Omg. I think I would rent a tiny tractor to rip this out. It looks like the grass roots has grown through the weed tarp and basically made a giant mat of fabric/roots. What a nightmare!
NoExternal2732
I warn everyone, but obviously, the previous owner didn’t get the message.
I wish it were banned from home improvement stores, but then again people would probably just use heavy-duty trash bags or something.
Take it a little bit at a time, and be careful of your wrists. You have, but do not need, my permission to dig and discard the surrounding soil and rocks rather than sifting the fabric out. May the force be with you!
Status_Block591
What kind of shoes are those? My gardening shoes are whatever sneakers I just destroyed and you’re out here looking fresh af.
And landscape fabric is a blight
NoDontDoThatCanada
Nasty. Worse l had was a child’s school play curtain. I was gardening on this old woman’s giant old garden. She said it was in there and it was a big mistake. And boy was it. Found the last bit when l was pulling carrots that just stubbed off after 3″. I do not envy the garbage that you’re dealing with though.
yamsyamsya
this is such a great example of why its awful. wish there was a bot that would link to this post every time people ask about it.
Illustrious_Beanbag
Love that potato hook, I have one. That’s a good tool for that awful job. I hope there’s not much of the stuff.
bipolarearthovershot
This looks like a microplastic disaster. An environmental crime horrible!! I’m so sorry OP!!
Farpoint_Relay
Now if only they would ban using that plastic mesh from when they roll out sod on new homes.
House was built 10 years ago and I’m still finding places and ripping it out… Very least they could have made it biodegradable.
Calbebes
Oof. Okay so I have a small shade garden that I laid this stuff down like 5 years ago when I was naive.
I’m in the process of reworking this garden, taking out plants and putting in different ones more suited to the spot. I’m taking out the landscaping fabric at the same time so this won’t be a blight to future-me or future-someone-else.
CSU-Extension
Well, on the bright side, you have the spiderwebs for your Halloween decorations all squared away! 💀
bigrick23143
What kind is it?
Ovenbird36
That looks like the stuff people wrap around heirloom bushes at Halloween (which they shouldn’t)
WhoDatNinja30
The previous owners of my house had used empty mulch bags and heavy duty construction garbage bags. On top of those were dirt with mostly construction site rocks. So. Many. Rocks.
CorvusCommand
How’d you get this footage of me in my backyard?
QueenRooibos
Laying that stuff down should be a felony!
Sledgehammer925
Dang! I’ve never seen that stuff before. Our yard had sod laid when we bought it. 25 years later we still run into blue plastic mesh. It’s maddening.
Electrical_Mess7320
My previous owner had this, a vinyl tablecloth, a 15’ square blue tarp, and beige shag carpet in the yard. Had to hire a backhoe to pull it all up. The tarp was the worst as it unraveled considerably. I’m still finding blue shreds. Ugh.
petal14
A sharp knife is your friend in this situation. Cut it out in pieces instead of trying to pull it out.
eeeewwww, that‘s the “non-woven”, polyester kind I believe. Been there for awhile, too. It was never effective in stopping weeds but some company made money selling it to home gardeners.
Dxbr72
It’s like a dead body wrapped in a giant spider web 😬
bigmac22077
An excavator is just a couple hundred a day to rent. If you think you’re going to spend 10+ hours digging why not just spend 2 with some machinery and get all your digging, dirt filling, rocks done without breaking the back?
TraditionalPlatypus9
I used to be a landscaper. People think landscape fabric lasts forever but it doesn’t. I get the appeal of not having weeds, but this stuff is nasty when it breaks down. There are other ways to solarize beds without plastic and organic or conventional pre-emergent works well when applied properly.
Married_catlady
This looks like someone buried Halloween spider webs!
