Weed Barriers Overview

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Weed control barriers can be an effective method for preventing weeds in the landscape. There are various types that you should consider, which may include plastic sheeting, landscape fabric and garden paper. Keep in mind that it is recommended to consider using a barrier along side other weed control strategies 

All weed barriers should perform the same basic function: the barrier should prevent weed seeds from germinating by blocking sunlight and creating a physical barrier to hinder upward growth. 

Plastic Sheeting: Although plastic sheeting can be very effective, it has one major drawback. It does not allow water and air to circulate into the soil which can hinder or even kill your desired plants. Plastic sheeting can sometimes be used temporarily to smother weeds or solarize the soil. 

Landscape fabric:  A popular option but often yields regret later on.  While it can be as efficient as plastic sheeting, it has the added benefit of allowing water and air to circulate into the soil. However, it is effective as a barrier when it is new, but as it degrades new problems emerge. 

Most manufacturers claim the barrier will work for about 5 years, but it is common to see weeds find their way through as quickly as the second year. As weeds find their way through the cloth, and they are sure to do so, they will use the fabric as an anchor for their roots to hold onto, as such the fabric makes it much harder to pull the weeds in the long run. What’s worse, for stubborn weeds that can’t be pulled out the gardener’s next choice is to dig them out, but they can’t do that without cutting the fabric.

Most landscape fabrics are made out of plastic, which means they will degrade but they do not decompose. Meaning once they lose their effectiveness in a couple of years, the fabric remains as plastic pollution in the garden or you must remove the entire cover and start over. Many people opt to leave it in place, you’ve likely seen such plant beds, the ones with ragged, black fabric emerging throughout. 

One last problem to mention for now, I’ve seed plenty of examples where a landscape was installed with landscape fabric and young plants only to see the plants grow bigger and thicker but the fabric does not yield and ends up constricting and damaging the base of the plant.

There may be applications where landscape fabric is well suited, but it is not the option we regularly turn to for common landscape needs. Don't take just my word for it either, read this article too.

Garden Paper: We see garden paper as the better option that gives us the basic function of a barrier without as many cons. 

Paper is generally installed with multiple layers but is still generally less expensive than plastic fabric. The paper will block the weed seeds from sunlight and act as a physical barrier inhibiting upward growth. Paper shares the advantage with landscape fabric in that it allows for water and air to circulate into the soil. 

Paper does have a shorter effective life span than landscape fabric; However, instead of becoming trash and pollution as it degrades, it instead becomes organic mulch that helps improve soil health. There is no need to rip up the landscape to remove it like one might need to do with the landscape fabric. 

Garden paper is our standard recommendation for weed barriers. It can provide the physical barrier we are looking for, permits water and air circulation and has the added benefit of being decomposable; all while not inhibiting plant growth, polluting the soil nor becoming an anchor base for weed roots.