Weed control Garden Mulch with lots of weeds !!

Hello, 

           We live in the eastern suburbs of melbourne and a landscaper has replaced our lawn area with mulch.   I was told that weed mats don't work, but within 3-4 days we had weeds growing through !!  Is a weed mat a more useful way to solve the problem ?  Thanks Michael, Melbourne Vic

Answer

 

Hi Michael,

 

                     I think many people are looking at replacing their lawns with some other type of groundcover these days, with Australia's water problems.   But, the question is what to use ?.   Commonly people look at using  Mulches and Weed Mats.  Which is best ?  Well it really comes down to the situation.   We will list some pros and cons of both for you.  But, in your present situation, I tend to think you should work on poisoning the weeds as they come up,  eventually all the seed in the ground will germinate and you will find that very few future weeds will develop.   If you had a running lawn like "Kikuyu" you will find that it will take a little longer to get rid of, as the roots will shoot away with a bit rain. 

 

Weed mat & Mulches,  pros & cons 

 

Weed mat

 

Benefits-  The modern forms of weed mat are good at preventing 90% of weeds shooting up.   Most also allow good drainage into the soil.   This is when the weed mat is placed on the surface of the soil ,with no mulch on the surface.   Such as used in nurseries or for soil stabilisation.

 

Drawbacks- The main draw backs are when a mulch is used on the surface of the weed mat (also depends on what type of mulch) .  For the short term this is is very effective.  However, over time the mulch rots down, debis develop and the mulch on the surface of the weed mat becomes a suitable place for weeds to develop !.    Before you know it,  all the weeds are back !.  This of course takes some time to occur.   Using a herbicide to control the weeds once again is important.  In situations where gravel is used as a mulch, weed mat is a very effective underlay and because of the good drainage that occurs, less weeds develop. 

 

Mulch alone used as weed control

 

Benefits -  For most situations a good layer of mulch has multiple benefits...weed control, moisture holding, soil improvement, soil stabilisation.  

 

Drawbacks - It will take some for the mulch to start working.   You will still find weeds coming up in the short term, which must be removed or poisoned.   Over time eventually the number of weeds will reduce.   For mulch to be effective the new weeds must be removed.    Mulch must be regularly topped up, once a year normally, for it to keep working. 

 

General -  There will always be some mainenance in regard to controlling weeds.  It is a case of using the appropriate form of control for the situation.   Some times it is a case of using all of them at once. 

 

Regards questions@gardenguide.com.au

 

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