When to Use Landscape Fabric

Landscape fabric is a valuable material that you should consider using in your garden. However, if you are unfamiliar with landscape fabric, you’re likely unaware of how and when to use it. This article will teach you when to use landscape fabric in your yard and give some insights as to why landscape fabric is so useful. 

What is Landscape Fabric?
Before we discuss specific landscape fabric uses, let’s ensure that you understand precisely what landscape fabric is. Landscape fabric is a thin sheet typically made of geotextile materials. Landscape fabric is commonly available in garden supply stores and has multiple uses in the landscape, as you’ll soon learn. 
 
Using Landscape Fabric to Suppress Weeds in Garden Beds
The primary instance in which it is beneficial to use landscape fabric is when you want to suppress weeds in a garden bed. The benefit of landscape fabric, in this case, is that it prevents sunlight from reaching any weeds that may be germinating in your beds. 
While landscape fabric blocks sunlight, it simultaneously allows air and water to pass through its permeable material. This permeable nature ensures that the plants you want to grow in your garden bed continue to receive the water and air that they need to survive. All the while, the unwanted weeds in your garden bed will have a much more difficult time developing. 

Using Landscape Fabric When Constructing a Patio
While weed suppression in a garden bed is the main way to use landscape fabric, this material is also useful when constructing patios. As is true of garden beds, a dry-laid patio can also experience weed problems as unwanted plants grow from below the patio up through the gaps between your pavers. 
Adding a layer of landscape fabric below your patio during the construction phase is an excellent way to suppress those weeds. That added layer will help keep your patio looking neat and clean while the weeds below fail to grow. 

Using Landscape Fabric When Building a Retaining Wall 
A properly built small-scale retaining wall should have gravel or crushed stone behind it to ensure that water can flow freely through it. However, without landscape fabric, the soil adjacent to the gravel will eventually fill the gaps between the crushed stone, preventing water from flowing freely, which can lead to structural failure. 
Placing landscape fabric between the crushed stone and the soil prevents this issue from taking place. By ensuring proper water flow, this use of landscape fabric will help ensure that your retaining wall remains intact for years to come. 

Does Your Yard Need Landscape Fabric?
Now that you know when to use landscape fabric, you may be eager to include some in your next garden project. As is always the case, it can be quite helpful to hire a professional team to install your landscape fabric properly. At All Outdoors, we’re ready to provide landscape fabric and much more.

​Reach out to us today at 864.275.2039 to learn more.