![]() ![]() It is difficult to work in a flower bed that has landscape cloth in it.Stressed plants become unhealthy plants that tend to be more susceptible to pests and disease. This adds unnecessary stress to your plant. Even when installed according to directions, the pores between the landscape fibres will fill with soil particles over time, impairing soil aeration and drainage.We've all seen those yards with landscape fabric peeking through the thin mulch or rock layer above it. Most people will accidentally damage their existing plants installing the (unnecessary) landscape fabric.Problems with landscape fabric for long-term weed control include: Landscape cloth should never be used in this manner as a permanent weed control method. Typically, homeowners will clear their soil of weeds, cut landscape cloth to the shape of their beds allowing holes for existing plants, and add a layer of some type of rocky or organic mulch on top of the cloth to hold it down. However, it does not work well in home landscapes as a year-long weed control tool. As in, preventing soils from moving from one layer to another layer, such as in a raised bed or when working with sand layers supporting hardscaped rock pathways. Landscape fabric is great for agricultural weed control where the fabric is replaced often (typically when the entire crop is switched over), or for seasonal pathways in gardens and removed annually or, for its originally intended use - landscaping. Landscape cloth is found everywhere and is often labelled for weed control but does it really work? Well, sometimes yes it does. Before we get into a better alternative, let's first examine landscape cloth as an option. Regardless of what weed control method you use, seeds will still land on top and germinate. While a cover of some type is a reasonable choice, landscape cloth isn't the type of material suited to covering soil for long periods of time. To prevent weed seeds from germinating, you need to block the existing weed seeds from sunlight or moisture in such a way that you don't prohibit the growth of the plants you do want. This is due to the "seed bank" of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of weed seeds per square foot in normal soil just waiting for the right conditions to germinate. Anyone who's ever broken land knows that bare soil begins to grow weeds almost immediately. Regardless of what you do, you're going to have to pull weeds at some point in time - but there are ways to make your job significantly easier! Weed seeds require the same thing all other seeds do to germinate: access to soil, sunlight, and water. Right off the bat - let's clear up the misconception that a magical effortless weed control method exists. Landscaping at the U of S - A storied history. ![]() Weddings, photography & events on campus.University of Saskatchewan Horticultural Tour.Why do you garden? Beyond food & flowers.Biodiversity: pets, pollinators and more.Food and Bioproduct Sciences Program video. ![]()
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