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Weed control - landscape fabric

chloesmith61chloesmith61 Posts: 49
edited July 2020 in Problem solving
Hi,

I am wondering if landscape fabric is needed to prevent Nipplewort weed from reappearing next year? I have removed the weeds but unfortunately it was after they had spread their seeds, as my neighbour liked them and didn't want me to dig them up until after they flowered 😱 (shared front garden).

I am wondering if landscape fabric works? I want to plant some perennials over it.

Do I need to make a hole for the roots, or can I plant the perrenials on top of the fabric? 

Posts

  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    If they were nipplewort, who thinks up these names!, they would have brown seed heads not the dandelion type white seeds.
    You can't plant anything on top of fabric you have to cut a cross in it peel it back and plant into your soil, then push back the fabric around the plant.
    You need to cover the fabric with bark or gravel as it looks ugly.
    All seeds need light to germinate so you might as well just put a layer of gravel or bark straight on the soil. They are any easy weed to get rid of as they don't have deep roots so any that appear can easily be hoed or pulled out.
  • chloesmith61chloesmith61 Posts: 49
    Hi K67, thank you for your reply - very useful! I think I'll just put some gravel down and then plant them over that with some compost 👍

    The seeds were really small and white, so hopefully they won't germinate!

    Yes it really is a horrible name 🤣 
  • Butterfly66Butterfly66 Posts: 970
    If you’re going to plant the area, best do that before putting the gravel down. Otherwise you will get compost mixed in with the gravel and weeds will still grow. You need a good depth of mulch, 5-10cm to be effective suppressing weeds.
     If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero
    East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
  • chloesmith61chloesmith61 Posts: 49
    Thanks Butterfly66. Do you mean plant on the bare soil, (I'll use some fresh compost), then put gravel on top of the compost/around the new plants? 

    Would I need gravel if I'm using new compost or will that work as the mulch? I've removed quite a bit of the earth where the roots/seeds were which allows about 10cm of compost. 

    Thanks in advance!
  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,487
    One of the best suppressants I've come across (by accident I have to admit) is good old farmyard manure which hasn't fully rotted down.  A couple of years ago, I got myself a good load from a local farmer for no specific purpose, and, with my parsnip foliage about 6 inches tall, I plastered the manure all round them, trod it down, and saw no more weeds.  This year, I had some more (big farm) so spread some liberally on a patch of soil and pushed my onion sets into it.  So far only three individual weeds and, to my surprise, not one seed head so far.  If there's any science behind this, I'm not clever enough to have worked it out - but I shall do it again!
  • chloesmith61chloesmith61 Posts: 49
    Thanks Nick615!

    Maybe I'll do all three things, as I really don't want those weeds coming back next year. There were so many of them! 😂

    I'll let you know how it goes! 🤞
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Peeps on this forum are often quite down on weed supressant fabrics / membranes etc but think they are brilliant in my garden. I inherited a garden full of woven membrane, laid down at least ten years ago and it's still going strong. It doesn't degrade or rip. I have laid earth on top of it in places that works fine. It means weeds that seed on top of it are easy to pull out. Weeds don't put their roots through it. There are plenty of worms above it. I couldn't tell you what it is, but it isn't woven plastic-looking stuff. More like cloth, possibly several layers.  I have no bindweed in my garden, though the gardens on three sides of me have it. I think the membrane is partly why. It can't get under the fences easily.
  • chloesmith61chloesmith61 Posts: 49
    Thanks Fire, I'm thinking there's no harm in giving it a try! I can always but a bit of gravel on top of it and some manure on top as well 💪 Good bye weeds!!
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I would say so. There are very many types of membrane, weave etc, so I would do some research.
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    My gravel areas are covered in some sort of felt underlay, which I believe is called 'drainage fabric'?  Super tough stuff.. it's been here since the house was built/landscaped 15 years ago.. and it's still solid and strong.  I know because I cut lots of holes in it for planting.. had to cut a hole in it tonight to plant a elder flower into an area of it.  We didn't put it in, but it looks like this stuff here.
    Utah, USA.
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