Last Updated on February 26, 2020 by Ecorf
Weed is one of the problems that spring up at different times in the year. As a homeowner, you tend to have a garden where you plant various crops. You can also grow your favorite flowers in the garden. However, there may be a problem along the line, and that is the growth of weed in the garden.
Weed tends to obstruct not only the growth of plants and crops in the garden but can also make the garden to be untidy. That informs the reason why you need to find a way to stop the excessive growth of weed in your garden, and weed barriers are one of the things you can use to stop that.
What are Weed Barriers?
Weed barriers are the different kinds of items you can use to stop the springing up of weed in your garden. These weed barriers also come in various forms, such as landscape cloth. It might interest you to know that the weed barrier helps to prevent those annoying weeds from springing up in your garden.
On the other hand, weed barriers are also called landscape fabric, which is one tool you can also use for walkways, patios, and beds. The fantastic thing about it is that many of these weed barriers come in the form of a layer of organic mulch, such as shredded leaves, straw, or wood chips. The addition of those as mentioned above underneath the mulch is to protect the area.
The weed barrier cloth is a meshlike material that comes in rolls. It is also easy to cut so that it can fit into the area where you want to protect the growth of the weed. So, you need to install the weed barrier in a way that would bring forth the necessary effectiveness you need.
How To Install Weed Barrier
Now that you’ve realized the roles played by the weed barrier for your garden, and indeed other areas in your home, you can then proceed to install one. Note that installing the landscape fabric may not be harder than spreading out a bedsheet. The primary thing you need to do is to prepare the ground properly so that the material wouldn’t be damaged. Besides, you also need to make it in a way that the edges of the fabric would be made to prevent the springing of weeds, just as the material would be covered from passing through the seams.
Items You Need to Install Weed Barrier
You need specific materials and tools to be successful in the installation of weed barriers in particular areas in your home. Below are some of the things you would need:
- Materials
- Landscape fabric
- Landscape fabric staples
- Mulch or any other ground cover
- Plants
- Tools/Equipments
- Hammer
- Garden hoe
- Utility knife
- Steel rake
Steps to Installing Weed Barrier
Installing a weed barrier can be as easy as making a cup of coffee. Now, you need to discover how you can go about that without hassles. The steps below would help you to be successful at that:
- Clear the Area
The first step is to clear the area where you intend installing the weed barrier. Note that for the landscape fabric (weed barrier) to work as expected, then it needs to lay flat against the ground. Therefore, use the hoe with a swinging motion to dig out all the weeds and any other vegetation that may be obstructing the flat laying of the fabric.
You may want to use the alternative method, which is the killing of the plants using a broad-spectrum and non-selective herbicide.
- Leave the Soil
The ground or soil where you intend laying the weed barrier (landscape fabric) needs to be leveled. You can do this using a steel garden rake to pull up any unwanted weed. Remember to discard the debris and loosen the rock until the surface gets smooth and flat.
- Lay the Landscape Fabric (Weed Barrier)
The next step is to lay the landscape fabric by rolling it out in a way that it becomes parallel to the dimension of the area. While at that, use the utility knife to cut off the material from the roll.
Note that the fabric must face up with the right side (you can check the manufacturer manual to see the right side). Once the material has been cut, you can then hold it down temporarily using heavy objects like stones.
- Secure the Fabric
The landscape fabric staples would now come into the picture to help in stabilizing the positioning of the landscape fabric. The rule of thumb is to drive a staple every 10 feet using the hammer (a small hand maul can also serve).
Also, you need to drive the staples along the seams and edges of the fabric. You can also do the same over the interior areas before trimming the fabric along the sides if there is a need for that.
- The Plants Can Now Come In
The plants though optional can be planted through the landscape fabric. Doing this implies that you have to make a few and smaller x-shaped holes (incisions) through the material so that the holes would be large enough to dig a hole for the root ball of the plant.
- Add the Mulch
The last step on how to install a weed barrier is to add the mulch. Although this is optional, you can use a natural mulch to cover the landscape fabric or any other ground cover. Natural mulch like pine needles and wood chips should be added no more than 2 inches of the cover.
In the end, you can then use the rake to spread and smooth the ground cover.
Install Weed Barrier
Weed causes an unpleasant sight, and getting rid of it in good time is the best thing to do. Remember that you may need to keep constant maintenance of the areas covered with landscape fabric. Therefore, you should not hesitate to use the steps included above to make the most out of it. There’s no doubt that you would like the ‘no-weed outlook” and the beauty of the design that the landscape fabric would bring into the area of your home where you laid it.
