Weed Barrier Review. Two Months After Install. 

Joan Smith yes, I agree with that completely! I’ve never been a fan of weed fabrics but many people are still using them so I figured it would be a good experiment that people could reference in their decision on what to use for their garden. Thank you for taking the time to share your input!

ME ➡️ crabgrass and pernicious horsetails, to gradually tame this quarter acre into a no-till garden, a season of landscape fabric is a good choice, followed by a season of cardboard ➕ wood chips.

Oh also I gradually shift paths into garden space, The crabgrass gets a mulch of fabric and wood chips, then that space morphs to cardboard and plants, and what happens next... Unknown

@@urbanfarmstead Yes, but you did recommend landscape fabric if you have gnarly weeds. I disagree as it will become ruined anyway.

I will admit that I’ve been gardening for a long time, and still am fighting weeds. I didn’t know until just this year that The four most common types of landscape fabric are woven, non-woven, spun, and perforated fabric. Each type of fabric has distinctive characteristics which make them better suited for specific areas in the yard. I’ve been watching videos by the Millennial gardener on RU-vid, and he is saying that people make the mistake of covering their weed fabric with mulch. Because weed seeds can then blow into the mulch and start growing that way. Again, it depends on what type of weed you have. I would love to see someone test the different types and weights of landscape fabric.

PhantomTrailCam thank you so much for your feedback and support! I’ll definitely have some maintenance videos etc. coming up soon. Thank you for the recommendations.

Yes! I love how short but informative! Chasing after 2 active kids makes it hard to commit to a long video so these short ones are great!

That’s a damn fact

gabbie05 thank you! I’m glad you’re enjoying them!

LOCATOR thanks! ✌🏼

I agree with you. What I did (based upon seeing what my neighbor did) was to put a good 3 layers of cardboard to choke out weeds coming up. Like you noted you need to tend the path every year but I would rather put my $ into the beds rather than spending it on the most advanced super duper weed barrier on the market. . . plus my kids think they are involved in the garden now by providing me with a constant supply of Amazon boxes !

Can u give me pictures or video

I agree, the other thing too with the wood chips and cardboard is that if your seasons are too wet (like ours) you actually need more cardboard, but it actually breaks down over the course of a single season. AND... sorry, but anything that travels by rhizomes - most grass and numerous weeds like creeping charlie - must be managed OUTSIDE the garden, preventing them from coming into the garden. You can't stop anything traveling by rhizomes because they climb over (ie, Bermuda grass, Quack grass, etc).

And also I love that cardboard is adding carbon to the soil and food for the worms whereas the weed mat doesn’t. I have been adding cardboard down and just keep layering as the cardboard breaks down after a couple of seasons. Cardboard is also free and in abundance.

T Morgan ... yes, I agree 100%. If you stay on top of it, pulling weeds & placing a little more woodchips where you pulled it out, the second yr is much less weed pressure. The third yr is hardly any. Time is the name of the game. If you can be patient, each yr weed pressure would be less, even with tough weeds. Time is less expensive $$$$ than cloth/barrier. After 3 yrs of trying maybe then put weed barrier/cloth in stubborn spots. Great vid! Love it! Subscribing...thanks!

It’s the gnarliest weed ever!

Alex Reith yes, definitely. I’ve never been a big fan of weed fabrics and the example you gave is definitely one of the reasons.

MCC Tutorials you’re very welcome! I hate when people create to test something out then never create a follow up to show if it actually worked or what they would change. I’m glad you found this helpful and I appreciate your feedback

Erin Crawford thank you! I’m glad you found it helpful

susan beaty awesome! I’m glad I had the opportunity to test this out and hope my results helped with your research.

Great! Thanks

You’re welcome!

MissGreenThumbs thank you! I’m glad you found it helpful! Yes, I’m planning a garden tour very soon

Tiril Marie Pedersen thank you! I’m glad you found it helpful!

Kimberly Dean great! Happy to share!

Urban Farmstead U need to try to put Cardboard down then the weed fabric then the chips and if you really want to get rid of the weed dump vinegar on the soil before you lay down anything

Thank you! Always happy to share

Thanks Devin! I’m so glad you’re finding my videos helpful!

NT thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it.

Michael Hidalgo thank you! Yikes! That sounds very challenging.

@ML great advise! I'll try and let you know, thanks!

gabbie05 great! I’m glad I was able to share a review of my experience and I hope it helps with your decision.

Thanks. Happy to share

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

I weed often but these things are crazy!

Great! You’re welcome!

Tom Terrific thanks! Yeah, we just moved into this house and the entire yard is infested with both.

I wondered the same thing.

Thank you

Thank you! For my next wood chip paths I’ll do extra cardboard

Lee Willis thank you!

Matthew McCullough that’s a great tip! Thank you for sharing!

Tom Powell thank you! Yes, I know exactly what you mean about wood chips, and that’s one of the reasons I stopped mulching my beds with wood chips and switched to compost for mulch a few years back! That sounds like a great idea for your pathways.

escapeartist74 that sounds like a great strategy. Thank you for sharing!

