Weed control - whats your mulch process? - Page 3

Worth1 · May 17, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by isuhunter

I have yet to see a slug in my garden here in Iowa.

What's your address I will send you some.

As soon as the sprouts and plants get big enough I'm going to lay down some cypress mulch in one bed.
Worth

Worth1 · May 17, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadScientist

Does anyone use landscape fabric? I put some down over 4-6" of semi-composted leaves, but I am worried its keeping the soil underneath too dry--it seems more water repellent than I expected. any suggestions?

From people in the know I have read it is a joke and a waste of money for the very reason you stated.
It repels water.
Worth

AlittleSalt · May 17, 2017

Weed roots grow through the landscape fabric making them a pain to remove. I learned the hard way a couple years ago.

Rockporter · May 17, 2017

I use landscape cloth to line my raised beds hubby built with a bottom in them, and my big containers to keep the soil from washing out. I also use it to hold a pile of dirt I've laid out for a new bed out front to keep it from washing away. I then remove it after the worms have been at work at least 6 months on the cardboard I laid underneath the dirt. By this time I have a nice garden bed to work with. Can't wait to get the front planted with some greenery and flowers of some sort. It looks so boring at my house out front. I have found that water gets through just fine after a rain because I can put my foot on it and water seeps out at my shoes, and the soil feels soft.

Worth1 · May 17, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

Weed roots grow through the landscape fabric making them a pain to remove. I learned the hard way a couple years ago.

It was on a video about top ten landscaping mistakes I saw some time ago.
A very good video a woman presented.
Worth

greenthumbomaha · May 17, 2017

It's not a waster of money for me. All weed blocks are not the same. The fabric type of weed block may be guilty of several infractions - dryness, weeds growing on top, etc.

The shiny type woven polypropylene blocks light but not water. It actually saves me trips out to the garden just to water. Does a good job of keeping weeds out if you have taken care of that before laying the fabric down. This is not like a plastic garbage bag. You can see the weave. Good stuff, I have been using it for 2 years. Helps so much when you get old like me.

- Lisa

Worth1 · May 18, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenthumbomaha

It's not a waster of money for me. All weed blocks are not the same. The fabric type of weed block may be guilty of several infractions - dryness, weeds growing on top, etc.

The shiny type woven polypropylene blocks light but not water. It actually saves me trips out to the garden just to water. Does a good job of keeping weeds out if you have taken care of that before laying the fabric down. This is not like a plastic garbage bag. You can see the weave. Good stuff, I have been using it for 2 years. Helps so much when you get old like me.

- Lisa

No they aren't the same but some of the stuff repels more water that it absorbed.
One of the worst nightmares I have encountered was thick plastic vapor barrier under random sized river gravel for a cactus sprawling yucca patch gone wild.

It was here when I bought the place and took forever to get out and clean up.
I still have one to dig out in front of the house.
I hope that plastic isn't there too.

Try digging through raw unfiltered river gravel/rocks dirt dead cacti, yucca and roots.

Worth

PureHarvest · May 18, 2017

3 mil woven landscape fabric. Water passes through but not weeds. Can be used year after year unlike plastic.
Like mentioned above, not the fibery stuff so weeds don't push through or grow on top.
Two lines of drip tape underneath.
Burn the holes with a long handled torch that attaches to a camp stove bottle.
Drill holes into a piece of plywood and lay that on the fabric and burn where the holes are in the board so you don't melt a bigger hole than you want, plus it sets up your plant spacing automatically.
Pin it down with 6" sod staples.

This one is for my strawberry planting:

Garlic 3-25-17b.JPG

Garlic:

Garlic 3-25-17e.JPG

Putting straw along the edges of the fabric is a must or you will have a forest growing along the edges that have to be trimmed/mowed/or hand pulled. Or you'd have to very carefully spray if you are ok with herbicides.

