How To Create A Weed-Free Flowerbed
Posted on: 25 March 2020
If you have an area in your garden you'd like to transform into a flowerbed but it's prone to weeds, there are a few simple steps you can take to keep unsightly weeds at bay. Weeds are bad news for your plants, as they leach nutrients from the soil and can block light from reaching your beautiful flowers. Some weeds even act as a deterrent to bees and other pollinators, while others have sharp thorns that you wouldn't want to brush against when walking past. Here are the steps you need to take to create e weed-free bed for your flowers:
Prepare The Soil
In order to prepare the soil for your new flowerbed, you will have to remove any existing plants. A pointed shovel or trowel makes it easy to break up large clumps of roots when digging out plants. You will then need to turn the soil to remove as many roots and small weeds as possible to prevent new growth. Moist soil is easiest to turn and sort through, so spray dry soil with a little water from your hose to help break it up. A cultivator is ideal for removing old roots from the soil, and you'll likely need to run it over the soil a few times to get all the roots and weed debris out. Next, level the soil with a rake to flatten out the flowerbed and then use the back of a shovel to pat the soil down.
Lay Landscaping Fabric
Landscaping fabric, also known as weed block, is a type of thick plastic sheet that you can cut to the size of your prepared flowerbed. When laying landscaping fabric, ensure you cut it a few centimetres longer and wider than the flowerbed to create an overlap. This is to allow for some movement when putting in your flowers and you can trim the edges of the fabric back so you can't see it when the bed is completed.
Choose Between Direct Planting Or Pots
Once the fabric is in place, you can cut small circular holes into it to allow you to plant directly into the soil underneath the fabric. The holes should be just big enough for the plant roots and should be spaced according to the type of plants you are planting and their spread at maturity, which will ensure mature plants are not overcrowded. When you direct plant into the soil, you will need to cover the fabric with wood chippings to protect it from sun damage and improve the aesthetics of your flowerbed. If you don't want to cut the fabric and plant in the soil, you can cover the fabric with wood chips or decorative garden gravel and place pots on the prepared area. Using a variety of pot sizes and planting a mix of ground cover plants that grow outwards and leafy plants that grow upwards will allow you to fill out the bed and completely hide the pots under the foliage.
Before starting your flowerbed, make sure you have the necessary landscaping supplies at hand. If you're unsure of how much fabric or wood chippings you need, give your flowerbed measurements to your local landscaping supplier and they will do the calculations for you.
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