When it comes to gardening, less is more. This Instagram gardener shares how useless and money-wasting weed fabric is.
Weed fabric is a plastic-based fabric that landscapers lay down with the idea that it kills weeds living in the soil. The problem is, as Sarah (@graceinmyspace) shares, many weeds can grow right through it. "Repeat after me: don't waste money on weed fabric," Sarah wrote, and showed a piece of weed fabric with many healthy weeds embedded in it.
"Do we want to spend hours weeding? No we do not. Do we want to slowly suffocate our soil? No we do not. Here's the solution," Sarah said, demonstrating how they used inexpensive (or free) organic materials to kill weeds and create nutritious mulch. Two birds, one stone.
"Layer organic material like leaves on top of weed free soil. I use preen as well, but I'm not 100% sold on its effectiveness. Then layer 2-3 inches of mulch and hand weed," Sarah explained. "I have a huge landscaped area so I'll likely have to do a pass every 1-2 days to stay on top of it. But when you keep on top of it, it's much easier to control."
You can take Sarah's advice one step further and also use organic materials like leaves for mulch or even some cardboard you have lying around. There are many ways to create a totally circular ecosystem in your garden, which is great for recycling nutrients back into the soil, but it also can save you tons of money.
These tips are great for vegetable and flower gardens, but they are also useful for the most hands-off landscaping method: a native lawn. With a little bit of work on the front end, your yard can become an attractive, self-sufficient, pollinator paradise that minimizes water consumption and requires little fertilizing, saving you lots of time and money.
"As a professional gardener for 20 years, I have pulled up my share of the stuff! I never recommend it," read one comment.
"We had thick plastic under all our rock beds. I ripped out so much and … the shrubs came back to life!! It was totally suffocating the roots," wrote someone else.
A third commenter said, "Your yard is gonna look so gorgeous after all that hard work!"
|
How often will you be gardening this summer? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Every day 🥗 
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
TCD Picks » Upway Spotlight
💡Upway makes it easy to find discounts of up to 60% on premium e-bike brands
Cool Picks
