If you are hoping for some advice and maybe even some brutal honesty, the good folks of Reddit will be there for you. One person posted on r/gardening seeking feedback on their weed prevention idea.
"How do we feel about old tea towels as weed barriers around plants instead of newspaper or landscaping fabric?" they asked.
Firstly, it's great that this person is avoiding landscape fabric. This material can partially suppress weeds in the short term, but in the long run, it's ineffective, and it breaks down into the soil, making it very troublesome to remove. Landscape fabric is also often made of synthetic materials like plastic, so it contributes to the problem of microplastics in our soil.
One person in the comments explained, "They get stiff and crusty, and then grass or some weeds will easily push them up. They kind of work if you want to replace some of the grass with other groundcovers growing around there like violets, but they're not very useful overall."
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Someone else cautioned on some of the downsides, including that "It will take years to break down if that is what you want and may or may not be effective at blocking weeds. It will get caught in lawn mowers and string trimmers."
This essentially means that old tea towels may be a temporary fix, but they aren't going to be an effective solution to your weeding woes. Good old-fashioned effort is an alternative, but thankfully, there are natural, eco-friendly ways to save yourself the time.
Another commenter suggested trying mulch, saying, "Just use straw. I don't have to weed at all."
Mulch and straw are some of the most effective ways to prevent unwanted growth in your garden. Iowa State University wrote, "Mulches control weeds by preventing the germination of weed seeds."
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