ForRobotsByRobots
Might as well use straight wool at that point.
cri52fer
You are wasting your time trying to pull it out. It’s just there. Doing nothing.
swampjam67
This is the worst crap ever!!
fasterthangravity2
Rent a Bob Cat.
pattyswag21
This is why I use cardboard, I really hate landscape
Fabric
dj_waffles
Looks like an Uruk-hai being born
Mysterious_Health582
So my redneck cardboard weed barrier seems to be the choice lol
xCookieBoots
I’ve never seen this kind before but your other post looked like a dead animal haha this looks awful to remove!
NetFu
Looks horrible.
Seems strange that I have professional landscapers, licensed landscaping businesses, quoting me and suggesting using various weed block methods, not landscape fabric (never heard that mentioned), when I talk to them about what to do with a certain area that we want to just keep decorative and weed-free.
I’m guessing they use a combination of materials and methods to get it done? Other than pulling the occasional weed that makes it through, very rarely, they are always confident it’s easy to do.
I’m sure it involves paying a landscaper monthly to do maintenance, so it involves recurring fees. But if you own an office building, you pay for landscaping whether you like it or not. And it seems like if they charge a flat fee, they’re not going to do this in a way that costs them any more of their time than necessary.
I’m only saying this because I’ve been to this sub a number of times and it seems like anybody looking for a way to do this is always told they just have to pull the weeds the old fashioned way. There is no quick/easy way.
Just saying, it seems like professional landscapers have ways that cost them minimal time. I mean I see them and the results every day.
TnMountainElf
So, it’s possible you’re damaging your septic system or a french drain that was put in to protect it. That is exactly the same material that was put over the gravel bed in septic leach fields and french drains in the ’90s and 2000’s in my area. I’ve probably seen miles of it laid down. You should check with the county and get a diagram of where everything is before doing too much.
beaniecapguys
Weed cloth is the scourge of modern gardening.
AllChalkedUp1
I know how you feel – it’s horrific to deal with. We had 100×3 feet of not only this BS but also yet another layer of black solid plastic underneath that all of which covered up by several inches of river rocks compacted down over 15 years of debris and other biologic detritus.
It took me weeks to complete but filled in really nice.
And that was just between the fence and alley… Next spring is the backyard 😭
Wareve
The previous owners of my home did not use landscape fabric.
Instead, they used cardboard.
Painted cardboard.
With the tape still on.
Under and all around the planter boxes, placed directly on top.
Sea_Ganache620
Last time I had to rip it up it was underneath “landscaping rock”, and neglected for over 10 years. This shit should be banned.
InstantMartian84
I had landscapers come a handful of years ago to tear up my front yard and plant a bunch of native trees, shrubs, and plants. Turns out an inch or so under the grass was a layer of white stone, and under that was landscaping fabric. I have no idea what was going on in my front yard at one time, but no one was expecting that treasure. I felt awful. It took them a really long time to dig it all up.
thepitchforkemoji
**checks blood pressure**
AdTime994
Fun semi related story. My previous neighbor gravelled their entire yard a few years ago without putting anything underneath it. Aside from an irrigated 20×20 patch of sod, that they paid to have manicured biweekly. Our yarden is, not that, full of raised beds, flower beds, and converted the entire front yard into native prairie, after ripping out landscape fabric in 2017. You can probably imagine the juxtaposition, and the spread of life into the former owner’s “pristine” barren wasteland.
WaspWeather
I kept expecting an Uruk-Hai to come out of there.
Or one of Shelob’s victims.
Either way, no bueno.
reformedginger
Get a skid steer
meeksworth
I used to work at a garden center. I spent a lot of time talking people out of buying this for reasons that are obvious on this thread.
molasses_disaster
That looks like it should be illegal
Kossyra
My neighbor put some of the black acrylic landscape fabric down and the squirrels are shredding it for nesting material. A nest fell out of my palm tree full of that shit. There’s still a shitload of weeds coming up where the tattered fabric remains (they didn’t mulch over it or anything, just left it exposed around their hibiscus)
46 Comments
Omg. I think I would rent a tiny tractor to rip this out. It looks like the grass roots has grown through the weed tarp and basically made a giant mat of fabric/roots. What a nightmare!
