One gardener recently turned to the r/GardeningUK subreddit for advice about using landscaping fabric and was met with a flood of warnings.
"Fellow gardeners I would like advice on whether I can lay turf rolls on weed membrane or fabric," the original poster said.
The responses poured in, and the advice was fairly consistent. The experienced gardeners of the subreddit were united on several key points: Landscaping fabric does not prevent weed growth, it causes many more problems than it solves, and it should basically be avoided at all costs.
"You could lay turf on a membrane but you'll be disappointed if you're hoping it will stop weeds growing in your lawn. Weeds will eventually seed into the turf from above. I know people keep calling it weed membrane but it doesn't prevent weeds," wrote one commenter.
"Inherited a flower bed that has a 'weed membrane' and the years of leaves falling on it just created a place where weeds just grow on top now and the soil under the weed barrier is poor. Attempting to remove as much of it as I can at the moment," wrote another.
The various subreddits dedicated to gardening and landscaping are full of horror stories of homeowners who attempted to install landscaping fabric — which actually is not fabric but plastic — for its stated purpose, only to come to regret it.
Even more often, people post about bad decisions made by previous homeowners. Burying sheets of plastic in the soil is a problem that has to be dealt with at some point, as the material does not biodegrade but gets shredded and becomes even more difficult to remove. That burden often falls on the unsuspecting person who buys the house next.
Most gardening experts recommend using sheets of cardboard in place of landscaping fabric. Cardboard breaks down in a way that plastic does not. It's also cheaper — assuming you have boxes lying around — and contains far fewer toxic chemicals than plastic.
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