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Landscaping fabric is a great way to keep weeds from growing around your rock garden and keep it looking tidy.
Attaching fabric under rocks and over plants may seem like a difficult task, but in this guide, you’ll find that it’s very doable.
With just a few tools and a little know-how, you can create the perfect garden, patio, or driveway. Read on and we’ll show you how to attach landscape fabric.
How to Install Landscape Fabric
Landscape fabric is a popular but controversial method of weed control among professional landscapers and home gardeners alike.
Most landscaping fabrics are made of a woven material that removes weeds while allowing some water to reach the plant roots.
Here’s how to install landscape fabric in nine easy steps.
1. Measure the landscape you will be covered with fabric.
Take a tape measure and write down the exact measurements of the area to refer to when gathering supplies. You need to know how much fabric you will need to cut for the job and how many gardens pegs you will need to secure the fabric later.
Note that you’ll need enough fabric to cover the entire area, plus a little more to ensure the edges of the gap are covered. A garden requires only 1 layer of landscaping material.
2. Weed the area well
You can pull up weeds by hand, or use a pick, trowel, or shovel to eradicate weeds to stop them from growing back. Loosen the soil where the weed stalk meets the ground until you can see its main root.
Then grasp the root with your hand or with a weeding tool and pull it up. Alternatively, you can hoe weeds by cutting them just below the surface of the soil with a sweeping motion of the hoe.
Since landscape fabrics are designed to prevent weeds from growing in your garden, it is important to remove existing weeds first to ensure no more can grow.
If you’re dealing with a lot of weeds, consider spraying them with a non-selective herbicide. Be careful and only spray the herbicide when there is little wind as it can also kill other plants.
3. Shave the soil to remove stones, bark, sticks, or other debris
Any sharp object sticking out of the ground can damage the landscape fabric and eventually leave holes. Remove any residue to ensure the fabric lasts as long as possible.
Do this with a steel garden rake (alternatively called a bow rake) and discard any debris you dig up. This will make the landscaping material last longer and look even when laid and covered with rocks.
4. Level the floor surface with your rake until it is level
It can be placed tight and flat on the ground, covering as much area as possible. This also allows you to create an even layer on the fabric.
Level the soil with a hand tamper when laying a driveway; This helps stabilize the rocks once you’ve placed them. Alternatively, a compact pavement or granite can be used to stabilize the area before the fabric is laid.
Read Also:
- How To Landscape With Pea Gravel
- 20 Cheap Landscaping Ideas To Improve Your Yard
- 8 Ways to Use Flagstone in Your Landscaping
5. Choose a landscape fabric that best suits your needs
If the cloth goes under the rocks on its own, a fleece cloth is acceptable: it’s thicker and doesn’t let as much water through, but it works because it doesn’t have plants.
Watering, On the other hand, if the fabric runs under rocks and plants (e.g. in a rock garden), you should choose a lighter landscape fabric that will allow water to flow more easily to keep your plants healthy.
6. Roll the fabric in the garden area out
Starting at one end of the garden, spread out the fabric to ensure it covers the entire space before cutting any pieces from the roll.
Be sure to leave a few inches of extra material around the edges of your yard so you can fold the fabric over later when you attach edging material.
Read the instructions to find out which side of the fabric should be down, usually the furry side for knit fabrics. The fabric on this site is designed to allow water to drain away.
7. Cut out landscape fabrics with a box cutter
Trim excess fabric if covering the area with a single piece, or cut multiple pieces of fabric from the roll as needed. Make sure each piece of fabric you cut is a few inches wider and longer than the area you need to cover.
This will ensure the entire area is covered with no gaps or exposed ground. Wear cut-resistant work gloves to protect yourself.
8. Cradle the edges of the fabric
Cradle the edges of the fabric with a large rock (or several smaller ones) to hold it in place while you trim off the excess fabric. Overlap each piece of fabric 15 cm to 8 inches. (20 cm).
If your garden needs more than one piece of fabric to cover it, make sure all adjacent sides overlap so weeds can’t poke through the seams. You will most likely cut multiple pieces if your yard is wider than the fabric roll or you are traversing a path with curves and corners.
