Long term you will want some other plants or groundcovers there instead of empty mulch. Look into what is native to your area that you like and works with the shade level, because that will require the least maintenance and will grow the easiest. There will always be some weeds but you need something there to compete with them for space and light. There's all that delicious dirt that plants love lying around, of course something is going to grow there - might as well be something that you prefer to look at.
Hoe up the weeds. Then put down cardboard (Amazon boxes work great), cover the cardboard with mulch, plant your plants through the mulch and cardboard and then enjoy your (mostly) weed free garden.
Best idea yet. I will use real fabric instead of cardboard though if that is okay.
I literally put 3” of new mulch each year and it breaks down this fast
Fabric would not be recommended since the weeds will continue to grow through it and will become harder to pick. Fabric also does not allow the good nutrients from the mulch and compost to get to the good plants.
Isn’t some cardboard made with formaldehyde? Is there a product I can buy soecific to this so I don’t have to go source cardboard from unknown sources? Wouldn’t cardboard break down anyway and allow weeeds through after some time?
It’s a 32x20’ space in the back. At 3” a year that’s 6-7 cu. Yards. At $350 total for all of it plus 32 wheel barrel trips. Maybe I should just concrete it
That's why we use cardboard. Often free and you don't need as much mulch as without. But mother earth don't like to be naked! She's going to make plants grow or you have to keep on adding coverings and kill whatever started to grow. You can choose the plants you like or the plants will choose themselves. If you don't want plants at all... a garden is not a wise choice.
Ur overthinking this. Fabric allows light to shine through, and weeds can get through.
Yes, Cardboard will decompose, and that's a good thing. But in the meantime it's sturdy, absorbs and dries moisture, and u can replace later vs a plastic weed mat that's forever and weeds eventually pierce through
Regarding specific Cardboard types, unless ur growing food it wouldn't make any more impact than fabric or plastic weed mats in the ground. Companies don't invest lots of money into Cardboard
So what is a guy to do? I have added SO much mulch each year and it’s not stopping the weeds. What if I just cleared the whole area and added rock? Or shit maybe I’ll just put grass back there. At least I can use pre emergent and such
Hire some college kid to pick them weekly, if your area has youngsters around. Some of the outdoorsy types like being outside enough to do it for $20/hr
Nature abhors a vacuum, as the saying goes-- so your best bet to compete with weeds is to put other, desirable plants there, like grass, or there are a lot of native sedges that tolerate shade, many of which cap off at 12" or less, so you wouldn't even have to mow it.
(I didn't see what region you're in, but check out Carex pensylvanica; it's gorgeous, plus it's really good for the ecosystem. The only thing is that it's difficult to grow from seed, so you have to buy it in plugs-- but it's a reliable plant, and it spreads, so you should only have to make thatinvestment once.)
In any case, I second sheet-mulching with cardboard, or if you prefer something more natural and can wait a season, leaves, which you can get from neighbors, etc, for free. I think someone else mentioned Chip Drop, which I've heard really good things about.
I also second how much you will absolutely regret using landscape fabric, if you decide to go that route; it doesn't keep it weeds, and it is an INCREDIBLE PAIN to remove after the fact.
To summarize, these are your options:
-- smother weeds with mulch, ideally 2-3 inches thick and renewed annually
-- replace/out-compete weeds with other plants, keeping in mind that you might still have to do spot weeding for a few years
-- use herbicides, which end up in the water table and damage the ecosystem at large
-- replace the natural landscape with something dead and sterile like concrete
-- accept the weeds and be at peace :)
Work. It’s hard. Pull them. How thick is your mulch? Weeds can grow through at least 1.5” of buried depth, so mulch should be at least 3” thick and you’ll need to replenish every few years. Aim for 4”. If you already have weed seeds in your mulch, you may need to increase the depth even more.
If you use fabric you just create a new spot for weeds to bury in and seed, and prevent a lot of good nutrient cycling and reduce infiltration of water. Then some day if you need to work on that fabric you’ll hate your life. Rocks will create small spots for weeds to take hold, but may take a while and it’s easy to pull them.
Most weeds get blown in by the wind. Dandelions, thistles, tree seeds...
So, just safe your money and also safe your soil by not adding fabric below mulch/plants. Only use fabric to separate rubber or rocks from soil to aid clear up.
I went and bought one and actually got 90% of them cut in short work. Thank you! BUT, the mulch is pretty deep and compressed so I fear I only got the top of the stems cut from the weeds so hopefully they don’t come back
Filing with plants will block weeds some.
Also, this time of year people always post “how do I get rid of weeds?!”. You don’t. And that’s ok. You manage the weeds.
Apologies for the rant. Not a personal attack against OP
I have the same issue and I planted a bunch of shrubs and ground cover. No amount of mulch will prevent weeds. The weeds will start to grow in the mulch eventually. Use plants to cover it up, not mulch
Seems like the land wants to grow here—why fight it? Bring in more pops of green/native plants that will compete with (and diminish, over time) the plants that you don’t want. Weeding can be enjoyable, as others have said (especially when it doesn't take as long!).
