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Gardening in Oz

weed matting and watering

21 years ago

Hello,

'Rally' weed-matting, this seems to be the brand commonly available in hard-ware stores, has recently been put down around some plants and topped with mulch but I've noticed it doesn't seem to let rain or other applied water through. Is this usually the case?

I am thinking of putting some holes in it but would like to know what other peoples experiences have been first.

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Comments (6)

User
21 years ago
"Weed mat, is it worth it?" was a posting by Ashmeri on this forum a short while ago (a few pages back). The general consensus seemed to be that no one was terribly impressed and many had pulled weed mat up. Some because of the watering problem, and others because you still get weeds. It might pay to have a quick read yourself.
Cheers,
Dee.
moksha
Original Author
21 years ago
Thanks Dee,

I have read that thread before but not before I put the matting down unfortunately, so I'm not ready to pull it up just yet! ; )

The matting is weaved and there are very fine holes but water doesn't seem to go through it.
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ginnybee
21 years ago
I am one of the people who pulled it up as it really is a pain(sorry) the weed seeds grow on top of it & couch seems to go through it as to watering with it I found when we pulled it out it was rather dry under it, the other problem you need to consider is if you plant larger growing plants the mat can strangle the trunk as it doesn't open as the trunk expands so you will have to watch that if you plan to leave itgood luck with it.
Jan.
User
21 years ago
All weed mat is a woven fabric and is *supposed* to let water through, but unfortunately this doesn't seem to be the case. I re-used some of my weedmat under a pathway of decomposed granite, because it doesn't need the water. So if you do decide to pull it up, keep it because you may find a use for it later. Good luck
Cheers,
Dee.
Robert_NSW
21 years ago
I sometimes use weed mat where I have troublesome weeds. It is great for stuff like Oxalis that needs to be really smothered. In this case I put up with weed mat and cut a few strategic holes to water the plants. A year or so later I lift it and the problem weeds are controlled.

I never use it in normal situations. Lots of newspaper is great but you still have to leave spots for the water to get through.
lisalwang_aol_com
18 years ago
We have oxalis growing through about 3" of compacted decomposed granite without stabilizer and without weed mat. Does anyone have a recommendation on what to do if we redo it? Will weed mat keep the oxalis from coming back?

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