To keep weeds/plants from growing, should I treat or otherwise cover the ground when placing mulch or rocks on top?

I've cleared the area of brush behind my house. I want that ground to remain clear of weeds and plants. I'm deciding between mulch or rock.

Should I spray the ground with some sort of chemical? Should I put down a landscaping cloth (which I think is canvas) before placing either mulch or rock on top of the area? Which is most fire retardant?

Which is less invasive? Asked by Tomayto 46 months ago Similar Questions: weeds plants growing treat cover ground placing mulch rocks top Recent Questions About: weeds plants growing treat cover ground placing mulch rocks top Home > Patio, Lawn & Garden.

Similar Questions: weeds plants growing treat cover ground placing mulch rocks top Recent Questions About: weeds plants growing treat cover ground placing mulch rocks top.

Put down landscape fabric or weeds will grow. I would use rock if it is close to your house, mulch or wood chips will eventually attract ants and other bugs and hold enough moisture that weeds will grow in it. Although if you'll be planting stuff there and it's away from the house then mulch or wood chips are best.

Fire retardant? Not sure what you mean, why fire retardant? Fabric with rocks on top would be pretty fire retardant, unless it's right next to a fire pit, then it could melt.

It's poly fabric. I suggest this stuff and buy the big roll, you'll need it eventually. outsidepride.com/catalog/Weed-Control-Fa... Sources: home inspector, former landscaper .

They make plastic that will work They make a black (garbage bag like) plastic that is on rolls and you should use that and go with rocks. Mulch gets wet and will product growth. Where I live we always had the black plastic and a detective rock and with the new owners they put mulch on top of the rock and not only does it become a mess during and after it rains, but growth does happen.

We have even seen more earwigs with the mulch. (not all mulch is treated and should be replaced over the years if treated). Earwigs love wet/damp wood.

Plastic and detective rocks is your answer. Good luck and best wishes! Sources: gardening by my home .

Landscape cloth! I guarantee you, without a barrier of some sort, you will be pulling weeds through rocks or mulch by this time next month. I just got finished redoing all our garden beds this year because I didn’t use a barrier last year.

I believed them when they said a thick enough mulch will prevent weeds from sprouting. Hah! Not where I come from!

I buy a black landscape cloth by the roll at Lowe’s. It looks sort of like dress interfacing if you ever sewed, except it’s black. I can cut it into shape with a scissors and pin it in place using landscape cloth pins.

You can cut around plants, but leave a big enough circle so enough water can get through. Then I replaced the mulch. I don’t know about its fire retardancy, but I’ve never seen anyone’s gardens on fire so it can’t be too big a risk!

Presto! Not a weed since. Occasionally one pops up at the edges or in the holes I cut for my plants, but they’re much easier to pull than an entire bed-ful.

Also occasionally one hearty soul tries to germinate in the mulch, but since the roots have no place to go, they’re easy to pull too. Do yourself a favor ... do it this year once and for all or I can guarantee you’ll be doing it next year, and the year after that and the year after that.... SharonW's Recommendations Easy Gardener 1623 Natural Weed Block Amazon List Price: $17.79 .

I put down hessian and then covered it with gravel. Perhaps you use rock or shale in the USA? You could also spray with chemical if you are certain you don’t want to use the piece of ground for growing anything.

Nothing in this needs fire retardant, even near a building. Not sure what you are asking about fire retardant, didn’t even occur to me to worry about it. Perhaps its different for you?

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I hate Weed barrier! Everytime I went to pull a weed everything came up with it! So I had to remove all the stone from my garden, then remove the weed barrier which was all torn to shreds from years of pulling weeds.

So it wasn't keeping the weeds down any longer. I replaced the garden and then added 4" of mulch instead. Now when the occassinal weed pops up and I pull it nothing else is disturbed.

And my garden still looks beautiful! Every year I will add more mulch and they tell me I probably will not see anymore weeds as the mulch starts to break down a bit! I can't wait!

So get yourself anice big truck load like I did. By the way we live in New Jersey.

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