Bulbs
Flower Basics
Flower Beds & Specialty Gardens
Flower Garden
Garden Furniture
Garden Gnomes
Garden Seeds
Garden Sheds
Garden Statues
Garden Tools & Supplies
Gardening Basics
Green & Organic
Groundcovers & Vines
Growing Annuals
Growing Basil
Growing Beans
Growing Berries
Growing Blueberries
Growing Cactus
Growing Corn
Growing Cotton
Growing Edibles
Growing Flowers
Growing Garlic
Growing Grapes
Growing Grass
Growing Herbs
Growing Jasmine
Growing Mint
Growing Mushrooms
Orchids
Growing Peanuts
Growing Perennials
Growing Plants
Growing Rosemary
Growing Roses
Growing Strawberries
Growing Sunflowers
Growing Thyme
Growing Tomatoes
Growing Tulips
Growing Vegetables
Herb Basics
Herb Garden
Indoor Growing
Landscaping Basics
Landscaping Patios
Landscaping Plants
Landscaping Shrubs
Landscaping Trees
Landscaping Walks & Pathways
Lawn Basics
Lawn Maintenance
Lawn Mowers
Lawn Ornaments
Lawn Planting
Lawn Tools
Outdoor Growing
Overall Landscape Planning
Pests, Weeds & Problems
Plant Basics
Rock Garden
Rose Garden
Shrubs
Soil
Specialty Gardens
Trees
Vegetable Garden
Yard Maintenance
Flower Bed Weed Prevention with a Plastic Liner
Flower Bed Weed Prevention with a Plastic Liner. While regular plastic sheeting will certainly kill weeds, it may kill everything else in your garden too. Plastic sheeting will not allow the soil to breathe and will trap in so much heat and humidity that your garden will become a haven for plant killing fungi. A far better solution is a liner...
While regular plastic sheeting will certainly kill weeds, it may kill everything else in your garden too. Plastic sheeting will not allow the soil to breathe and will trap in so much heat and humidity that your garden will become a haven for plant killing fungi.
A far better solution is a liner called landscape fabric, available at any home and garden shop, that will allow fungus-thriving heat and humidity to escape, while keeping weeds at bay.
Just like a plastic liner
Landscape fabric is a plasticized membrane that allows airflow, water and nutrients to interact with the soil, yet blocks weed growth from taking over your garden. The best quality fabric is thick and tough, and as a general rule for a quality test, you should not be able to rip or tear good landscape fabric with your bare hands.
How to use it
Lay out the landscape fabric first over your bare garden soil. In places where two pieces meet, overlap the fabric to make sure weeds don't find a way to get sunlight. Allow a good three to six inches of overlapping material to prevent this.
Always cover your fabric with mulch, lava stones or other kinds of ground cover. Never allow direct sunlight to contact the fabric, as the UV rays will deteriorate its weed-blocking capacity, making it brittle and causing it to fail. If you keep landscape fabric covered from direct sunlight year after year, it has the potential to last the life of your garden.
Planting
Once you lay down the fabric and position it properly, determine where your plants should go. With a sharp knife, cut an X through the fabric just wide enough to put your plant in the ground. Any more room than that might encourage rogue weed growth through the excess hole. Make sure the X area surrounding the plant is heavily mulched, and then water and fertilize as you would normally.
