By Carol Gilmore, Colorado Master Gardener
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Gardeners love the plants in their gardens but hate the weeds that encroach on their favorite plants. In desperation and a dislike of getting on their knees to weed, they may turn to alternate solutions like landscape fabric.
We have learned more about landscape fabric over the years. It often does not do what it is supposed to do, especially over time – keep the weeds out. It can be effective in the short term, but within a few years, the pores can clog with dirt. This prevents water and air from getting to plant roots and allows weeds to germinate on top of the landscape fabric. As the fabric itself breaks down, weeds can grow right through the fabric.
From a maintenance perspective, landscape fabric can be problematic. Holes cut in the fabric for plants are often too small to accommodate a growing plant, thus girdling the stems and compromising plant health. Groundcover plants, designed to spread, grow on top of the fabric without access to new rooting space. In windy areas, mulch can easily move off the fabric.
From an ecological standpoint, landscape fabric has a negative impact on soil, earthworms and ground-nesting bees. The fabric prevents organic materials from naturally degrading into the soil and enriching it, eventually leading to sterile, unhealthy soil. Earthworms do not survive in areas covered with landscape fabric. The fabric prevents them from coming to the surface to help aerate and improve the soil. Ground-nesting bees, which are beneficial pollinators, cannot penetrate fabric to build their nests.
Landscape fabric does have its place in the landscape in certain situations. Some like the idea that it may reduce the use of toxic herbicides. Others find it useful in large shrub plantings, or with hardscape such as rock beds or lining garden paths. If you choose to install fabric with plants, remember to cut a generous hole to accommodate future plant growth.
If weed suppression is your main goal, it is better to go with a natural organic or inorganic mulch and skip the landscape fabric altogether. Many natural materials can be used for weed suppression including grass clippings, spent hops, composted leaves, newspaper, peat, pine needles, shredded bark, straw, wood chips and pea gravel.
Landscape fabrics have many uses in commercial and residential applications. These fabrics known as geotextiles are extremely helpful in keeping up with your landscape maintenance needs. This article will help you understand how to improve ground quality and extend the life of your next driveway, xeriscape (low water) garden, or gravel pathway project.
Let’s face it. Nobody likes to pull weeds. Preventing weed growth is one of the top reasons for most landscape fabric installations. A good landscape fabric beneath a layer of pebbles or gravel goes a long way in preventing weed seed germination.
Even the best landscape fabric won’t stop 100% of the weeds. Some seeds will inevitably germinate and sprout, however having a weed block barrier will keep the roots from getting a foothold in the soil. Without deep roots weeds are much easier to pull and less likely to establish and spread further. You can also consider using a weed tarp barrier to prevent all water and nutrients from reaching the soil below.
Fewer weeds in and around your landscape also mean you need to use less herbicide for control. Using less herbicide saves money, effort, and is generally better for the overall environment.
Weed block fabric prevents the germination of weed vegetation in landscapes
Driveway fabric can also have a stabilizing effect on the soil beneath your gravel. If surface erosion is a problem, a landscape barrier under your gravel can help reduce the running water's effects. Keeping gravel in place is a big problem with some applications.
If your gravel path or landscape has slopes or contours, landscape fabric between the soil and the gravel can mitigate the effects of traffic and soil movement. Frost heave is common in colder climates and can move underground structures, and rocks from beneath the ground due to rapid freeze and thaw cycles.
By adding stabilization fabric beneath your path, or bed areas it can help mitigate this upward movement of rock and soil keeping your landscape looking great.
If you use gravel as a mulch under and around your landscape plants, retaining soil moisture can be an issue. Gravel tends to collect heat and transmit the heat to the soil beneath. This process can cause rapid drying of the top layers of the soil and deprive your plantings of needed moisture.
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A landscape fabric barrier between the soil and the gravel will insulate the ground from the extreme temperatures swings that may occur. A fabric barrier can also prevent some of the evaporation of soil moisture that can occur.
Geotextile fabric beneath your aggregate or mulch can also save you time and money. The need to water less frequently saves on manual labor and utility costs. Additionally many plants will appreciate the more moderate soil temperatures.
Planting Tip: If you’ve got plants or trees in your mulch area you can still use our wholesale row covers when the temperatures drop to help protect your garden.
landscape fabric under gravel mulch in a flower bed
Most landscapers apply gravel to a depth of four to six inches on gravel paths. When the gravel is used as a mulch around plantings this is closer to four inches in depth. If a high-quality landscape fabric is installed between the soil and the gravel, these depths can be cut in half.
The reason for this is that fabric makes for a more uniform area to layout aggregate and less of the rock material will be lost to soil beneath.
Savings comes in the form of only needing half as much rock aggregate material.
Not all gravel used in garden or landscaping ends up as pathways or mulch. Some gravel is used to control drainage or water movement. In either case, landscape fabric has a part to play in creating systems such as:
French drains and trench drains collect water and move it via pipes away from the landscape area. These systems depend on round rock gravel around the perforated pipe. Landscape fabric provides filtration to prevent sand and soil from clogging the gravel and the perforated pipe in these systems.
Dry creek beds perform the same function but on the surface of the landscape. What looks like a pile of jumbled rocks in a low area through the landscape is water management system. At the bottom and the heart of these dry creek beds is a layer of gravel, usually stabilized by landscape fabric that channels the water.
Nonwoven drainage fabric burrito wrapped around perforated pipe and drain rock
Landscape fabric is perfect for applications like gravel pathways and driveways where strength is important. The primary way to add strength when constructing a gravel pathway or driveway is to install fabric on the graded ground underneath the aggregate. The additional support of fabric underneath the aggregate rock acts as a soil stabilizer and separates the soil below from the aggregate rock layer above.
By providing a separation layer it prevents the soil below from automatically turning into mud from heavy rains, and it reduces the potholes that are common from well worn areas.
Another application where fabric is used for added strength is for pond liners. Often pond installers will lay a barrier of landscape fabric under the pond liner as additional protection of the rubber liner, this helps protect the rubber pond liner from puncture. Additionally another layer of nonwoven fabric is placed on top of the pond liner where rocks and larger boulders are placed.
Gravel installed without a barrier often disappears into the soil beneath it and this is especially true of frequently used gravel paths. The effects of weather, temperature, and traffic will cause the gravel to comingle with the soil and travel downwards. The gravel seems to perform a disappearing act and will constantly need to be maintained as more rock is required to keep up both functionality and looks.
A barrier of landscape fabric between the soil and the gravel will help prevent your gravel from performing this magic disappearing act. The landscape fabric controls the migration and travel of the soil and the gravel. The net effect is to reduce the amount of maintenance and to stop the continual need to add gravel as it disappears into the soil.
PRO TIP: Nonwoven Geotextile fabric is measured in weight (oz / sq. yd.) ranging from 2-16 ounces. Woven fabrics are a typically measured in grab tensile (pull) strength.
A gravel path with potholes and is losing gravel to the subgrade soil
The right landscape fabric for the intended job is critical. In general, you should consider the following when choosing landscape fabric for a project.
Gravel can be a great addition to any landscape design. It doesn't matter what kind of project you're designing, selecting the proper landscape fabric to support your work is important to reduce project cost, maintenance, and increase the life of your designs.
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