Here you can see where straw has kept down all weeds along the edges. i have pulled zero weeds to date in the garlic areas.

garlic 5-1c.jpg

Here is an un-strawed edge. Weeds are coming along. You should see it now. They are 6" tall. I am going to trim them down, then cut a 1' strip of fabric off of my 3' wide roll and pin it down along the edge to smother them down.

strawberry bed1 5-1.JPG

rhoder551 · May 21, 2017

I mulch with whatever is at hand... This years combo, dried out asparagus branches, prunings from my roses, dried fig leaves mixed with pine needles, etc. I like straw the best but bales are not available nearby so I try to make due with what I have. I also mulch my melons with black plastic to increase the soil temperature.

oakley · May 21, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

No they aren't the same but some of the stuff repels more water that it absorbed.
One of the worst nightmares I have encountered was thick plastic vapor barrier under random sized river gravel for a cactus sprawling yucca patch gone wild.

It was here when I bought the place and took forever to get out and clean up.
I still have one to dig out in front of the house.
I hope that plastic isn't there too.

Try digging through raw unfiltered river gravel/rocks dirt dead cacti, yucca and roots.

Worth

I inherited that same mess. Under gravel, then a layer of stone. Grrr.

oakley · May 21, 2017

[QUOTE=PureHarvest;640748]3 mil woven landscape fabric. Water passes through but not weeds. Can be used year after year unlike plastic.
Like mentioned above, not the fibery stuff so weeds don't push through or grow on top.
Two lines of drip tape underneath.
Burn the holes with a long handled torch that attaches to a camp stove bottle.

Do you have a good source for that. I need some for a couple beds i may just sit
dormant for this year...one will be a bed prepped for garlic next Fall. Or i may Find a
good reusable field tarp i see some small farms use...no hurry. I like re-useable.

Worth1 · May 21, 2017

Nothing short of 3/4 inch steel plate or 8 inches of reinforced concrete will stop nut grass.
I have seen it grow up through the bottom of the above ground swimming pools and live.

Worth

OhioKate · May 21, 2017

I generally mulch with straw. In the spring I buy maybe three or four bales of straw (unless I was able to find any freebies after the fall) and thats usually enough to mulch the paths between my beds and the beds themselves.

Then in the fall when I pull the tomatoes and peppers i take all the straw that was in the beds and throw it in the paths. Then I cover the beds with about 2 or 3 inches of shredded leaves unless I have a cover crop planted.

The straw has many advantages but the primary reason I use it in my beds is to prevent soil splash and keep things relatively moist so I'm not watering everyday in the hottest part of the summer.

Father'sDaughter · May 21, 2017

So far there is only one "weed" making it up through my oak leaf mulch -- oak tree seedlings!

I've been pulling two to three dozen a day out of my beds. My husband mulched the leaves pretty well before I put them on the beds last fall, so I'm not sure if the mower blades missed all the acorns, or if I have fat, lazy squirrels who can't be bothered to come back for them.

PureHarvest · May 22, 2017

[QUOTE=oakley;641268]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PureHarvest

3 mil woven landscape fabric. Water passes through but not weeds. Can be used year after year unlike plastic.
Like mentioned above, not the fibery stuff so weeds don't push through or grow on top.
Two lines of drip tape underneath.
Burn the holes with a long handled torch that attaches to a camp stove bottle.

Do you have a good source for that. I need some for a couple beds i may just sit
dormant for this year...one will be a bed prepped for garlic next Fall. Or i may Find a
good reusable field tarp i see some small farms use...no hurry. I like re-useable.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is the brand and mil I use. Comes in other widths and lengths too.

May 17, 2017	#34
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	I use landscape cloth to line my raised beds hubby built with a bottom in them, and my big containers to keep the soil from washing out. I also use it to hold a pile of dirt I've laid out for a new bed out front to keep it from washing away. I then remove it after the worms have been at work at least 6 months on the cardboard I laid underneath the dirt. By this time I have a nice garden bed to work with. Can't wait to get the front planted with some greenery and flowers of some sort. It looks so boring at my house out front. I have found that water gets through just fine after a rain because I can put my foot on it and water seeps out at my shoes, and the soil feels soft. __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

