Weed Foil Or Weed Fleece Which Is Better?

Last updated on October 23rd, 2023 at 08:52 pm

The garden should focus primarily on the beautiful flowers and plants. However, over time, other unwanted plants may spread in the lawn.

These weeds can be found throughout the year. Not only do the weeds disrupt the overall appearance, but they can cause lasting damage to the lawn. To get rid of the weeds, you can now take action yourself and remove the offending plants.

However, weeding is a very time-consuming method to get rid of the weeds. Moreover, removing them once does not ensure that the weeds will come back again.

If you would like to protect your plants against weeds in the long term, you should lay a weed film on the soil. The weed film will no longer give the weeds a chance to spread in your garden.

If you are interested in buying the weed film, then you should pay particular attention to the different thicknesses. You can find out which weed film is best for your garden in this guide.

By the way, the film is often equated with the mulch or weed fleece. Although these garden products are very similar, there are still differences and they are not identical products.

How can the weed film keep the weeds away

At first glance, it already seems too good to be true. With a simple film, you can keep weeds away from your beds in the long term and give your crops the space they need.

The action of the weed film is very simple. It is laid in the bed and under the film the sun’s rays no longer reach the weeds. Thus, the weeds can no longer photosynthesize and die in the long term.

Of course, you still want your crops to survive. To that end, the film has the property that while sunlight is not allowed through, air and water can penetrate the film. Nutrients can also continue to penetrate the soil.

Thus, the crops continue to be well supplied, but the weeds are deprived of important sunlight.

Do not confuse weed film with a simple plastic film. Now, if you come up with the idea of installing simple plastic film in the garden, then you will struggle with the problem that mold will form under the plastic film. Furthermore, the plastic film will encourage fungal growth in the lawn.

Therefore, you should always go for a designated weed film. This special film also has the advantage of retaining water and heat. In the spring, the film can provide protection against a sudden onset of winter.

If you have already placed your plants in the garden and thought that the freezing temperatures were over, then you no longer have to fear a sudden frost.

Moreover, water can be stored under the weed film. If there is a dry period, the film allows the water to be better delivered to the plants. In this way, the plants can benefit from the moisture in the soil for longer.

An important difference to the weed fleece is that the foil remains permanently in the soil. It does not rot and can therefore be used for many years.

So, it makes your gardening easier by preventing the weeds from appearing.

Fields of application of the weed foil

The material of the film is very versatile. It is not comparable with a simple plastic film. Due to the very good material properties, various areas of application have arisen.

The film can be used in these areas:

• Greenhouses
• vegetable beds
• ornamental garden
• rock garden
• garden ponds
• gravel and paved paths

In principle, the weed film can be used anywhere where the area is threatened by weeds. Thus, the film serves as a substitute for a costly weed killer. Now, instead of having to use chemical agents and apply them several times, you can achieve the same effect by laying the film once.

Especially if you not only put flowers in your garden, but also grow vegetables or fruits, the film is an excellent protection to protect the crops. The advantage here is, of course, that you do not have to apply any means on your tomatoes, strawberries or other plants.

So, with the help of the film, you will get a much more natural taste experience and you will not have to worry about health restrictions due to the weed killer.

What strength is recommended for your garden

Every garden is threatened by the weeds to different degrees. Depending on the purpose for which you use the garden, you should apply an appropriate film.

If there is a high risk of weed growth, then you should go for a stronger film to let less light through. If you have minor problems with weeds, it is enough to use a very light foil. The light film allows a little more light through, but also provides a better nutrient supply.

Therefore, you should always go for the lightest possible film, as this will affect your crops the least.

The lightest film is very suitable for the kitchen garden. If you grow strawberries or other vegetables in a bed, then you should choose the lightest film. This will affect your crops the least and still keep the weeds out very well.

This will give you a well-kept bed and usually allows you to avoid using weed killers. The very lightweight film is also the most cost-effective film.

Nevertheless, you should check at regular intervals to see if there are any weeds growing. However, with this film you can control the weeds very well in any case and can better use your time for the care of crops.

If you create a simple ornamental garden and do not plan to raise useful plants in your garden, then you can resort to a film in the thickness of 80g/m². The film is used as a separation between the soil and gravel. This way you minimize the risk of weeds growing out of the soil and in time they will also shoot out of the upper gravel layer.

If you have to deal with very stubborn weeds and you want to fight them as effectively as possible, then you need to use a stronger film. This will let less light through and the weeds will not be able to photosynthesize.

Especially if you don’t put your own plants in the ground anyway and just cover the soil layer with stones, you can use such a stronger foil. However, you can still plant special plants that are suitable for the rock garden.