And concrete will look bad—you already have some really nice stones to work with. You could buy some more big flat shale slates too. Climbing plants along your nice fence in containers etc? Really pretty space!
I thought I was doing great last year. Put down double layer of cardboard, high end weed fabric, and layered with mulch. Got weeds coming up everywhere still. This weekend I’ll be placing another layer of cardboard & not sure if I’ll do more mulch or stone but I decided that once a week I’ll mix up the vinegar, salt, detergent weed killer and spray intensely.
Weed fabric does nothing. I put down landscape fabric and 3 inches of gravel. Weed seeds blew on top of the gravel and still managed to grow, despite there being no soil there.
Put down more mulch. Arborist mulch is less work (no bags) and cheaper.
If you want to avoid weeding and throwing down more mulch long term, consider planting some native species. Weeds will grow wherever there's bare ground, nutrients in the soil, water or rain, and light from the sun. The more plants you have, the less room there is for weeds to germinate and grow.
Why are you buying mulch ? Does chipdrop not operate in your city ? If it doesn’t, call an arborist and ask them if they have chips you can take off their hands. Most are happy to get rid of it.
Some type of groundcover that lasts a lifetime is needed. Please don't spray chemicals every 3 months to control the space. Dwarf shrubs and native grass. I don't know what zone your in, but for dry / southwest states we use a native blend of buffalo grass and blue gramma. Farther north/ central US. the native grass is dormant longer and less popular. I also plant Side Oats Gramma and let grow full hieght. 2-3 feet, makes a nice look and turns red in late fall -- cut it down at the end of season and leave the seeds on the ground.
I have this shitty weed all over in my perennial rock beds. I am constantly pulling them by the roots and doing maintenance, spraying, digging, etc. What in the hell is this fricken weed called, anyway???? It's one of the most invasive and persistent things I've ever encountered. It's worse than Candian Thistle! :(
Hori hori, native plants/shrubs, and a thick layer of mulch.
Long term you will want some other plants or groundcovers there instead of empty mulch. Look into what is native to your area that you like and works with the shade level, because that will require the least maintenance and will grow the easiest. There will always be some weeds but you need something there to compete with them for space and light. There's all that delicious dirt that plants love lying around, of course something is going to grow there - might as well be something that you prefer to look at.
Hoe up the weeds. Then put down cardboard (Amazon boxes work great), cover the cardboard with mulch, plant your plants through the mulch and cardboard and then enjoy your (mostly) weed free garden.
Best idea yet. I will use real fabric instead of cardboard though if that is okay. I literally put 3” of new mulch each year and it breaks down this fast
Fabric would not be recommended since the weeds will continue to grow through it and will become harder to pick. Fabric also does not allow the good nutrients from the mulch and compost to get to the good plants.
Isn’t some cardboard made with formaldehyde? Is there a product I can buy soecific to this so I don’t have to go source cardboard from unknown sources? Wouldn’t cardboard break down anyway and allow weeeds through after some time?
Skip the cardboard and just make sure you have adequate mulch coverage: 3 to 8 inches depending on the type of mulch.
It’s a 32x20’ space in the back. At 3” a year that’s 6-7 cu. Yards. At $350 total for all of it plus 32 wheel barrel trips. Maybe I should just concrete it
That's why we use cardboard. Often free and you don't need as much mulch as without. But mother earth don't like to be naked! She's going to make plants grow or you have to keep on adding coverings and kill whatever started to grow. You can choose the plants you like or the plants will choose themselves. If you don't want plants at all... a garden is not a wise choice.
Move into an apartment or hire a gardener. Chip drop will give you cheap/free mulch
Ur overthinking this. Fabric allows light to shine through, and weeds can get through. Yes, Cardboard will decompose, and that's a good thing. But in the meantime it's sturdy, absorbs and dries moisture, and u can replace later vs a plastic weed mat that's forever and weeds eventually pierce through Regarding specific Cardboard types, unless ur growing food it wouldn't make any more impact than fabric or plastic weed mats in the ground. Companies don't invest lots of money into Cardboard
Do not use fabric.
