Installing Landscape Fabric aka Weed Mats
Using a weed mat in your garden beds can greatly reduce the amount of time and money spent on landscape upkeep, but has certain drawbacks that every homeowner should be aware of. In this post we will take a look at why and when a weed mat should be used and when not to. We also have included photos from a past job below as a visual aid to the text.
Advantages of Installing Landscape Fabric
- Greatly reduces weeds without using chemical based solutions
- Reduces time & money spent on landscape maintenance
- Lasts a few years before needing to be replaced
- Relatively easy to install with quick results
Disadvantages of Landscape Fabric
- Can compact soil overtime leading to inconvenient issues
- If not replaced after a few years, weeding can become a nightmare
- Dividing, seeding & planting becomes more difficult with weed mats
- Installing fabric can get expensive
When To Use It
We at Apex Lawnco LLC tend to not recommend installing weed mats in garden beds, but every now and then we find it to be a good solution to a pesky problem. A bed like the one pictured below would be a good pick to install a weed barrier. It checks out on what we look for when considering weed mats as a solution.
This bed, though photographed after hand weeding during a Spring cleanup, suffers from continuous fast growing weeds that are expensive to keep up with. This bed also happens to be small and has very few shrubs and perennials in it. And the last point that makes fabric a good solution is that the owner is not planning on planting any new plants any time soon. This sort of situation is when we will consider recommending a weed mat for a few years.
The final results were a smooth fresh surface covering the garden bed, while still allowing perennials room to pop-up in the Spring season. Now ready to be mulched, the black mat will be concealed while keeping any remaining weeds under control.
Post Re-cap
Installing landscape fabric in planting beds can be a great solution to eliminating weeds for a few years, however depending on the situation a weed mat can lead to more aggravation than it’s worth in time and money. Give us a call today to find out whether installing a weed barrier is right for you and receive a free quote.
