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Im gonna guess this question has never been asked on here. ;)
But does anyone have a landscape biz and use quality yard fabric? Lots of junk out there that just falls apart. We have goat head weeds here that will make a believer out of you when you grab or step on them. Puncher thorns.
Thanks!
 
I think weeds (esp goat heads) always win in the battle against fabric. That said it does seem to work for two years atop heavy coat of preen and underneath gravel.

Anyone tried 10mill sheeting in their yard?
 
Don't do, the weeds eventually make it through and the fabric just makes it impossible to pull the weeds. A twice a year aplication off a good chemical pre emergent is your best bet.
Ask just about any honest landscape contractor (I know good luck finding one of those) and they will tell you the same about any physical weed barrier.
 
Also the problem with plastic sheeting is the bark or whatever you have on it will just wash away.

I was trying to find something too.
So frustrating to put $100s of dollars into your yard and within 6-12 mths it looks like crap.

Another question: where can I get rid of pea gravel!
No one takes it. I have a 15x30ft section of it in the back yard about 10-12in deep, I think the previous owners had a swing set in it.
 
Don't do, the weeds eventually make it through and the fabric just makes it impossible to pull the weeds. A twice a year aplication off a good chemical pre emergent is your best bet.
Ask just about any honest landscape contractor (I know good luck finding one of those) and they will tell you the same about any physical weed barrier.

I was a landscape / excavation/ general contractor most of my career, and an honest one, and did OK when we got into all commercial and DB work. The only time we used fabric was under gravel pathways / patios/ pavers or driveways to keep the gravel from going away under weather, heave and thaw situations.

The weeds seldom make it through, but they will be come up established in whatever you place on top, mulch, compost, barkdust.

The best preemergents are a liquid applied one like Surflan. 9 months of good control. I have been putting it down for a week now, I am a bit late, I usually have it all on by Feb 15. It is easy on the soil but does a great job of holding weeds down. Now there are some pretty bad azz weeds and weed grasses that not a lot of herbicides can control, unless you got to Casaron and some of the other class active ingredients. Suflan sets up a barrier in the soil that seedlings cannot emerge through. It degrades in sunlight and with cultivation. It needs present soil moisture or rainfall to activate.

I usually mix some in with my spot sprays until about the middle of June when soil moisture is low. Spraying is requires much less time and the cost per square foot is low compared to labor intensive fabrics. Plastics do not allow the soils to breathe at all and will degrade with UV even with materials on top.
 
Another question: where can I get rid of pea gravel!
No one takes it.

Check for concrete recyclers in your area. There is one in our area who take rock, pavement, concrete in various forms for free. They crush it back up and it actually makes the same spec as 3/4 minus in a lot of situations. I am taking a bunch of it to one locally in the next couple of weeks.
 
Also the problem with plastic sheeting is the bark or whatever you have on it will just wash away.

I was trying to find something too.
So frustrating to put $100s of dollars into your yard and within 6-12 mths it looks like crap.

Another question: where can I get rid of pea gravel!
No one takes it. I have a 15x30ft section of it in the back yard about 10-12in deep, I think the previous owners had a swing set in it.


Just take it out by 5-gallon bucket at a time and dump it into one of the USPS letter drop-boxes around town. Before you know it, it'll be all gone!





:D
 
Thanks for the pea gravel advice!

My other problem is with little kids and dog running around the yard I'm afraid to spray a bunch of chems on the lawn and beds. Then the dog bring all that crap in and on the carpet for the kids to eat.
 
You don't want to use fabric unless you scrape below vegetation. It's purpose is to provide drainage and keep the material that is put on top of it in place with out being pushed into the soil below.

At that point it is kind of a up to you weather you use fabric or not, I more then likely would, And do most of the time.
 
Hey, this brings up a subject that I'm facing. I cut a swath 6" deep for a 20' x 125' long concrete driveway so I could lay a 2" layer of crushed gravel under a 3.5" thick pour of fiber reinforced concrete (using 2" x 6" forms).

Do any of you excavation gurus suggest laying down the geo-textile under the gravel layer first, or is it overkill?
 
Depends on the type of soil underneath. Is it a loose crumbly type full of sandy loam or hard clay like soil that was tough to scrape off?
 
How heavy will the vehicles be that you plan on driving over the driveway?
Another thought is to look at your neighbors driveways and see how they are holding up, and if you find some that look in better condition, find out what they did to prevent cracks and slab movement.
There is a special geo textile fabric that helps spread the load.
 
The fabric just provides a permeable layer below the surface that allows for weed seeds to collect and germinate in the mulch. Just put on a thick layer of mulch and spray once in the spring. Keep the kids out of the mulched beds for a day or two until after the first rain.
 
I would talk to ACF West then if you're in the Portland area.
If you buy from them make sure you ask for a free geo textile fabric cutting tool from them.
It makes it super easy to slice through that stuff. Looks just like a big letter opener.
 
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