Yes, water goes through most landscape fabrics, as they are designed to be permeable. However, water absorption varies drastically depending on the type of fabric, how heavy the downpour is, and whether the fabric has become clogged with dirt and debris.
Yes, landscape fabric is designed to allow water through, but its permeability varies significantly based on the type of material you use. However, over time, the pores can become clogged with dirt and debris, which significantly restricts water flow.
Landscape fabric is a popular, yet widely discouraged, tool for weed control. While initially helpful, it damages soil health, reduces plant vigor, and becomes a tangled, unsightly nightmare over time.
Landscape fabric holds water when it becomes clogged with soil, mulch, or debris, or when the fabric is too dense for the application. Poor soil preparation, such as compacted soil or improper grading, can also prevent water from draining as it should.
Unlike plastic sheeting, our fabrics are UV-resistant and water-permeable, which means irrigation and rain still reach the roots—but that moisture doesn't disappear the moment the sun comes out. This is particularly critical in July and August when surface soil temps spike and roots start to dry out fast.
Grass generally will not grow through geotextile landscape fabric when the material is correctly selected, properly installed, and well maintained. The fabric functions as a physical and light-blocking barrier that disrupts grass germination and root penetration while still allowing water and air to pass through.
🍁 Mid-Fall (Late September – October)
This is the ideal window for insulating your plants and protecting soil before winter. By now, soil has cooled but hasn't frozen, making it the right time to apply mulch for root insulation.
Standing Water in the Yard: Solutions
It Causes Drainage Problems
Weed fabric can trap moisture in the wrong areas, causing soggy soil, root rot, and fungal growth—especially under mulch. Instead of preventing problems, it creates them by disturbing the natural water flow in your landscape.
Compacted soil in lawns can be aerated by spiking it with a garden fork or using a hollow-tined cultivator, to improve drainage and grass growth. Worms also do a good job of aerating soil.
Eco-Friendly Burlap. Natural burlap works similarly to traditional landscape fabric but is biodegradable and promotes healthier soil. Ideal for gardens with heavy weed issues, burlap decomposes slowly, making it a reliable medium-term solution. Application Tip: Anchor the burlap securely using garden staples.
To make matters worse, roots from surface weeds can penetrate downward through the fabric creating a weed-pulling challenge that can yank the fabric to the surface, creating coverage and appearance issues.
Landscape fabric typically lasts 3 to 15 years, depending on the quality of the material and whether it is exposed to the sun.
Although sold as a solution to weeds, it often causes more harm than good. None are suitable for the health of the soil or the well-being of the plants it supposedly protects. This fabric blocks sunlight, impedes soil aeration, disrupts water infiltration, and prevents natural soil enrichment.
Professional landscapers keep flower beds pristine by combining proactive prevention with consistent maintenance. Their strategy relies on four core steps: applying pre-emergent herbicides to stop seeds from sprouting, using high-quality landscape fabric, laying a thick mulch barrier, and practicing dense planting.
Non-woven geotextile fabric is the best choice for drainage applications where water flow through (permeability) is the main concern. Non-woven landscape fabric is commonly used in French-drains, drain-fields, and erosion control.
Here are some of the most common landscaping mistakes and how to avoid them, along with how to create a beautiful garden in your own yard.
Ajuga (Bugleweed) is one of the most effective groundcovers for choking out weeds, forming dense mats of foliage that block light and outcompete invasive plants. This fast-spreading perennial thrives in zones 3-10 and quickly establishes thick coverage in shade to part-sun areas.
Yes, grass can and frequently does grow through landscape fabric. While it may initially suppress existing grass, aggressive spreading grasses (like Bermuda or St. Augustine) and opportunistic weeds will quickly push through the weave, seams, or holes created for plants.
Grow water-loving plants:
Whether you build a rain garden, or just have a standard garden in place, filling these spaces with plants that thrive on water can help with poor drainage issues. For example, flowers like daylilies and hibiscus will soak up excess water from your yard.
Your grass will go dormant once temperatures drop below about 40°F, so there isn't any need for water. At the earliest, stop watering cool-season grasses when the average nighttime temperatures drop into the low 30s. At the latest, you'll want to stop watering them once the ground freezes solid.
Yes, you can dig a hole and fill it with gravel to create a drainage system (often called a dry well or a vertical French drain). However, to ensure it works and doesn't quickly clog or fill with mud, you need to follow a few specific steps.
Fall mulching preserves heat that will keep microbes, earthworms, and other life active and thriving in the soil longer to improve the soil condition. The insulation mulch provides will also help moderate temperature swings that can damage tender roots, especially those of newly planted plant material.
In most cases, no — you do not need to remove all of your old mulch before adding new. If the existing layer is still in reasonable condition, raking it to break up any compaction and topping it off with one inch of fresh material is the smarter, more efficient approach.
Avoid mulching in early spring when soil is still cold and wet, as it traps cold moisture and stunts growth. Do not apply mulch directly against tree trunks or plant stems to prevent rot and pest infestation. Also, avoid putting down new mulch before weeding or before heavy rains and high winds, which can wash it away.