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tamlamb Plymouth, PA(Zone 5b) Apr 07, 2002

I have to ask...

"What do you do to keep your weeds under control?" I just dug out my "Kidney shaped" (small but still a kidney, or maybe its a heart, according to my kids) garden and I am getting ready to plant flowers in it. What I thought of doing was buying some of that Roll plastic that you use in gardens then planting the plants and covering with mulch. BUt... I am also planning on using ground sedum along with Dianthus and I wonder if that will prevent them from growing. Also do I put dirt on top of the plastic (fabric whatever it is) then plant or not. PLease help I told you all I am a newbie and have NO idea what I am doing.
tammy

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Zanymuse Scotia, CA(Zone 9b) Apr 07, 2002

The weed cloth or plastic will help control weeds but if you put soil on top of it weeds will grow in it along with your plants. Mulching on top of it will make it look better but unless you are using rock mulch it will break down over time and need to be replaced. I now only use the stuff under gravel pathways. Instead I have switched to using newspaper that decomposes and adds to the soil. Using 10 to 15 sheets it seems to last about as long as the topping mulch and by the time the mulch needs to be recycled into the compost heap the newspapers are all but gone and ready for another layer.

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Wingnut Spicewood, TX(Zone 8b) Apr 08, 2002

Usually, I put about an inch of composted cow manure spread out like a mulch, then shredded bark mulch on top of that. Works real well for me.

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Terry Murfreesboro, TN(Zone 7a) Apr 08, 2002

You might consider using a good thickness of newspapers over the bed, then covered by mulch. To my mind, it has several advantages over plastic - it's biodegradable, it won't warm up your soil like plastic will; rain can get throuogh, and eventually it will break down, but by then (hopefully) the grass has been smothered. That means plants can spread and grow without being hemmed in by the plastic.

By thick I mean 8-10 layers; I generally lay mine down in entire sections, criss-crossing them. That means some areas wind up 20+ layers thick, but I've got Bermuda grass to try to kill.

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