{"id":23111,"date":"2023-11-17T16:07:01","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T21:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/?p=23111"},"modified":"2023-11-17T16:07:01","modified_gmt":"2023-11-17T21:07:01","slug":"are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/","title":{"rendered":"Are there alternatives to using landscape cloth in gardens to reduce weeds?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Question:<\/h3>\n<p><strong>I have been using landscape cloth to reduce the weeds in my garden. I have been reading that this material is not good and that there are better alternatives but I haven&#8217;t seen what the alternatives are. Are there better alternatives and if so, what do you recommend?<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Answer:<\/h3>\n<div><em>Jonathan Foster, Home Horticulture Outreach Professional<\/em><\/div>\n<p>The University of Illinois Cooperative Extension has a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/extension.illinois.edu\/blogs\/good-growing\/2021-06-25-disadvantages-landscape-fabric\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/extension.illinois.edu\/blogs\/good-growing\/2021-06-25-disadvantages-landscape-fabric&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700341481067000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2iASDbahTguaR6-TbLPhVb\">great article on this topic<\/a>\u00a0that lays out (so to speak) the potential problems with landscape fabric. In short, it&#8217;s typically non-biodegradable (so it&#8217;s in your bed more or less for good once placed), the fabric&#8217;s permeability to air and water diminishes over time as it clogs with soil and organic matter, and it generally becomes tattered and inextricably twisted up in the roots of the plants you want to grow there and the weeds that work their way through. If you want to remove it in the future, it can be a dirty shredded mess that has to be pulled out in strips alongside a lot of plant material. I don&#8217;t mean to completely disregard the utility of landscape fabric&#8211;there are numerous situations where it&#8217;s a perfectly acceptable solution to a particular\u00a0<span class=\"il\">garden<\/span>\u00a0problem&#8211;but if these issues concern\u00a0you, consider using cardboard or thick layers of old newspaper in its place. They will\u00a0biodegrade over time, helping to build your soil, and will suppress weeds nicely until then.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question: I have been using landscape cloth to reduce the weeds in my garden. I have been reading that this material is not good and that there are better alternatives but I haven&#8217;t seen what the alternatives are. Are there better alternatives and if so, what do you recommend? Answer: Jonathan Foster, Home Horticulture Outreach [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[199,202],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ask","category-maintenance"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Are there alternatives to using landscape cloth in gardens to reduce weeds? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are there alternatives to using landscape cloth in gardens to reduce weeds? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Question: I have been using landscape cloth to reduce the weeds in my garden. I have been reading that this material is not good and that there are better alternatives but I haven&#8217;t seen what the alternatives are. Are there better alternatives and if so, what do you recommend? Answer: Jonathan Foster, Home Horticulture Outreach [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-17T21:07:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"twood\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"twood\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"twood\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#\/schema\/person\/9f0056a6c4a281b4f517e1313fa2c518\"},\"headline\":\"Are there alternatives to using landscape cloth in gardens to reduce weeds?\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-17T21:07:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/\"},\"wordCount\":251,\"articleSection\":[\"Ask the Expert\",\"Garden Design and Maintenance\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/\",\"name\":\"Are there alternatives to using landscape cloth in gardens to reduce weeds? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-17T21:07:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#\/schema\/person\/9f0056a6c4a281b4f517e1313fa2c518\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Are there alternatives to using landscape cloth in gardens to reduce weeds?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/\",\"name\":\"Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard\",\"description\":\"Information you can use. Research you can trust.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#\/schema\/person\/9f0056a6c4a281b4f517e1313fa2c518\",\"name\":\"twood\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc8c7b5c8d78336ceef76f813278762e12972bcd042b075da831f24d0320bdb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc8c7b5c8d78336ceef76f813278762e12972bcd042b075da831f24d0320bdb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"twood\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/author\/twood\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Are there alternatives to using landscape cloth in gardens to reduce weeds? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Are there alternatives to using landscape cloth in gardens to reduce weeds? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension","og_description":"Question: I have been using landscape cloth to reduce the weeds in my garden. I have been reading that this material is not good and that there are better alternatives but I haven&#8217;t seen what the alternatives are. Are there better alternatives and if so, what do you recommend? Answer: Jonathan Foster, Home Horticulture Outreach [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/","og_site_name":"Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard","article_published_time":"2023-11-17T21:07:01+00:00","author":"twood","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"twood","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/"},"author":{"name":"twood","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#\/schema\/person\/9f0056a6c4a281b4f517e1313fa2c518"},"headline":"Are there alternatives to using landscape cloth in gardens to reduce weeds?","datePublished":"2023-11-17T21:07:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/"},"wordCount":251,"articleSection":["Ask the Expert","Garden Design and Maintenance"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/","url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/","name":"Are there alternatives to using landscape cloth in gardens to reduce weeds? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-11-17T21:07:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#\/schema\/person\/9f0056a6c4a281b4f517e1313fa2c518"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/11\/17\/are-there-alternatives-to-using-landscape-cloth-in-gardens-to-reduce-weeds\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Are there alternatives to using landscape cloth in gardens to reduce weeds?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#website","url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/","name":"Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard","description":"Information you can use. Research you can trust.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#\/schema\/person\/9f0056a6c4a281b4f517e1313fa2c518","name":"twood","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc8c7b5c8d78336ceef76f813278762e12972bcd042b075da831f24d0320bdb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc8c7b5c8d78336ceef76f813278762e12972bcd042b075da831f24d0320bdb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"twood"},"url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/author\/twood\/"}]}},"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":199,"label":"Ask the Expert"},{"value":202,"label":"Garden Design and Maintenance"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"twood","author_link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/author\/twood\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":199,"name":"Ask the Expert","slug":"ask","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":199,"taxonomy":"category","description":"This is the top level category for all posts submitted to our Ask the Expert gardening questions form.","parent":0,"count":652,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":199,"category_count":652,"category_description":"This is the top level category for all posts submitted to our Ask the Expert gardening questions form.","cat_name":"Ask the Expert","category_nicename":"ask","category_parent":0},{"term_id":202,"name":"Garden Design and Maintenance","slug":"maintenance","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":202,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":199,"count":190,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":202,"category_count":190,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Garden Design and Maintenance","category_nicename":"maintenance","category_parent":199}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23111"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23113,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23111\/revisions\/23113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}