Creating the yard of your dreams can be a fun experiment, but it can also be mired in challenges, and it can be hard to know where to turn to for advice. Luckily, there are people online who have plenty of expertise to share. One person sparked a discussion on a lawn care forum about a common pitfall of gardening materials.
LawnSite is a forum dedicated to "lawn care, landscaping professionals, and enthusiasts." One member started a thread about landscape fabric and rubber mulch because a client was considering the latter, asking, "Has anyone ever had success with these products together?"
Piedmont Master Gardeners describes landscape fabric as "typically a woven plastic or a spun polyester fabric." Because it is basically a sheet of plastic, it can do a good job of suppressing weeds, but it can also cause all kinds of other issues.
Homeowners have found that the fabric breaks down over time, leading to a messy cleanup. As one gardening expert explained, "The fabric is typically made from materials like polyester and polypropylene, it's not biodegradable and instead breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces that harm the soil."
The issue is compounded when you add rubber mulch. This is typically made of recycled car tires, and while there is value in recycling, it means you are adding even more plastic to your yard.
"We have a client who switched to it 2 years ago," one commenter said. "Every month I get an email from her complaining about the mulch being out of the beds. The guys barely use the blowers now on it and it still flies out. If it's a contained area like a playground I'm sure it's fine. But in a bed…? Nope. I have also heard it's not good for plants."
Another commenter on the lawn forum railed against these materials, writing, "I wish this would go away. You're buying toxic waste and spreading it all over your living environment."
Someone else thought there are times when rubber mulch makes sense, but rarely in gardening: "I have rubber mulch underneath my kids swing set. It is great for that."
While everyone has different goals, if you are looking to revamp your yard, there are low-maintenance options that are attractive and won't leach chemicals into your soil. Consider upgrading your lawn to something like clover, which doesn't need to be mowed much and provides flowers for pollinators. You could save more than $200 on your water bill each year when you make the switch.
But if you are dead set on mulch, there are plenty of natural mulches that do just as good a job suppressing weeds.
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One person wrote, "Wood mulch offers several benefits for gardens and landscapes, including improved soil health, weed suppression, and moisture retention."
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