There are countless horror stories of gardeners fighting with landscaping fabric, a pointless product that can cause all sorts of problems.
However, most people's fabric woes pale in comparison to the sinking feeling one Redditor got in their stomach after discovering the depth of issues created by the fraudulent fabric.
"Warning for landscape cloth," the Redditor ominously captioned a series of photos posted in the r/gardening subreddit.
The gardener explained how they covered flower beds around the foundation of their house with landscape fabric about 10 years ago and then planted rosemary bushes. Unfortunately, cold weather killed the rosemary this past winter, which led to a horrifying discovery.
"When pulling them up today, the entire root structure of the Rosemary came up and revealed a sinkhole under them," they explained. "The rosemary roots had been growing horizontally on top of the landscape cloth and created a sturdy structure."
It turns out that water from the roof was washing away the dirt under the canopy of fabric, roots, and rocks, creating a hole about 2.5 feet deep and wide. The four photos show different angles of the gaping hole in the ground and the water line into the house exposed by the sinkhole.
Landscaping fabric is basically a plastic sheet that is supposed to suppress weeds. However, weeds often find a way through the fabric or root right into it, making it difficult to pull out.
It contains petroleum and other chemicals, so it's awful to use around plants you'll eat. Plus, as it breaks down, which it will often do much faster than you'd think, it sheds microplastics that will stay in your lawn for decades or even centuries.
One cheaper, more environmentally friendly way to suppress weeds is to layer a few pieces of cardboard and cover them with wood chips.
Other Redditors vented their similar frustrations with the faulty fabric.
"I can't stand landscape fabric," one wrote. "In my eyes it's like burying plastic in the garden, nothing good can come of it."
"Yes! I hate that the old me thought that was a good idea," the OP replied.
Another added, "The stuff is a nightmare. People get seduced by promises it will prevent erosion, control weeds, but it's all lies."
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