The Secret to Weed Barrier and Mulch

On Monday night, Hubs and I finished the garden…at least we finished phase one of the garden.

That means we finally laid down the weed barrier we bought months ago, and added the much needed mulch.

As I talked about earlier (in this post) when we stripped the sod to make the garden bed in the first place, I’ve had my fair share of yard work experience, having spent my summers doing landscaping for almost 10 years. So, I’ve certainly done a bunch of mulching. I’m here to give you 10 secrets I’ve learned over the years. Enjoy! (As much as anyone can enjoy mulching…)

1. Do this with a partner if at all possible. In my case, Wyatt was at the store buying mulch so I did the weed barrier fabric by myself. If you do have to do it alone, make sure you have plenty staples. (Always get the big value pack, not those little 10-packs.)

2. You want to weed everything first as well as you can. Then, apply Preen to help prevent future weed growth. There’s no point in mulching if the weeds are going to pop right back up. That means I wouldn’t skimp on the weed barrier fabric…it will make your weeding job later on a lot more enjoyable. (Read: nonexistent.)

3. Use the staples are your extra hands. Place staples on one end of the fabric to hold it on the edge of the bed. Then, you can roll out the roll of fabric and trim it as needed. Bonus tip, use as big of pieces as possible. It will help it stay put longer.

4. Conserve your staples by doubling up the weed barrier where two pieces meet (this also prevents weeds in the cracks.)

5. Always lay the fabric as close to the ground as possible. It will make sure you are cutting in exactly the right spot. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cut around a plant, above the plant, only to have to re-cut it when I lay the fabric on the ground.

6. Make sure there’s plenty of Preen around the edges of the fabric before you mulch. That’s where the most of your weed trouble will be.

7. Don’t get dirt on top of your weed barrier fabric! That’s the entire reason you are using it in the first place, right? To keep dirt out of the mulch so weeds can’t grow? So don’t walk on it or get it messy. You’ll thank me later for this.

8. Don’t skimp on the mulch. For one thing, you don’t want the fabric to show through. For another, it will help hold the fabric in place. And three, it will deter weeds better.

9. Don’t put the mulch, or the fabric, too close to the necks of the plants. They need room to breathe.