Quote:
Originally Posted by WeaveHerr
My idea of gardening fun does not include weeding!  What can I do to keep the weeds at bay? My south facing bed is probably the worst. When landscapers put in some stuff for me they put down some granular weed block but it didn't work. I have tried pulling them out by the roots, other granular weed block, and layers of newspaper under mulch. Next on the attempt idea list is landscape fabric. Got any tips or other ideas for me? Thanks.
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The granular weed block they put down was probably a pre-emergent that must be applied annually. My best guess would be that they used a product called Caseron. It works very well, but must be applied annually.
Bark/Mulch is an organic material and weeds will grow in it. Weeds will grow in rock/mulch if enough dust/dirt accumulates over time. Using newspaper UNDER it will keep the weeds from growing through the newspaper, but weeds will still grow in the mulch, but not under it.
As a landscaper, we do not encourage homeowners to put down any type of weed barrier under organic mulch. It's a waste of their money and our time. The only time we use weed barrier is when we put down heavy rock type bark as it will sink into the soil.
My suggestion to you is to use employ a Integrated Weed Management Program. There are several steps to this program.
1) Mechanical removal of the current weeds; 2) apply a pre-emergent (granular or liquid); 3) follow up through out the remainder of the season using mechanical removal of weeds as they pop up or biological methods; and 4) proper fertilization and watering of plant material.
There are several products on the market that you can use should you choose to go the route of biological methods.