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  • From: Alan Haigh <alandhaigh@gmail.com>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [NAFEX] mulch contradictions
  • Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:02:37 -0500


Lee writes, "Also, landscape fabric is generally useless. It usually needs a mulch
on top to block the light that comes through its tiny holes and
because it's so ugly; weeds eventually grow into that covering. It is
also a mess in case you want to plant something new or dig into the
soil for something else, and does not enrich the soil with organic
matter, as does an organic mulch."
 
Assertions without qualifiers like, "in my opinion" or "I believe" sure come off as pompous when they are contradictions of your own experience, especially when you've just shared that experience with the same group presented the contrasting opinion.  Lee, please be kind! 
 
I have sometimes had a great deal of difficulty with landscape fabrics when they weren't lifted and covered with a new layer of wood chips annually.  I've also found it very time consuming spreading out sheets of newspaper even when the wind is still.  It is also time consuming to pre-moisten newspapers and if you don't use them right away they stick together as they start to rot, so you can't just leave them out in the rain and use as needed.
 
Landscape fabric is certainly not the most ecological alternative but sometimes you have to factor in labor when you run a business and if you manage it well you can use fabric for many years.  The woven stuff is very strong and should be stapled to the ground so corners don't get kicked up and end up being pulled up by a mower at the edges. 
 
Woven fabric doesn't allow the passage of water as quickly as the spun stuff which tears easily
when you try to lift it for the annual wood chip recharge.  Neither fabrics are generally useless in my opinion or the opinion of the landscape industry in general although lots of people hate the stuff because it wasn't properly handled.
 
I cover fabric, cardboard or newspaper with wood chips or mellowed stable waste to create a weed-free ring every time I install a fruit tree.  It has helped me establish thousands of bearing age fruit trees over the years on hundreds of sites.  I will admit that the biggest headache comes from fabric that has been left under subsequent layers of mulch over the years, so I sympathize with Lee and others who detest the stuff.  On really tough sods the fabric is more affective at suppressing weeds than newspaper, in my experience, probably because it doesn't quickly break down.


  • [NAFEX] mulch contradictions, Alan Haigh, 02/18/2009

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