A gardener turned to the r/landscaping subreddit to ask the same question that plagues so many new homeowners: "What's the deal with plastic weed guards?"
"Previous homeowner lined much of his flowerbeds with medium gauge plastic to, I assume, act as weed guard," the poster explained. "10+ years on, and much of it's breaking apart. What is the current thinking on how to mitigate or maintain these? They seem ineffectual (weeds grow above the membrane) and an eyesore where exposed."
As other members of the subreddit were quick to explain, the answer was simple: Installing the plastic weed guards was a big mistake on the part of the previous homeowner, and that mistake was now the new homeowner's problem.
🗣️ What's the hardest thing about taking care of your yard?
🔘 Mowing the lawn 🏡
🔘 Controlling weeds 🌿
🔘 Keeping pests at bay 🐿️
🔘 I don't have a yard 🤷
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
"They straight up don't work and are a stupid idea. Not much to say beyond that," wrote one commenter.
Plastic weed barriers are marketed as a way to smother unwanted weeds and prevent them from growing — but, really, all they manage to do is make money for the companies that produce them while failing to prevent weed growth, sometimes harming the plants you do want to grow, and also breaking apart and shedding microplastics into the soil.
Instead of plastic products, which are not natural and do not decompose, most expert gardeners recommend using a layer of cardboard.
Other members of the subreddit jumped in with their own horror stories and commiserations about this hated product.
"The previous owners of my house did one even better... weed barrier, rock, and at some point they decided they no longer wanted rock, so they decided to just throw mulch on top instead of remove it. Years later, the bottom layer of mulch has become dirt. So now I have mulch, dirt, rocks, weed barrier. I was cussing the old owners the day I discovered this while trying to plant new shrubs," wrote another commenter.
"It's truly ridiculous. If the plastic is deep enough that you can grow plants in it then it's deep enough that weeds will grow in it," commented another.
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