If weeds are the bane of the gardener, mulch is the gardener’s friend. Not only that, mulch can hold in moisture in dry times, and give a nice, tidy look to the garden. Let’s start in the vegetable ...

Will low spreading groundcovers grow through mulch? Last year when I put the groundcovers into the ground, I cut small holes through the weed barrier. This year I found many of them are trying to ...

Q. Should a weed barrier be used beneath cocoa bean shell mulch? A. Avoid using weed barrier under cocoa bean, wood chips and any other organic mulch. As these mulches decompose they form compost, ...

Mulching is vital fall prep to ensure our garden soil is at optimum health come spring. Covering bare soil is a way of ...

One of the best natural mulches for vegetable gardens is straw. Straw is a by product of grain crops and is made up of the dead stalks and leaves left behind after farmers harvest the grain. It can be ...

Ask any knowledgeable horticulturist how effective weed barrier fabric is in controlling weeds and you’ll likely hear that any advantages are outweighed by the shortcomings. However, most will ...

Most weed seeds need light to germinate, as this tells them they are close enough to the soil surface to sprout and grow. When covered over with mulch, they think they are still deep in the soil and ...

Most people don’t enjoy pulling weeds. For most of us, it’s a time waster that burdens an already congested list of chores. While there have been a lot of advancements in weed control, few seem as ...

It’s great that many people are replacing lawns with low-water landscaping. But along with trees not getting adequate water, one concern is the widespread use of weed-barrier cloth, including at the ...

Choosing the right mulch for your garden and yard can make a big difference when it comes to fighting weeds. Sometimes, though, aggressive growers will break through the layer of straw or wood chips ...

Many homeowners use landscape fabric (also called weed barrier) throughout their landscapes to minimize weeds. Landscape fabric restricts the light required for weed germination (since weeds seeds are ...

Spring has sprung and gardening is ramping up. If you’ve got questions, turn to Ask an Expert, an online question-and-answer tool from Oregon State University’s Extension Service. OSU Extension ...