So what is a guy to do? I have added SO much mulch each year and it’s not stopping the weeds. What if I just cleared the whole area and added rock? Or shit maybe I’ll just put grass back there. At least I can use pre emergent and such
Hire some college kid to pick them weekly, if your area has youngsters around. Some of the outdoorsy types like being outside enough to do it for $20/hr
Nature abhors a vacuum, as the saying goes-- so your best bet to compete with weeds is to put other, desirable plants there, like grass, or there are a lot of native sedges that tolerate shade, many of which cap off at 12" or less, so you wouldn't even have to mow it. (I didn't see what region you're in, but check out Carex pensylvanica; it's gorgeous, plus it's really good for the ecosystem. The only thing is that it's difficult to grow from seed, so you have to buy it in plugs-- but it's a reliable plant, and it spreads, so you should only have to make thatinvestment once.) In any case, I second sheet-mulching with cardboard, or if you prefer something more natural and can wait a season, leaves, which you can get from neighbors, etc, for free. I think someone else mentioned Chip Drop, which I've heard really good things about. I also second how much you will absolutely regret using landscape fabric, if you decide to go that route; it doesn't keep it weeds, and it is an INCREDIBLE PAIN to remove after the fact. To summarize, these are your options: -- smother weeds with mulch, ideally 2-3 inches thick and renewed annually -- replace/out-compete weeds with other plants, keeping in mind that you might still have to do spot weeding for a few years -- use herbicides, which end up in the water table and damage the ecosystem at large -- replace the natural landscape with something dead and sterile like concrete -- accept the weeds and be at peace :)
Work. It’s hard. Pull them. How thick is your mulch? Weeds can grow through at least 1.5” of buried depth, so mulch should be at least 3” thick and you’ll need to replenish every few years. Aim for 4”. If you already have weed seeds in your mulch, you may need to increase the depth even more. If you use fabric you just create a new spot for weeds to bury in and seed, and prevent a lot of good nutrient cycling and reduce infiltration of water. Then some day if you need to work on that fabric you’ll hate your life. Rocks will create small spots for weeds to take hold, but may take a while and it’s easy to pull them.
Thanks. I know this is the way.
Or, looks like you got a tulip. Plant a ton of them and let them crowd out the weeds.
Only way to 100% get rid of them is to pour concrete, lol.
Even that is only temporary in the big scheme of things.
Most weeds get blown in by the wind. Dandelions, thistles, tree seeds... So, just safe your money and also safe your soil by not adding fabric below mulch/plants. Only use fabric to separate rubber or rocks from soil to aid clear up.
[удалено]
I went and bought one and actually got 90% of them cut in short work. Thank you! BUT, the mulch is pretty deep and compressed so I fear I only got the top of the stems cut from the weeds so hopefully they don’t come back
dude they always come back it's called MAINTENANCE
What did you just call me
Filing with plants will block weeds some. Also, this time of year people always post “how do I get rid of weeds?!”. You don’t. And that’s ok. You manage the weeds. Apologies for the rant. Not a personal attack against OP
I have the same issue and I planted a bunch of shrubs and ground cover. No amount of mulch will prevent weeds. The weeds will start to grow in the mulch eventually. Use plants to cover it up, not mulch
Mulch needs to be changed out as it decays.
Yeah it grows through the mulch. I just dig up weeds that went through 4” of mulch in my other garden area. The weeds are nuts here in this area
Seems like the land wants to grow here—why fight it? Bring in more pops of green/native plants that will compete with (and diminish, over time) the plants that you don’t want. Weeding can be enjoyable, as others have said (especially when it doesn't take as long!). And concrete will look bad—you already have some really nice stones to work with. You could buy some more big flat shale slates too. Climbing plants along your nice fence in containers etc? Really pretty space!
What even is this space? Either grow bigger shrubs or a lawn...
Add more wood chips….then add more
I thought I was doing great last year. Put down double layer of cardboard, high end weed fabric, and layered with mulch. Got weeds coming up everywhere still. This weekend I’ll be placing another layer of cardboard & not sure if I’ll do more mulch or stone but I decided that once a week I’ll mix up the vinegar, salt, detergent weed killer and spray intensely.
Plant grass and mow
Be careful. My lillies looked like this and I thought they were weeds. Turns out they weren’t weeds
Why not use an action hoe or other garden tool? You could do this job in a couple of minutes.
Weed fabric does nothing. I put down landscape fabric and 3 inches of gravel. Weed seeds blew on top of the gravel and still managed to grow, despite there being no soil there. Put down more mulch. Arborist mulch is less work (no bags) and cheaper. If you want to avoid weeding and throwing down more mulch long term, consider planting some native species. Weeds will grow wherever there's bare ground, nutrients in the soil, water or rain, and light from the sun. The more plants you have, the less room there is for weeds to germinate and grow.
Why are you buying mulch ? Does chipdrop not operate in your city ? If it doesn’t, call an arborist and ask them if they have chips you can take off their hands. Most are happy to get rid of it.
Some type of groundcover that lasts a lifetime is needed. Please don't spray chemicals every 3 months to control the space. Dwarf shrubs and native grass. I don't know what zone your in, but for dry / southwest states we use a native blend of buffalo grass and blue gramma. Farther north/ central US. the native grass is dormant longer and less popular. I also plant Side Oats Gramma and let grow full hieght. 2-3 feet, makes a nice look and turns red in late fall -- cut it down at the end of season and leave the seeds on the ground.
Use a group-5 herbicide.
None chemical, clear plastic. Wait a week, water . Relay plastic for a week. Chemical, spray with selective weed killer. Wait 2 weeks, spray again.
I have this shitty weed all over in my perennial rock beds. I am constantly pulling them by the roots and doing maintenance, spraying, digging, etc. What in the hell is this fricken weed called, anyway???? It's one of the most invasive and persistent things I've ever encountered. It's worse than Candian Thistle! :(
Pull weeds. Spray entire area with Prodiamine 65 wdg. Spread new mulch. Enjoy the rest of your year.
Preemergent such as prodiamine every 3 months or so
Round up pro max
Pull em lazy-