My name is Ben and I'm an average joe homeowner. My house has a flowerbed that lines the driveway and extends across the front of my house. In the bed are a few shrubs and plants that are pretty young. Whoever put the beds in place didn't use anything for an edging and used regular red bark mulch that has lost it's color and dried up over the past several months. I'm going to edge the beds with red brick as I have a good supply of it but just wanted to know what I need to do in order to put pea gravel type mulch in place. I'm going to rake and shovel out as much of the existing mulch as I can but what should I do for prep of the gravel mulch? Are there any chemical treatments that are good for killing weeds in the beds before laying down a landscaping fabric/felt???
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If these are flower beds with annuals and perennials, you're going to have a hard time spraying the weeds without also hitting the perennials, and there isn't a lot out there that won't harm both. Your best bet might simply be to be surgical in your application of Roundup if you have a lot of weeds.
If you don't have many weeds, you might be fine just covering over the weeds with a weed barrier fabric, then laying down your decorative stone. I'm not a big fan of pea gravel for a dec stone, because those stones can end up everywhere (grass, mower blades), and walking on them is like walking on marbles (because they more or less are small marbles). But if you can live with that, then viva la difference or something.
That's why I say "flowerbeds" in the title.... there's actually no flowers just small shrubs which evidently are perennial cause they've lasted through last winter...
Main reason I don't like the mulch in the beds is cause some areas are right against my houses foundation and I have found a few termites in the mulch (although my house checks out clean)... The only place where there's foot traffic has round stepping stones so that's not much of an issue...
Should I definitely lay down a barrier fabric before the gravel? I think it'd help keep the gravel up above the soil and maybe help keep the weeds down a bit..
I was kinda afraid of that... Maybe the rock supplier will have something worth a crap...not any actual landscape suppliers around here that I know of...
I hate weed mats!! but I definately use it when putting down stone.
If it was my house, I would get rid of the red dyed mulch (hate that stuff more than weed mats), till the beds and rake/pull out the rest of the weeds. Add compost and mix it in. I would then plant any other plants I want in the bed. Then take my time putting in the weed fabric, making sure it was close up to the plants. I would then blow out any dirt that accidently got on the fabric or any dirt thats loose in the surrounding area (i.e. driveway), then put down the cleanest decorative stones I could find, very thick. Id have Roundup on hand when I see any weeds poking through or I would pull them and Id be vigilant about it.
I was kinda afraid of that... Maybe the rock supplier will have something worth a crap...not any actual landscape suppliers around here that I know of...
Yes, the big box stores have really pathetic examples of landscape fabric. ("25-year", hah!)
I went through the amateur-tries-to-find-professional-fabric experience a few weeks ago. Here's what I found ....
You want a geotextile fabric, nonwoven, at least 4oz/square yard weight. A key parameter is the water flow rate, in gpm per sq ft: any number around 100 is fine, just don't use poly film that contains water.
Where to find such stuff? The landscape/hardscape suppliers will all have drainfield fabric, suitable for lining trenches that are backfilled with river rock and, say, perforated pipe for french drains. If they will cut you an odd-sized piece, you are done.
If they want to sell only whole rolls (typically 10ftx300ft), or if you want a heavier fabric, 6 or 8 oz., you have to keep looking.
The pond supply houses on the internet all offer pond underlayment fabrics that are about 6oz weight (they are a bit vague on exactly what parameter values are guaranteed). They sell these in handy precut sizes, at somewhat highish prices. Note that you want the underlayment fabric, not the pond liner.
I found one industrial fabric place that would cut and deliver the heavier professional fabrics: Geo-synthetics, Inc., of Waukesha, WI. Nice folks, and fast service.
I frequently "target" spray with roundup using my small sprayer and a hunk of cardboard to shield the desirable plant. In the case of bindweed, (bane of my existance!) which wraps around desirable plants, I pour a cup of roundup and use a paintbrush to apply it to the leaves of the weed.
I am not fond of rock mulch myself, but if termites are an issue, it has its uses. Peagravel wouldn't be my first choice however. If all you are using is small shrubbery, not flowers, what about breeze? (Crusher fines) Comes in multiple colors, and as far as I'm concerned, it's less prone to get windborne weed seeds sprouting than any type of loose gravel. Definitely underlay with fabric, though.
thanks for all the great info guys!! I'll try to keep updates but don't know when this will take place... My wife just had our first baby so who knows when I'll really get around to it...
I'm pretty sure the whole termite/mulch thing has been soundly disproved. And in my experience weed barrier fabric does limit the amount of water going through, especially on slopes, regardless of what the package says. I have ripped up miles of the stuff and the soil underneath is dry, dusty, and the roots of the shrubs are much more at the surface of the soil than is normal. Besides, weeds are still going to seed themselves in the pea gravel anyway, so it's not like you are never going to have to weed again. And pea gravel does nothing for the soil or plants, it just covers up the fabric. So bad idea all around, imnsho. Ok off the soapbox now; carry on.
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