Homeowner stumbles upon hazardous situation left behind by previous owners: 'Rip it out'

A gardener posting in the subreddit r/LandscapingTips encountered an expletive-worthy obstacle often left by previous flower bed tenders. 

"F*** Landscaping Fabric," they said in a lengthy rant about the difficulties of dealing with the intended weed barrier. 

"It's now coming up and sticking out of the soil. It's ugly and in the way of planting other things!" they continued. 

The durable fabric is often better at complicating gardening than actually preventing weeds. In fact, the University of Illinois has a list of reasons not to use it. 

"Landscape fabric does help to suppress weeds, but only for a couple of years. Additionally, over time it may actually do more harm than good to your plants," wrote Christopher Enroth of the Illinois Extension. 

The report said the fabric is often made of woven synthetic materials such as polyester. GreenPal, an online service that connects homeowners to lawn care professionals, added that the fabric can compact soil, may contain harmful chemicals, and can be expensive. 

Compressed soil doesn't allow enough water, nutrients, or air to penetrate rootward. What's more, weeds can become entwined with the fabric, making them harder to pull. Reseeding can be difficult, as well, all per the experts. 

It's important to note that all those supposed weeds might not be nuisances after all. Many of them could be vital native species, such as bluets or aster. The World Wildlife Fund has a great online tool to help you identify the regional wildflowers that can help domestic pollinators, which are crucial to more than 100 U.S. food crops, according to the Department of Agriculture. 

Better yet, the native blooms look just as beautiful in the summer sun as ones you'd pay for at the local home and garden store. Rewilding your yard or garden beds can also save you time, water, and hundreds of dollars annually — all while nixing fertilizers and minimizing the need for toxic pesticides. 

The Illinois Extension also has some good, planet-friendlier alternatives to landscaping fabric if you need to snuff out a problematic plant. Newspaper and cardboard are decomposable options. Just make sure to cut big enough holes for your plants. Wood mulch also works. Be sure to put it down thickly, at up to six inches. And certain mulches work better than others. 

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"A lot more gardeners are utilizing arborist wood chips, which are typically chipped into coarse sizes and often free," Enroth wrote. 

But if you find your first spade thrust blunted by entrenched synthetic mesh, it could be the start of a long removal process. 

"Rip it out, landscaping staples and all," one Redditor posted among a string of comments offering solutions, which included tilling it out. 

Another viewer had a more severe option. "Torch?" they wrote.

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