Cut an “X” in the fabric for existing plants in the area. Use the utility knife to make your cuts from the outside in, and be generous with the space you have. Then carefully guide the plants through the hole you drilled in the fabric.
Remember to keep an eye on any plants buried under the garden fabric. Even if you use a material that allows water to flow, your plants may not be getting enough water naturally.
9. Use garden pegs to secure the fabric to the ground.
Using a hammer or mallet, drive staples into the ground every 8 to 12 inches along each edge of the fabric. Baste along the seams where two pieces of scenery fabric meet.
This allows you to lay the fabric flat and firm on the floor surface and ensure it doesn’t move as you continue to unroll the fabric.
Alternatively, you can nail the fabric to the ground before gardening. After you have attached the fabric, you can plant any plants that are not already in your garden.
Using the same technique as above, cut out an “X”. on the fabric and plant your flowers in this space. At this point, install any edging you plan to use when laying fabric for a walkway, and tuck landscape fabric under the edging to discourage weed growth.
10. Spread a layer of gravel over the fabric to protect it
If you put larger rocks on top, use a small amount of gravel to keep the layer thin. However, if your main rock layer is gravel, make the layer thicker, about 2 to 3 inches.
A layer of gravel acts as padding for the landscape fabric, preventing larger stones you place on it from sinking into the ground. on the fabric and tear it over time. You can spread smaller stones by hand or with a rake, and place large stones by hand as you like.
When you’re done, make sure there aren’t any places where the scenery fabric is showing. Limit rock strata to about 2″ thick along the entire length of the landscape fabric.
Shopping for Scenery Fabric
There are many different brands and types of scenery fabric. If you want your device to last, choose professional-grade material. The thicker and heavier your lawn cloth is, the more difficult it will be to damage it.
Cheap, flimsy landscaping fabrics tend to tear easily, leaving openings for weeds to grow. You don’t want to go through all the trouble of installing decorative fabrics in your flower beds only to have another weed problem in a few months (or less).
Once you’ve chosen your landscape fabric, you’ve got a relatively easy DIY project ahead of you. These are the tools and materials you will need to install weed control fabric in your garden bed: Tape measure Garden hoe, bow rake, utility knife, or scissors. Rubber mallet or hammer, Landscaping staples, and Plant mulch.
HOOPLE, DeWitt, and FLARMOR make some of the best and toughest weed barriers around. Ask your local garden center or hardware store what materials are recommended for landscaping.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should you lay out landscape fabric before planting?
It depends on you. Many do-it-yourselfers find it easier to plant through an incision in the fabric after laying than figuring out where and what holes to cut for existing plants.
Are there alternative fabrics for the garden?
Yes, cardboard and newspaper are popular biodegradable weed barriers that many gardeners use in place of landscape fabric.
Can I install landscape fabric for drainage purposes?
Yes, you can buy non-woven geotextile, a type of landscaping material, for your French drain.
Should you lay out landscape fabric before planting?
It depends on you. Many do-it-yourselfers find it easier to plant through an incision in the fabric after laying than figuring out where and what holes to cut for existing plants.
Are there alternative fabrics for the garden?
Yes, cardboard and newspaper are popular biodegradable weed barriers that many gardeners use in place of landscape fabric.
Can I install landscape fabric for drainage purposes?
Yes, you can buy non-woven geotextile, a type of landscaping material, for your French drain.
Final Thoughts
Just because you’ve laid landscape fabric doesn’t mean your days of weeding are over. Weed seeds can germinate on the fabric using decomposed organic mulch or windblown soil as soil.
To prevent new weeds from sprouting, apply a pre-emergence weed killer (like Preen) to your mulch at the beginning of each growing season. If you use organic mulch, it will degrade over time and will need to be removed and replaced.
Leaving behind decomposed organic matter only gives weeds a place to grow. If you use inorganic mulch like river rock or rubber, the only maintenance you have to do is remove it and spray it with water if you notice a lot.