flower bed suggestions, not mulch

[thatguy]

Our landscaping is 11 yrs old (weed block with mulch on top).. The wire grass (as we call it, but its Muhlenbergia schreberi (nimblewill) . For those that arent familiare with nimblewill has runners, is very aggressive and slowly takes over everything thing.. it really looks like a form of Bermuda grass.

Right now it has started invading our flower beds, by growing into the mulch.. Plants are established so we plan to pull of the current mulch


Im interested in exploring other options such as rock for our flower beds instead of mulch. Besides rock it seems like rubber mulch are my best options.

This time around Im going to use commercial quality landscape fabric (the stuff at Lowes/Walmart allowed stuff to grow through it) or maybe black plastic

thoughts on what to use and any pluses or negatives to each?

Brian

 

[jaxs]

If there was a silver bullet for control,this conversation wouldn't be happening. There's a huge difference between controlling annuals and perennials with rhizomes,stolons and tubers. I once worked in a hardware store when the parking lot was resurfaced with asphalt. Where Johnson Grass had established in the old lot,new sprouts pushed out chunks of asphalt and reestablished. I use a paintbrush to apply chemicals where spraying isn't possible to control Bermuda,Nutsedge and Johnson Grass. You mentioned black plastic,it works better than cloth but damage's plants in various ways. Block's air,block's rain and overheat's soil. I've set ground aside for a year in attempt to wipe out those plants with cultivation and made little headway.

 

[homesteader13]

Our landscaping is 11 yrs old (weed block with mulch on top).. The wire grass (as we call it, but its Muhlenbergia schreberi (nimblewill) . For those that arent familiare with nimblewill has runners, is very aggressive and slowly takes over everything thing.. it really looks like a form of Bermuda grass.

Right now it has started invading our flower beds, by growing into the mulch.. Plants are established so we plan to pull of the current mulch


Im interested in exploring other options such as rock for our flower beds instead of mulch. Besides rock it seems like rubber mulch are my best options.

This time around Im going to use commercial quality landscape fabric (the stuff at Lowes/Walmart allowed stuff to grow through it) or maybe black plastic

thoughts on what to use and any pluses or negatives to each?

Brian

After putting down 15 year warranty landscape fabric and covering it with gravel and having weeds popping up 3 months later....
I made a huge byt inexpensive gamble....
I bought 2 pallets of overstock/ discontinued 3 tab roofing shingles at $10.00 per pallet 7 years ago to put in the paths and walkways of our 6000 sq foot garden with raised beds, layed it and overlapped just like i was shingling a roof. Put mulch on some and river rock and gravel in other areas, still weed free and so happy with the results.

 

[Aquamoose]

My grandfather always had an immaculate garden where he grew his crops. Not a weed in sight anywhere.

His secret? Tend the garden daily & pluck the invasive sprouts whenever you see them. It’s that simple.

 

[Diggin It]

Our landscaping is 11 yrs old (weed block with mulch on top)..

I've never found a weed block material that lasted more than a few months, let alone years. Mulch harbors bugs and moisture and can foster molds and fungi.

Shingles or other roofing materials are fine under walks and paths, but not beds.

Herbicides no matter how they're applied are also only temporary.

Mom's been running this planet for eons longer than we have and she knows better than we do what will grow where. In many ways, I've kind of given up on certain things and deferred to her better judgement.

 

[ustmd]

Let me know if you find a solution. I have been fighting this exact issue for 17 years at my place.

I tried multiple layers of weed block, weed block + cardboard, weed block + chemicals. Nothing worked for long.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I know this isn't practical in a landscape situation, but my Grand dad, being from the old school, had no problem killing out Johnson grass. He simply fenced it, and turned the hogs in on it. They will root out everything and eat it, and fertilize it to boot.

 

[RobertN]

Yes, pro grade weed cloth is better than the stuff from the box stores.

No matter what you put down, dust and seed will blow in there. The seed will sprout. It's the nature of the beast.

Plastic is terrible. It does not allow the soil to breath(ie not good for your landscape plants). It will hold moisture and rot roots etc. It really kills the soil, worms, good bacteria and mycorrhizae. And, in the end, dust and seeds still blow on top of it and will take root and grow.

The best method was mentioned earlier by Aquamoose; regular picking of the weeds...

 

[jaxs]

I know this isn't practical in a landscape situation, but my Grand dad, being from the old school, had no problem killing out Johnson grass. He simply fenced it, and turned the hogs in on it. They will root out everything and eat it, and fertilize it to boot.

Wild hogs are doing the same to peanut patchs,vegetable gardens,hay meadows and golf courses across Texas as we speak.ig:

 

[CMV]

You can put down all the weed block in the world....whatever is on top will decompose, dust will settle from the top over time. In short time, there is plenty on top of the weed fabric to let stuff take root. And it doesn't take very long for spreading grasses (Bermuda in my case) to start poking back thru from the underside.

I can tell you rock didn't work for me...When we bought the house I didn't like the rubber mulch previous owner did, so I took that all up going down to bare dirt. Trenched around perimeter, then laid weed fabric, then covered with about 6-8" of TN river pebbles. It looked exceptional for about 2 yrs. Then it started going downhill. Acceptable yrs 3-4, then after that, grass actually grows better there than in my lawn....grrrrrr.

Re-did the front beds with block retaining walls & went DEEP with the mulch. Been 2 yrs & that's working well. Still get a fair amount of weeds, but they pluck out very easily. They aren't rooting around all those pebbles, so with nothing much to cling to, real easy to pull. And just lightly spreading a bag of new mulch makes it look brand new again. So maybe don't swear off the mulch but put down more? Too early to call since after 2 yrs the rock wasn't letting much Bermuda poke up through. But So far I've got 0 coming up & think the foot+ of mulch might be enough to discourage it....

 

[Diggin It]

Wood chip mulch is caviar for Termites and other wood eating insects.

If you have one, you don't want the other anywhere near any buildings.

 

[CMV]

Wood chip mulch is caviar for Termites and other wood eating insects.

If you have one, you don't want the other anywhere near any buildings.

I do Demon WP & Suspend SC 2x per year around exterior & interior perimeter of house. Either of which get termites, together...they'll go somewhere else.

 

[EddieWalker]

Since the plant spread by both seeds and runners, you have to deal with both aspects. To stop the runners, you need a barrier in the ground deep enough that the runners cannot get under it. That means digging a trench and installing a barrier or pouring concrete. To deal with the seeds, you will need to develop a regular spraying schedule. Research what works best for the plant in your area and keep on it.

I have had good results with old roof shingles and rock, but eventually dust builds up in the rock and stuff starts to grow there. With the shingles there, the roots never got very deep and the weeds where easy to pull, or spray with roundup. We've removed the rock since we didn't care for the look of it and we're back to using mulch, which we really like the look of.

I consider landscape clothe to be a total waste of money and time.