Weeds are a problem. (Clearly I know this–I have visible weeds and am often visibly weeding.) However, landscape fabric is not the solution.

This “fabric” as used in the residential landscape is usually spun polypropylene, a petroleum product which will never decompose. It is often laid over bare soil or over undesired landscaping treated with pesticides and is usually topped with shredded wood or rock mulch. The intention is to reduce landscape work (mowing, weeding) but allow water infiltration. The topping mulch is “clean” and weed-free. Unfortunately, the devil is in the details.

Landscape projects so often start with excavating old landscape fabric, along with half-buried rock and the beginnings of a new soil layer. The fact is, soil formation happens from above and below; it is impossible to keep either wood or rock mulch free of blown-in organic matter and soil. This project generates trash pretty quickly. If painstakingly cleaned, rock can be reused. There is a fair amount of embodied carbon (from the mining process) in gravel, and while it’s an incredibly useful landscaping and building resource, we should use and reuse it thoughtfully. To keep rock on fabric free of weeds, organic matter, and soil will eventually require extensive hand weeding, the use of herbicides, and/or the regular use of a leaf blower, and it will still be a losing proposition.

This barrier between the surface of the landscape and the soil interrupts the soil’s ability to function: water absorption is shockingly reduced and organic matter can’t break down and feed plants. Soil becomes more compacted. A porous soil higher in organic matter absorbs more water, benefitting plants and helping keep our neighborhood cool in summer. In an area impacted by floods, we want our soil to be as absorbent and to hold as much water as possible. The fabric impedes that.

Most of our native bees are ground-nesting. Any forage you plant for them is fairly useless for them if they can’t live nearby. The fabric also harms worms, roly-polies, and other beneficial creatures.

Images from here: https://gardenprofessors.com/landscape-fabric-a-cautionary-tale/ go read it!