implicated in the dramatic recent rise in celiac disease and other digestive problems, since it definitely acts on bacteria in our gut flora. That science is definitely not settled, but credible scientists–not just that shill Seneff, et al–are finding real issues. It’s also true that the effect of glyphosate on gut bacteria was not even considered in the EPA approval process for this herbicide, just its direct toxicity to humans, which–as you point out–does not seem to be an issue.
All in all, it seems prudent to skip the herbicide and just pull the dang garden weeds, or bury them in thick, healthy wood chip mulch as you suggest elsewhere. Especially if you have frogs, toads and salamanders in or adjacent to your garden.
“glyphosate is also implicated in the dramatic recent rise in celiac disease and other digestive problems, since it definitely acts on bacteria in our gut flora.” – implicated yes – but so far there is no real proof of a connection.
It is not even clear what if any effect glyphosate has on the gut biome. “the research surrounding glyphosateโs effects on the gut microbiome also suffers from numerous methodological weaknesses including artificially high-doses, insufficient duration, proprietary ingredients and an over reliance on animal models. ”
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.556729/full
I do agree that we should not use Roundup unless there is a real need. But that goes for any chemical.
Thanks for publishing all this info. Im a veteran landscaper. Cant tell you how many times ive given this “talk” to people. When misconceptions areapplied ( I BLAME 3M) people can be very stubborn.
Hi
What is the best weed PREVENTATIVE in a vegetable garden?
Mulch
I have had a fabric barrier in one large section of my garden for approximately 3 years. Lifted it just recently to check its effectiveness and there is no sign of weed growth whatsoever. This area used to be heavy in weeds but is now weed free.
Me too. It will work if you get the right type – some will prevent weeds and let water through very easily. I have been using it for years and when done right, it works great.
Hi I am a hop grower in Nova Scotia and I am wondering if I can use the filter fabric to control weeds next to my plants if that will cause my plants not to grow well
You can use it – it just does not work.
Thank you so much for keeping gardeners honest! And for protecting the environment. I just found this new research (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016719871930580X?fbclid=IwAR2dzne1NQs57Lb4bpqxglMu5HwThdgFHqqXUloZOBLRd9SEWMmaIN5i72k) which demonstrates just how badly landscape fabric blocks gas exchanges and fails to live up to all of its claims.
This is very interesting – thanks. “CO2 and O2 concentrations in the soil under the various mulches were not significantly different as compared to the control, except for the polyethylene treatment.” is a key point. The problem is that this work was done in pots in a greenhouse.
We can’t really extrapolate to a garden where a much larger area is covered.
Hello,
We have a steep slope with erosion where the bermuda grass never took. Landscapers want to install either pvc pipes underground from gutters, or make a swale with fabric, then river rock to keep the rocks and dirt separate so water will pass over the rocks. Is there an alternative to fabric? Thank you.
I just cover the soil with rocks – nothing in between.
Some years back someone took over a veggie patch I made in a large hole dug in search of water in an arid environment. Crazily they pulled up all the grass stabilising the steep sandy sides and when i returned erosion was severe. I just collected the dried grass from where they’d dumped it and covered the slope with a few rocks here and there to hold it in place.
Living grass and herbs quickly regrew (over winter). And that is near a South coast beach in the Canaries- same climatic zone as the Sahara desert. Typically 8+ months of no rain per year.
I ws about to order cloth to cover the ground where I want to put rocks, but I plan to be able to have flowers or some plants in the front of the house. I want the back of the big area covered with rocks. What’s the ideal solution?
Just use rocks – keep them thicker to reduce weeds.