Plastic weed mat was widely used
to suppress weeds for revegetation projects during the 1970's and
1980's. However it use is now largely viewed as a disaster and
has been replaced by biodegradable weed mat.
Unfortunately the landscaping
industry and the gardening public did not get the message. Woven
plastic weed mat is still used widely by the industry and in
worse case scenarios black builders plastic is used as a cheaper
alternative.
Plastic weed mat will cause many
problems for your soil and your garden:
- It impedes or stops rainfall
soaking into the soil.
- It prevents worms from mixing
organic matter from the mulch through the top soil.
- It impedes or prevents aeration
of the top soil.
- Its slippery surface causes the
mulch to slide off exposing unsightly patches of bare plastic.
- Weeds still grow through cuts
and holes in the plastic or on top of it and then you unavoidably tear large
holes in it when you remove them.
- Contributes to plastic
pollution.
What you inevitably end up with is
a water repellent layer of mixed topsoil and mulch on top of the
plastic and dry, hard and compacted soil underneath. When you
water your garden the water tends to pool in the water repellent
layer and then runs off your garden beds over the surface of the
plastic.
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Biodegradable weed mat is designed
to suppress weeds while your plants are establishing and then
slowly rot away as the plants take over the role of weed
suppression. It has many advantages over plastic weed mat:
- It does not impede
rainfall soaking into the soil.
- As it starts to rot it
encourages worm activity in the soil.
- It does not impede aeration of
the top soil.
- Its non-slippery surface is less
likely to cause the mulch to slide off.
- Its natural colour blends
in with natural mulches or it can be dyed with coloured oxides
to blend in with coloured mulches.
- It contains natural fibres and
no chemicals so it will not contribute to pollution.
Weed mat of any sort is merely a
short term measure to suppress weeds until dense plant growth
permanently takes over that role.
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As you can see from the close up photograph
above jute mat looks a little like carpet underfelt. Its natural
colour makes it look quite attractive in its own right. Although it is quite thick it is easy to cut with a good sharp
pair of scissors or a cutter as in the photograph.
You wont find this product at any retail
garden centres and the only way that you can purchase it is in 25
metre to 50 metre long rolls - far to much for the average
gardener.
So I have decided to make this product
available to the public on a retail basis. You can have as much
or as little as you need.
Width: 1.83 metres
Thickness: approximately 1centimetre
Cost: $8 per metre
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