May 18, 2017	#38
PureHarvest Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Mid-Atlantic right on the line of Zone 7a and 7b Posts: 1,369	3 mil woven landscape fabric. Water passes through but not weeds. Can be used year after year unlike plastic. Like mentioned above, not the fibery stuff so weeds don't push through or grow on top. Two lines of drip tape underneath. Burn the holes with a long handled torch that attaches to a camp stove bottle. Drill holes into a piece of plywood and lay that on the fabric and burn where the holes are in the board so you don't melt a bigger hole than you want, plus it sets up your plant spacing automatically. Pin it down with 6" sod staples. This one is for my strawberry planting: Garlic 3-25-17b.JPG Garlic: Garlic 3-25-17e.JPG Putting straw along the edges of the fabric is a must or you will have a forest growing along the edges that have to be trimmed/mowed/or hand pulled. Or you'd have to very carefully spray if you are ok with herbicides. Here you can see where straw has kept down all weeds along the edges. i have pulled zero weeds to date in the garlic areas. garlic 5-1c.jpg Here is an un-strawed edge. Weeds are coming along. You should see it now. They are 6" tall. I am going to trim them down, then cut a 1' strip of fabric off of my 3' wide roll and pin it down along the edge to smother them down. strawberry bed1 5-1.JPG Last edited by PureHarvest; May 18, 2017 at 09:29 AM.

May 21, 2017	#44
Father'sDaughter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: MA/NH Border Posts: 4,917	Weed control - whats your mulch process? So far there is only one "weed" making it up through my oak leaf mulch -- oak tree seedlings! I've been pulling two to three dozen a day out of my beds. My husband mulched the leaves pretty well before I put them on the beds last fall, so I'm not sure if the mower blades missed all the acorns, or if I have fat, lazy squirrels who can't be bothered to come back for them.

May 17, 2017	#33
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	Weed roots grow through the landscape fabric making them a pain to remove. I learned the hard way a couple years ago.

May 17, 2017	#36
greenthumbomaha Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Omaha Zone 5 Posts: 2,514	It's not a waster of money for me. All weed blocks are not the same. The fabric type of weed block may be guilty of several infractions - dryness, weeds growing on top, etc. The shiny type woven polypropylene blocks light but not water. It actually saves me trips out to the garden just to water. Does a good job of keeping weeds out if you have taken care of that before laying the fabric down. This is not like a plastic garbage bag. You can see the weave. Good stuff, I have been using it for 2 years. Helps so much when you get old like me. - Lisa

May 21, 2017	#39
rhoder551 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 219	I mulch with whatever is at hand... This years combo, dried out asparagus branches, prunings from my roses, dried fig leaves mixed with pine needles, etc. I like straw the best but bales are not available nearby so I try to make due with what I have. I also mulch my melons with black plastic to increase the soil temperature.

May 21, 2017	#41
oakley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: NewYork 5a Posts: 2,303	[QUOTE=PureHarvest;640748]3 mil woven landscape fabric. Water passes through but not weeds. Can be used year after year unlike plastic. Like mentioned above, not the fibery stuff so weeds don't push through or grow on top. Two lines of drip tape underneath. Burn the holes with a long handled torch that attaches to a camp stove bottle. Do you have a good source for that. I need some for a couple beds i may just sit dormant for this year...one will be a bed prepped for garlic next Fall. Or i may Find a good reusable field tarp i see some small farms use...no hurry. I like re-useable.

May 21, 2017	#42
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Nothing short of 3/4 inch steel plate or 8 inches of reinforced concrete will stop nut grass. I have seen it grow up through the bottom of the above ground swimming pools and live. Worth

May 21, 2017	#43
OhioKate Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Ohio Posts: 20	I generally mulch with straw. In the spring I buy maybe three or four bales of straw (unless I was able to find any freebies after the fall) and thats usually enough to mulch the paths between my beds and the beds themselves. Then in the fall when I pull the tomatoes and peppers i take all the straw that was in the beds and throw it in the paths. Then I cover the beds with about 2 or 3 inches of shredded leaves unless I have a cover crop planted. The straw has many advantages but the primary reason I use it in my beds is to prevent soil splash and keep things relatively moist so I'm not watering everyday in the hottest part of the summer.