If you want to be completely on the safe side and you have to deal with a very heavy weed infestation in your garden, then you can also reach for the strongest weed film. With this, in any case, you will no longer have a problem with the weeds protruding from the soil.

The film is the most costly, but for this you have the certainty that you will no longer have to remove weeds yourself. The cost is about twice as much as the lightest option, but if you absolutely abhor the weeds, you should go for this professional option.

With such a film, you can devote yourself to the beautiful things of gardening and no longer have to fret about the weeds in the flowerbed.

Other considerations

In addition to the film, you still need to secure it in the ground. To do this, you can purchase soil hooks. These soil hooks are very inexpensive, but you should make sure that they are UV resistant. This will ensure that the sun’s rays do not attack the plastic.

If you want to protect your garden with a film, then you might also consider buying a simple plastic film. After all, this is much cheaper to buy in stores, and at first glance, this looks exactly like the weed film.

However, the main differences are in the properties. The plastic film does not let the moisture and nutrients through. Molds and fungi can form under the film.

In addition, you should also pay attention to the quality of the weed film. So here it is better to first reach for something higher quality material. This will ensure that the film can remain in the ground for a long time and for many years.

If you try to reach for the absolute cheapest option here, you will notice the disadvantages at the first frost. So you can save yourself the extra expense right away and go straight for the high-quality foil.

Laying the weed film

Once you have purchased the appropriate material, the next step is to lay it in the bed. The laying can be done by yourself and you do not need to hire a professional for this work.

With these simple steps, you will protect your bed from the weeds.

The preparation
In the first step, you should measure the area very accurately. Ideally, you will have done this before you bought it, so now you know how much weed film you actually need.

After that, start treating the bed or area where the film will be laid. Before laying it out, you need to clear the entire area of debris. This includes removing all weeds, including getting the rootings out of the ground. Stones and other brush should also be removed from the ground.

Once the entire area is clean, use a rake to smooth out the field and maintain a nice overall visual appearance. Once the field is optimally prepared in your eyes, you can spread the plant soil on the bed.

Lay the film

The weed foil is now laid on the first layer of the plant soil. The most important thing in this step is the correct cut. This is because the weed film must cover the entire area. Small gaps at the edges can cause the weeds to emerge here.

Rather, proceed a little more generously and in any case cover the edges properly. Use a box cutter or scissors to trim the weed film.

Once the film is on the ground, you only need to fix it with the ground anchors. This will ensure that the film does not slip even in windy conditions.

The last step is to cover the foil with the desired surface covering. You can use gravel, stone slabs or bark mulch for this.

Now you can consider yourself lucky and no longer have to weed.

How newspaper can help

If you do not trust the weed film, then instead of the product from the hardware store, you can use newspaper. Whether the newsprint will have the same effect as the neat film is doubtful, but if you do not have any film at hand right now and want to get rid of old newsprint, you can use it as a protective layer.

Before laying it out, however, the paper should be watered a bit. This has the advantage that the paper is a little heavier and the laying is much easier.

If you want to bring in plants, you can easily tear open the newspaper and create enough space. So you can create your own layer against the weeds and this is an alternative without further costs.

What is the difference from the garden fleece

In distinction to the weed foil and weed fleece is to be considered in addition still the garden fleece. The garden fleece is again a different product that performs a specific function for the garden.

The garden fleece is available in higher thicknesses and usually starts from a thickness of 150 g/m². The maximum thickness can reach up to 250 g/m².

The primary function of the garden fleece is frost protection and heat retention. Due to the thicker layer, much more heat is stored and thus cold-sensitive plants can be planted earlier.

However, the garden fleece is laid over the plants and is removed when the plants have grown high enough and the fleece is more of a nuisance.

Thus, the garden fleece is not to be used against weeds. However, you can combine the weed film and the garden fleece. This way, you can grow certain vegetables and fruits clearly in the spring and keep the weeds away at the same time.

Conclusion

If you want to keep your bed free of weeds, then you can make the job much easier. Instead of weeding manually every week, you can lay a film under the top layer.

The film will no longer allow light to pass through and the weeds will be deprived of that all-important sunlight. However, the weed film allows enough moisture and nutrients to pass through so you can continue to grow your crops in the bed.

Once installed, the film remains in the soil for many years and does not need to be replaced.

If you would like to avoid the chore of weeding, then installing a weed film is the ideal precaution.

Plus, you won’t have to bother your crops with a chemical weed killer. Of course, you’ve probably never enjoyed your vegetables.

Make your gardening easier and improve your crops in the garden by using a weed film. Once the work is done, you will benefit for many years.