What is Weed Barrier? 3 Types of Weed Barrier

For every gardener, weeds and unwanted grass is a big problem. Weeds and unwanted grass steal the beauty of your lawn and make it look more crowded.

They take the nutrients away from your desired plants and always compete for sunlight and water.

You can use a Lawn-Mower to get rid of them, but a mower can not properly destroy all the weed in your lawn. You can also use herbicide, but it will have harmful environmental effects on your garden.

So, how do we get rid of weeds and unwanted grass? The answer is the Weed Barrier that stops the weeds from growing and kills the grown ones by stoping their sunlight, water, and air supply.

Want to know what is a Weed Barrier? Keep reading this article to learn detailed information about weed barriers and their types.

What Is Weed Barrier?

Weed Barrier is used to control the weeds from generating and growing. It covers the ground so that the weed can not take the sunlight and develop properly. It helps the plants to use most of the nutrients given by nature, which were taken by the weeds or grass before.

There are natural weed barriers like mulch, which is easily available on your own lawn. Human-made weed barriers are weed barrier fabric, or plastic covers are available in the market.

Most of the Weed Barriers are Environment-Friendly, so they decompose and act as a natural compost to the plants, so they help your desired plants grow while stoping the unwanted weeds.

There are Three Types of Weed Barriers that we are going to explain here.

Natural Weed Barrier

These are the weed barriers that are provided by nature. This includes mulch, leaves, straw, and bark. You can put a layer of mulch on around your plants to cover them adequately, so the weed doesn’t get sunlight to grow.

Natural weed barriers don’t cost you any money, and it is easy to place them wherever you need.

This barrier is a great way to stop weeds from ruining the lawn. These weed barriers are decomposed after some time, and the plants around them can use them as compost. It can help them grow more efficiently.

Although natural weed barriers are really useful in blocking weed, they can be a cause for growing weed also. As time passes, they start to decompose, which provides an excellent ground for the weed to start spreading. Even when the mulch is not decomposing, weeds can still grow on them.

Mulch and other organic materials can be used as a temporary weed barrier for a short time.

Plastic Weed Barrier

A plastic cover can be used as a weed barrier. It can cover more extensive grounds, and the roots of weeds and grass can’t grow through them. It blocks sunlight as well as air and water supply for the weeds.

If you have a lawn area where you big plants and having problems from weeds, this can be a perfect solution to your weed problems. Plastic stops the water evaporation and helps the soil to soak it to its fullest capacity.

But plastic can tear, so make sure that no foot traffic happens there. You can cover them with mulch if you don’t like to see plastic disturbing your view of the lawn.

For the plants that need heat to grow better, You can place it around them because plastic doesn’t let heat escape from the ground, and the black plastic absorbs the heat from the sun.

Plastic stops air and water supply for weeds but also the plants. You can place Drip Sprinklers around the plants to water them. You have to cut holes in the according to your plants. It only works fine for a year, so by placing it around vegetables and seasonal flower beds, you will get the full use of it.

landscape fabric Weed Barrier

landscape fabric or Weed barrier cloth is a geotextile that is made of polypropylene or polyester. They have a similar texture to the burlap. You can place them on the ground where you don’t want the weeds to spread.

They are like plastic, but they have tiny holes in them, so they are breathable. They do not stop the air or water supply to the plants, but they can stop the sunlight from reaching the weed.

You will need to put mulch on top of the weed because the sun can speed the degeneration of the fabric. Mulch also keeps the surface moisturized under the landscape fabric.

They are usually useable for 3-5 years so you can put them where you don’t disturb the landscape too much. This technique helps in long term landscape planning.

You can use it under rocks to keep the weeds away from your rocks.

You will need to take out the weed around the landscape fabric. If you put mulch on the fabric, you need to change the mulch from time to time. Clean the dirt and mud off of the fabric so weed doesn’t infiltrate the weed barrier cloth.

In The End

Weeds can affect the growth in your plants and your lawn’s view.

Weed barriers are one of the most effective tools for controlling weed growth. They don’t cost too much and are very reliable. They don’t cause any damages to plants like herbicide, and some of them can also be used as compost.

If you want to stop weeds from ruining your lawn’s look, you should place a weed barrier in your garden.