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In our sub-tropical heat and humidity, with all the worms and insects occupying the soil, any organic materials used as mulch breaks down in a matter of months (if not weeks!), into compost. This is great for flower beds, but not for areas where I want to control weeds in the walking space between my vegetable garden rows.
I've tried several different non-organic "found objects" (i.e., stuff I culled from the neighbor's trash) to try to use as weed barriers in the walkways between the veggie raised beds. Here is what didn't work:
typical vizqueen plastic sheets -- deteriorates quickly in sun and weather and rips and blows around easily in minor winds
foam padding for carpet underlay -- makes a great seed starting medium! every weed seed that hit it seemed to be very happy to take root in it
thick milled rubber liner from a pond - keeps out the weeds, but slippery when wet, and the rain collects and puddles on top of it
I've not tried the webbed plastic landscaping fabric because it is expensive. I've put it down in jobs where I assisted a friend with his landscaping business. It usually needs to be covered with rocks or gravel for appearance sake, which adds even more to the expense.
What I finally did find that works well and is usually pre-cut to the right width and comes in long rolls is clear plastic carpet protection runners. I've used it for one of my vegetable rows for the past year. It doesn't deteriorate and the water seems to evaporate from it quickly. It is thick and heavy enough that it will generally stay in place, or can be secured to the ground with a wire tent stake or landscaping fabric pin. I may have to actually go out and buy enough to do the other rows!
I do know that allowing any organic matter to collect on top of the weed barrier will provide enough composted soil for the weed seeds to grow as easily as if they were deep rooted. The carpet protector runners can be swept or hit with the leaf blower occasionally to get rid of any falling leaves that might make compost on top of the plastic.
I would appreciate your suggestions on cheap methods to stop the weeds in walkways. Maybe I should just have lawn grass between the veggie rows and keep it mowed often, but that is not likely to happen. I love to garden, but HATE to mow!
Jeremy
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