Justin Gittings I’m glad to hear it’s going well for you! I really do think the cardboard if the way to go. If I did it again I’d probably put down 4-6 layers of cardboard on each row. Happy gardening

When I was working on making a low/no soil potato garden, I used grass clippings to grow the potatoes in. When piling up the clippings it took out all of the weeds including Bermuda grass and yellow nutsedge. Potatoes turned out great too.

LOCATOR that’s awesome! It’s my pleasure to share. I’m glad you’re enjoying my videos.

Urban Farmstead I’m man Keep up the good work 🤘🏽

LOCATOR 🤘🏼

Urban Farmstead sorry for keep replying like this but can you please PLEASE make a video on how to keep slugs away from the plants.. I’ve tired most of the methods but they just won’t stop destroying my plants Thank you 🙏🏽

LOCATOR I will eventually. I used to have a big slug problem in our vegetable garden and beer traps help but what solved my problem was removing chunky mulch and others habitat where they take refuge during the heat of the day.

Planting for Living thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it

My pleasure

Great! Thanks!

Mario R yes! I want so badly to keep this organic but I’m expecting weeds that can only be managed with chemicals

Yeah, nutsedge is just so gnarly!

Also is Sacramento area. Nutsedge is the devil! I have found a few herbicides that genetically only target the sedge plants, and it's the only thing that works. And it works slowly, even with repeated treatments. But it does work to keep it manageable. I get the version on Amazon where you mix the powder into a sprayer and it covers most of the yard. I hate to use chemicals, but it's this or make papyrus out of all this grass.

Thank you so much!

I was interested until I saw the price. Yikes! 😱

The Baylis Code thank you! Happy to share!

@@urbanfarmstead No problem! Your video about converting your yard to a garden inspired me to convert my messy yard into one. Thanks again and keep up the good work!

The Baylis Code that’s awesome! I hope more people can do the same. Happy gardening!

Corey M yes! Healthy soil

Rain Fallen On My Shoes thank you!

royalbookshopper that sounds miserable, especially the bind weed! I’ve dealt with that stuff before, but we’re fortunate to not have it here in our garden. I know the plastic is not ideal but I’m glad it’s helping. Thank you for sharing and thank you for your support!

Hi, I live in Vancouver, and I used to have a lot of weed problems as well. The previous owner put down plastic like your solution, but the issue is that the water wasn't draining well and encourage smaller weed to grow. In addition, over the years, the weed will fight through and start binding itself to the plastic fabric, which makes things a lot harder to pull out, and also leave small shreds of plastic everywhere. My solution for this issue was to do a deep clean of the weeds, even some commercial weed killer. Once, I had a good foundation, I put down cardboard and layer3~4 inch worth of chips. I rarely see anything now. only one or two here and there.

Angela Cross thank! Yes, I think a few extra layers of cardboard would be the best way to go, even for people who can afford weed fabric.

Steadfast Trail Farm that’s great to know you’re having such good results with it! Thank you for sharing you experience!

Susan Quinlan interesting. Thank you for sharing your experience

i had the same problem. Still do , but am working at it! get rid of the weed fabric altogether. fork the soil to aerate it, add some perlite/vermiculite if u have it, lay on layers of leaves, cardboard, mulch, compost , woodchips etc, and just leave it. plant some sunflowers and things, their roots will dig deep down into clay soil. over time the soil will improve. TRY NOT TO WALK ON IT. i put some stepping stones down, because walking on it will just compact it and make it cement again. after a year there is worms and things moving around in it. Just keep dropping organic material all the time all year long. grass clippings, leaves, twigs, pine cones, sticks, etc. and always more cardboard/newspaper, the worms love it and it breaks down and feeds the soil. PHEW what a rant!

Small Garden Quest so glad that worked well for you! That’s what I did with the pathways that have the most weeds. So it didn’t work well with our nutsedge but I think it’s an excellent option for many farms and gardens

I did the same, since seemed a shame for the topsoil to go to waste under the pathways

Angela Halliwell yes! It’s always a great idea to put that top soil to good use.

Lagha Boutarfa thank you!

Connie Fields you’re welcome!

Nutsedge is so gnarly! Anyone who hasn’t experienced it is very fortunate

That awesome, thank you for sharing your experience

jthadcast oh, interesting. How do you think so many weed seeds are finding their way into wood chips. With my nutsedge it’s definitely the rhizomes coming up from deep in the soil but I understand how your issue could be a problem for some.

Barbara Eaton awesome! Thank you for sharing your experience based feedback! Sounds like it’s working great for you!

Sebastian Waite thank you for that suggestion! Weed removal depends a lot on the specific weed. With these the only way to remove is to hand pull and completely remove the root. Not even round up will kill this stuff. Not that I would use round-up or other chemicals here. Some others weeds can just be scraped with a stirrup hoe.

Ag Vinegar at 30% can help. Spot apply carefully...pull, pull, pull. I dose down into the hole where I pulled. Best to wait for a few dry days so your Ag Vinegar is not diluted with rain water.

Thank you! I live in Sacramento CA

Thank you

Solnishko Bear yes that’s exactly what I used - play fiber wood chips from Cascade 👍🏼. You’re very welcome! I’m so glad you’re having fun!

Country 2theSoul that’s awesome! Thank you for sharing that!