Flicka

I'm looking for info on the different kinds of weed control in my garden. I have seen a black fabric roll at the garden center. You put it down and cover the dirt, put a bit more dirt on top, and then plant your plants through it, and it controls the weeds. I wonder if it's worth the money though. I've also heard you can just put down newspaper and wet it and plant through that in the same way, and it's biodegradable.

Has anyone tried either method?

sallyanna

I haven't tried that method. I think it would be too expensive. A good way to stop a lot is to put hay in the paths. Then you only have to worry about the weeds around the plants. Myself, I just bring a bucket and pick them. It's relaxing and does a better job than most other methods.

alexis

I have never used that before but the last people that owned the home I now own had used it. When we got the place it had this netting all over the back area where I'm sure at some point had plants or flowers, but trying to dig it up to replant was a huge pain.

purplefdu

Having worked in landscaping one brief summer (being a girl and workign with all guys stinks) I've used the black rolls, but never liked them much unless it was for a couple shrubs with mulch in between.

For my own garden I use a mini rototiller tine thingy. It has three sets of two spokey-tiney things you can remove to configure it to go between narrow rows, or around plants (one on each side). I use that daily in my garden to aerate the soil and remove weeds (it digs them up and catches them in the tines). It works great if you will put in the effort. Before that we were pulling them by hand, but that doesn't do much to aerate the garden. They sell what I bought at Walmart for $15-20. Comes in a box with the handle (wood) next to it.

CityChick

The black roll stuff works better than wetted down layers of newspaper. If something digs up your newspapers in really dry weather it can get messy. Another control that has not been mentioned is pre-emergent. You have to pick all the weeds once. The pre-emergent will prevent any seeds from germinating and so stop any weeds from growing. Doesn't affect plants that are already growing.

flatback_frannie

I use landscape fabric (the black stuff) in my garden, and I love it. It makes pulling weeks so much easier if they grow on top. You get what you pay for when it comes to landscape fabric - the cheap stuff really isn't as good as the expensive.

Equineimity

I have never used any of the methods mentioned. Instead I do it the old fashioned way-I dig and I pull and if I am feeling fancy I use one of those tiller thingies. It's a big of work but it's therapeutic.