A traditionally popular method for dealing with intrusive weeds is landscape fabric. But in recent years, the practice has come under fire for a variety of reasons, from actually failing to prevent weed growth to suffocating plants to leaking microplastics into soil.
As a result, many gardening professionals and influencers alike have spoken out against the practice, stating that they do not use the fabric or will stop using it.
One of these major voices to speak out against landscaping fabric is Julia Keel (@fullkeelfarm). Proprietor of Full Keel Farm, an actual farm in Florida as well as a social media handle, she took to Instagram to announce she would stop using the fabric and gave advice to gardeners looking to do the same.
"The top question I get asked about using the paperpot system is how we manage weeds without landscape fabric," her caption read. "There are a few strategies we use to manage weeds with the paper pots and for the tunnel crops planted without fabric."
"For sturdy crops," the caption continued, "we use a flex tine weeder pulled through quickly 1-2x per week to catch thread stage weeds. For crops like lisianthus that don't do well with the flex tine weeder."
"Is it perfect? Nope!" she concluded in the caption. "There are still beds that get away from me, but it was our experience that the same thing could happen with landscape fabric."
Suffice it to say, using landscape fabric does far more harm to your plants than it does good, and it's a waste of money.
A much easier and more efficient way to garden is by introducing native plants. A natural lawn can save you significant money and time on maintenance and can lower water bills. In addition, native plants also create a healthier ecosystem for pollinators, which benefits everyone, as pollinators protect the food supply. Even a partial lawn replacement with options like clover or buffalo grass can provide these same benefits.
Commenters loved learning new gardening tips from an experienced green thumb.
"Wonderful info! Thank you!!" read one top response.
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"Thank you for this!" another commenter wrote.
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If you were to switch from a grass lawn to a more natural option, which of these factors would be your primary motivation?
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