A weed barrier is a border used to stop weeds from growing in. If you have some problems with weeds growing in your garden, this is what you can use.
But choosing the correct weed barrier for your lawn can be difficult. When shopping around for one, there are several factors that you should consider before you purchase.
This blog will give you the best tips on choosing a weed barrier. Let’s find out!
What is a Weed Barrier?
As mentioned in the introduction, weed barriers can stop weed growth in a garden or landscape.
Weed barriers are vital for some reasons. They prevent weeds from invading your garden, plus they prevent soil from seeping through the ground.
Many people who try to stop weed growth will use a weed barrier.
It is made from a poly woven fabric that can prevent the weeds from penetrating through the fibers. Thus, some weed barriers have an excellent permeability to penetrate water through their surface.
Types of Weed Barrier
There are four types of Weed Barriers depending on the materials were made by it. These are natural barriers, homemade barriers, fabrics-made, and plastic-made.
Each type of barrier can be a great option to stop the weed growing in your garden. But then, it is you who’ll decide what the best weed barrier suitable for your garden bed is.
Let’s discuss these types of weed barriers and where it is made.
- Homemade Barriers is made using plastic garbage bags, newspapers, cardboards, and any standard solid household product that can make a barrier for weeds. These materials allow the air and water to filter through, decomposing in the soil afterward.
Yes, it can be effective against weeds, but unfortunately, they are easily disorganized and appear messy in your garden.
- Natural Barriers are called organic barriers that include mulch, peat moss, straw, layers of leaves, and other organic materials that can block the weeds in your garden.
The advantage of using natural barriers is that they are biodegradable but usually require renewing yearly. Hence, if you are using a natural barrier in your garden, it is also good for the environment, taking less your ecological footprint.
If you try to use a natural barrier for your garden bed, make sure it is stout to prevent necessary water and air from penetrating the soil.
- Plastic-made Barriers, with the name itself, are solid plastic weed coverings that are very effective and durable to use.
It blocks sunlight, water, and oxygen, resulting in the suffocation of mature and unnecessary weeds. Its black color can help absorb sunlight and warm the soil. It can promote root growth in your cultivated plants.
Unfortunately, plastic-made weed barriers are more expensive than the other types. Otherwise, it is an excellent choice if you want to achieve a long-term project for your garden.
- Fabric-made Barriers. It is commonly sold in rolls in your local garden market or legitimate online store.
It can be a great option and effective to use rather than herbicides. But then, it is also expensive same as the plastic-made barriers.
Its synthetic geotextile material, laminated by a thin layer of black polyethylene material, can effectively darken the soil and block the light. As a result, it will starve the underlying weeds and limit the sunlight they need.
How To Choose a Weed Barrier?
It would help to consider these several aspects when choosing the right weed barrier for your garden bed. Take note of all these factors, and it can help you pick the best one.
Weed Barrier must be Environmental Friendly
First things first, you need to save the earth by using eco-friendly products. As of this, if you don’t want to purchase weed barriers in your local market or online shop, you can use organic material such as mulch, straws, peat moss, etc.
But there are also some eco-friendly weed barriers that you can buy at the store. They are made from burlap or linen, which makes them environmentally friendly.
On the other hand, those weed barriers made from polypropylene and polyester, commonly made for weed barriers, are not exceptionally eco-friendly.
As I mentioned before, using environmentally friendly weed barriers can reduce your ecological footprint and save mother earth.
Consider the Size of the Roll
Weed Barriers commonly come in a roll, which is very convenient to transport anywhere. Every weed barrier roll displays the fabric size so that you can take it as a reference to calculate how many rolls can cover your garden bed.
Specifically, weed barrier rolls are 3 to 6 feet wide, ranging from 50 to 200 feet long upward. Consider maximizing the size if you are covering a large area.
Make sure it is UV Resistant.
When it comes to the resistibility of UV Light, there are two options that you need to consider. Several weed barriers are actively resistant to UV, while others are UV stabilized. It means that it can treat with a UV barrier to withstand UV degradation effectively.
Make sure to cover the weed barrier with mulch, gravel, rocks, or any organic coverings. It can help the weed barrier decrease UV rays exposure, and it can also help to take longer in use.
Know the Material Made by Weed Barriers
As you all know, weed barriers are commonly made from polypropylene and polyester. Others are made from fabrics.
Thus, know what materials can last longer and the materials that can’t be last. The options of choosing weed barriers will depend on how much time do you need in your garden. You can choose weed barriers that are made from woven and nonwoven materials.
Weed barriers that are made from woven fabrics create a mesh-like weave. It can block the sunlight and prevent weeds from growing. It also has a little space that allows the air and water to penetrate the soil for plant growth, suitable for garden beds.
In contrast, the weed barrier made from nonwoven material is less permeable than the woven material. With this, it is not the ideal weed barrier to use if you want the air and water to penetrate your garden soil.
Hence, it can also be great in preventing plants from growing in your surrounding garden, especially if you want to disable the growth of unnecessary weeds.
Know the Lifespan & Durability of Weed Barrier
It is a great deal when your weed barrier can take last longer. It can stop you from buying cheap weed barriers over and over again.
Therefore, knowing the lifespan and durability of your Weed Barrier is a factor you must consider when purchasing barriers in your local store or even in the legitimized online store.
The weed barrier should last up to a minimum of five to twenty years or more. The rain or sunny conditions cannot break it down.
The thickness of the weed barrier is also necessary to check, but it will depend on the style of your garden you have.
Closing Note
A weed barrier is an effective way to control weed growth. But most people struggle to choose which weed barrier is appropriate for them.
When looking for a weed barrier, check the types of weed barriers available, as well as what material you want it to be made out.
Remember that no weed barrier will be perfect, but some variations may suit your needs better than others.
We hope you have learned something about our blog post on choosing the weed barrier that will work for you. We know it can be challenging to decide which ones work best for your needs, so that this article might be helpful.