Gardening experts warn homeowners against harmful landscaping product: 'Horrible stuff'

Some homeowners turn to landscaping fabric as a quick fix to prevent weeds. However, expert landscapers warn that this yard solution is not just expensive but will actually harm your soil and prevent water and nutrients from reaching your plants. 

In a Facebook post, Perennials for Utah (@perennialsforutah) debunked the myth that landscape fabric is an effective weed barrier. 

The concept of landscape fabric as a weed barrier has largely been debunked. It will not make you happier, only the...

Posted by Perennials For Utah on Tuesday, June 17, 2025

The Facebook page dedicated to practical gardening advice and xeriscaping in Utah shared that landscaping fabric won't make you happy and that it only makes landscapers money. 

"Invest your money in a thicker layer of mulch," Perennials for Utah suggested alternatively. "Fabric inhibits a freer exchange of microbes and oxygen, contributing to a 'dead' soil. Frost cycles will heave the fabric up. Making for an unsightly appearance." 

This landscaping advice is helpful as it aids homeowners in saving money on a useless lawn care product that would hinder their plants' growth. 

Not only is it unnecessary and expensive, but its production also generates high levels of carbon pollution. Landscaping fabric is not biodegradable, and once discarded, it remains in landfills and oceans for centuries. 

Many other gardening and landscaping experts agree with this opinion and have been sharing similar posts on social media. They have posted videos on YouTube and TikTok discouraging the use of landscaping fabric and warning of the problems it causes.

Meanwhile, other social media users have been advising the public against using harmful and polluting rubber mulch and commercial weed killers.

A better alternative to all these options is to grow a natural lawn filled with native plants that attract pollinators and reduce your labor and water consumption. Rewilding your yard to a meadow filled with wildflowers or xeriscape designs will save you from buying costly lawn products that don't work and reduce your pollution output. 

Facebook users appreciated Perennials for Utah's opinions on landscaping fabric and shared their feedback in the comments.

What is the biggest reason you don't grow food at home? Not enough time ⏳ Not enough space 🤏 It seems too hard 😬 I have a garden already 😎 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"Say it loud, say it often," one Facebooker wrote. "Thank you for debunking this expensive, ineffective practice that only benefits the landscapers." 

"I rip out that horrible stuff in each place I move," someone else shared. "Soil killer should be its name." 

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