weed control fabric

[xyz321]

hi

looking to get some weed control fabric and bark to sort out some of the mess in front garden.

couple of questions?

1) i understand fabric works by blocking sunlight and eventually weeds stop growing. say if i want to plant something in future, do i just tear a hole out of fabric and plant?

2) are there better weed control fabric than not so good ones? if so how do i identify these and where to get these from? i need relatively small quantity.

3) are all bark same or are there better ones?

ta

 

[ntb]

Cut, don't tear a hole in the fabric to plant through.

I doubt there's much variation in their effectiveness.

There are many different grades of bark and mulch for different purposes. This is mostly to do with the chip size.

You need a medium to large decorative chip laid over membrane to a depth of at least 50mm. Allow extra fabric for overlaps where working around things.

 

[Deleted2797112]

There are certainly differences in the quality and durability of weed suppressing membranes. You can get cheap and cheerful stuff in a pack from places like Wilkinsons, they tend to be a bit lightweight, not quite as dense as some of the better fabrics and they don't last as long. If you only need a small quantity, I'd look for a heavyweight woven fabric that you can buy by the metre from garden centres.

To plant through it, cut a cross shape in it with a Stanley knife and fold the flaps back to dig the hole.

Be aware that birds love foraging in bark mulch and they chuck it all over the place. Some cats also seem to like scratting in it.

 

[munchingB]

buy a heavy weight membrane and you'll starve your plants-buy a lightweight one and you'll still be weeding. horrible stuff-quite useless and a pain in the ass to remove once you realise its doesnt quite do what its supposed to.

 

[r896neo]

use a heavier woven type as ceres says.

I have seen lots of crocosmia and the like growing straight through the light non woven stuff

 

[xyz321]

use a heavier woven type as ceres says.

I have seen lots of crocosmia and the like growing straight through the light non woven stuff

Thanks. is there a particular brand or something to look out for? sorry but having never bought one before how do i know "heavy woven type" compared to nonrmal lighter one?

 

[Deleted2797112]

This is the kind of stuff to look for. It's 100g per sq. m weight and if you zoom in on the picture, you can see it has a woven texture and cutting/planting lines.

 

[r896neo]

it will usually be called landscaping fabric rather than weed suppressant matting.

As said it has an obvious woven texture like carbon fibre.