We all make mistakes when gardening, but some errors we won't realize until a couple of years too late.
One Redditor found that out the hard way after realizing the weed barrier they placed did not stop unwanted plants poking through, and it was a nightmare to remove, too.
"Anyone have experience removing old weed barrier fabric?" they asked the r/gardening community, sharing a few pictures of their garden and the fabric shredding up beneath the turf.
"I want to make a little flower bed along the wall, but a few years ago when we did it we used weed barrier fabric," they detailed in the comments. "I dug down a bit and there is also rubber mulch on top of the fabric. So it's fabric, rubber mulch, then weeds. Apparently they grew right through the fabric. In the picture you can kind of see where the old bed used to be. Can I just pull the whole thing up?"
Unfortunately, it turned out they had two issues to contend with. While the gradually decaying weed fabric — which obviously did not do the job they hoped it would — will be a real trial to completely remove, they will have to get rid of the rubber mulch as well. The latter might seem like a smart way to create a hassle-free garden, but it's more trouble than it's worth.
The rubber is often made from recycled car tires, which are composed of various harmful chemicals that can ruin soil quality and prevent growth in the areas where you were hoping to cultivate plants.
What's more, it reaches incredibly hot temperatures when exposed to sunlight, making it awful to walk on and dangerous for pets and children while also producing a terrible smell.
Furthermore, consider the issues for local wildlife, who might mistake the mulch for food and get rubber stuck inside their digestive systems, leading to sickness or even death.
Instead, native plants might be a better solution for a low-effort garden. They are well suited to local soil and weather conditions, so they aren't quite as thirsty as traditional monoculture lawns and require a lot less maintenance. If you do need to get rid of weeds, there are plenty of natural solutions to do so without weed fabric or harmful chemicals.
🗣️ 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
The advice from Redditors: It won't be easy, but it's definitely best to remove the fabric and the rubber mulch.
On the subject of the weed fabric, one Redditor said, "That stuff should have a warning on it: 'this will not work to stop weeds in any meaningful way and is a giant [pain in the ass] to remove.'"
"Unfortunately you're just gonna have to pull it up bit by bit," added another. "It's hell I'm sorry. But it grows back really quickly if you put down grass seed after because the ground is completely bare of weeds."
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