Backyard Agrarian

  • Home
    • Agrarian Revolution
      • End Hunger.
      • Food
        • Food
          • 30 Days Without Packaged Food
            • Foraging>
              • Seth's Foraging Blog
              • Food Interviews
                • Recipes
                • Eco Garden
                  • Eco Garden
                    • What Is Permaculture?
                      • Wildlife & Fire
                        • Design Ideas
                          • Garden Blog
                            • Hire an Eco Gardener
                            • Read Watch
                              • Sustainable Living Blog
                                • Books & Magazines
                                  • Movies & Documentaries
                                  • TareWare
                                  • Farm Vacations
                                    • United States
                                      • Canada
                                        • Europe
                                          • South/Central America
                                            • Asia and Middle East
                                            • Yoga & Outdoors
                                            • About Us
                                              • About Us
                                                • Contact
                                                  • Careers
                                                    • Seventy Two Cafe
                                                    • Services / Hire Us
                                                      • Agritourism Application
                                                        • Business & Legal>
                                                          • Start a Biz and Tax Help
                                                            • Websites, Blogs, Newsletters
                                                            • Community Activism
                                                              • Sustainability Consulting>
                                                                • Office Sustainability Consulting
                                                                  • Home Sustainability Consulting
                                                                    • School Sustainability Curriculum
                                                                      • Sustainability Success Stories Blog
                                                                      • Food Interviews
                                                                       
                                                                      Just Say No: To WEED CLOTH 10/07/2009
                                                                      0 Comments
                                                                       
                                                                      Picture
                                                                      Weed cloth hidden under layers of decomposed matter. I almost planted bulbs right on top! It was so deep I didn't even know it was there.
                                                                      Have I mentioned, I hate weed cloth.  In this picture, you can see what happens after just a few years.  The fabric is buried several inches below the surface.  It has become covered in dirt and is now a breeding ground for, you guessed it, weeds.  Weed cloth just doesn't work!   At the same time, it prevents your plants from growing proper roots, your soil from being healthy, and you from planting new plants without removing it or cutting holes in it.  Have I mentioned, I hate weed cloth?  

                                                                      Picture
                                                                      More weed fabric hidden under layers of dust, debris, and years of decomposed mulch.
                                                                      Picture
                                                                      This new topsoil should be mixing into the soil but is prevented from improving what's below because of the weed cloth. Worms, microbes and proper interface are blocked. The soil below becomes packed and depleted.
                                                                      Picture
                                                                      This is what weed fabric looks like when you first install it. Mulch will be placed over in an attempt to hide it, but will constantly slide off the slippery weed cloth.
                                                                      That said, there are times when weed fabric is appropriate.  For example, in high density vegetable gardens where your sole purpose is t grow food without using chemical herbicides or spending tons of time weeding.  In this case, heavy duty weed fabric can be used over pathways and rows just up to the plants.  Keep weed cloth clean of debris - this isn't necessarily pretty but it will do the trick. Otherwise, it just becomes a layer in the soil, and a disruptive one at that.  Your soil still needs to breath however.  Worms and other creatures still need to come up to the surface to mix the nutrients and organic matter around and to fluff up the soil.  You might consider removing it for your winter crops or to add anew layer of compost.  I have little experience with this high intensity use of weed cloth.  Can anyone add their personal observations?  
                                                                      Add Comment
                                                                       

                                                                        Backyard Agrarian's Thoughts on Sustainable Living 

                                                                        Backyard Agrarian living isn't about any one thing. It's about how all things are connected. It's about going through life day after day, making observations and continuos adjustments. It's a new way of life being developed during these new times in human and planetary history. It's about how we feel in times of birth, death, frustration, joy and how we respond and act  and how we see the connections between our human stuff and what's going on around us. This blog isn't about any one topic. It's about day-to-day thoughts on exploring an agrarian-minded world view, in the modern world.

                                                                        Categories

                                                                        All
                                                                        Agrarian Birth
                                                                        Ants
                                                                        Backyard Agrarian
                                                                        Corporate Government
                                                                        Dams
                                                                        Death
                                                                        Garden Maintenance
                                                                        Garden Planning
                                                                        Health
                                                                        Landscape Installation
                                                                        Post Information Age
                                                                        Rivers
                                                                        Setting Boundaries
                                                                        Sustainability
                                                                        Weed Fabric
                                                                        Wild Garden
                                                                        Xcel
                                                                        Yoga


                                                                        Archives

                                                                        December 2011
                                                                        November 2011
                                                                        October 2011
                                                                        September 2011
                                                                        August 2011
                                                                        July 2011
                                                                        June 2011
                                                                        October 2009


                                                                        View my profile on LinkedIn

                                                                        RSS Feed