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Weed membrane / cardboard and rainfall

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  • Weed membrane / cardboard and rainfall

    Hi all

    A thought I've been mulling over recently. I use woven weed membrane and cardboard to mulch small trees, but I wonder if they're actually doing more harm than good? The weed membrane is supposed to be permeable, but as far as I can see, a lot of water runs off it rather than soaking through. (I don't tend to mulch all of the membrane, due to a lack of mulch). Cardboard is better once wet, but takes a fair bit of rain to get wet enough. Obviously there are gaps in the membrane / cardboard around the stems of the plants, but I try and keep these fairly small, and definitely not as big as the root area underground.

    Do these coverings do more harm (limiting water) than good (limiting weeds)? Especially on small, non vigorous trees that grow slowly? Discuss?

    One final point is that mice seem to like to nest under my weed membranes, which then encourages foxes to come and dig them out, thereby digging up my trees too!

    Maybe I'll stop mulching and let nature do its thing.

  • #2
    I would generally be hesitant to use weed membrane or cardboard for mulches, for similar reasons.
    I would recommend a loose mulch. Homemade compost or well-rotted manure is best, but spent hops, straw, grass clippings, and bark chips all make good muches for trees, too.
    Grass clippings need topping up a couple times over summer, but the others should all only need applying once in the spring, then will last a full growing season.

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    • #3
      Thanks. Cardboard is a lot easier to come by and to move around and apply! Maybe I can combine the two, eke out my compost with limited cardboard, perhaps shredded rather than in a sheet...

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      • #4
        When I cut the grass I try to get some cardboard covering some of the grass that way I shred the cardboard and it gets mixed with the grass I have never tried mulching with it but I am quite sure it would work
        it may be a struggle to reach the top, but once your over the hill your problems start.

        Member of the Nutters Club but I think I am just there to make up the numbers

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        • #5
          Just to add to this, I have been topping up my membrane mulches with a bit of cut grass. Does seem to help, but since we're basically in a drought here, it's not done as much good as I'd hoped!

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