I warn everyone, but obviously, the previous owner didn’t get the message.
I wish it were banned from home improvement stores, but then again people would probably just use heavy-duty trash bags or something.
Take it a little bit at a time, and be careful of your wrists. You have, but do not need, my permission to dig and discard the surrounding soil and rocks rather than sifting the fabric out. May the force be with you!
What kind of shoes are those? My gardening shoes are whatever sneakers I just destroyed and you’re out here looking fresh af.
And landscape fabric is a blight
Nasty. Worse l had was a child’s school play curtain. I was gardening on this old woman’s giant old garden. She said it was in there and it was a big mistake. And boy was it. Found the last bit when l was pulling carrots that just stubbed off after 3″. I do not envy the garbage that you’re dealing with though.
this is such a great example of why its awful. wish there was a bot that would link to this post every time people ask about it.
Love that potato hook, I have one. That’s a good tool for that awful job. I hope there’s not much of the stuff.
This looks like a microplastic disaster. An environmental crime horrible!! I’m so sorry OP!!
Now if only they would ban using that plastic mesh from when they roll out sod on new homes.
House was built 10 years ago and I’m still finding places and ripping it out… Very least they could have made it biodegradable.
Oof. Okay so I have a small shade garden that I laid this stuff down like 5 years ago when I was naive.
I’m in the process of reworking this garden, taking out plants and putting in different ones more suited to the spot. I’m taking out the landscaping fabric at the same time so this won’t be a blight to future-me or future-someone-else.
Well, on the bright side, you have the spiderwebs for your Halloween decorations all squared away! 💀
What kind is it?
That looks like the stuff people wrap around heirloom bushes at Halloween (which they shouldn’t)
The previous owners of my house had used empty mulch bags and heavy duty construction garbage bags. On top of those were dirt with mostly construction site rocks. So. Many. Rocks.
How’d you get this footage of me in my backyard?
Laying that stuff down should be a felony!
Dang! I’ve never seen that stuff before. Our yard had sod laid when we bought it. 25 years later we still run into blue plastic mesh. It’s maddening.
My previous owner had this, a vinyl tablecloth, a 15’ square blue tarp, and beige shag carpet in the yard. Had to hire a backhoe to pull it all up. The tarp was the worst as it unraveled considerably. I’m still finding blue shreds. Ugh.
A sharp knife is your friend in this situation. Cut it out in pieces instead of trying to pull it out.
https://preview.redd.it/m4d2bebqulpf1.png?width=500&format=png&auto=webp&s=68afea2d4620911b0976bec8cc4420f7993cb417
eeeewwww, that‘s the “non-woven”, polyester kind I believe. Been there for awhile, too. It was never effective in stopping weeds but some company made money selling it to home gardeners.
It’s like a dead body wrapped in a giant spider web 😬
An excavator is just a couple hundred a day to rent. If you think you’re going to spend 10+ hours digging why not just spend 2 with some machinery and get all your digging, dirt filling, rocks done without breaking the back?
I used to be a landscaper. People think landscape fabric lasts forever but it doesn’t. I get the appeal of not having weeds, but this stuff is nasty when it breaks down. There are other ways to solarize beds without plastic and organic or conventional pre-emergent works well when applied properly.
This looks like someone buried Halloween spider webs!
Might as well use straight wool at that point.
You are wasting your time trying to pull it out. It’s just there. Doing nothing.
This is the worst crap ever!!
Rent a Bob Cat.
This is why I use cardboard, I really hate landscape
Fabric
Looks like an Uruk-hai being born
So my redneck cardboard weed barrier seems to be the choice lol
I’ve never seen this kind before but your other post looked like a dead animal haha this looks awful to remove!
Looks horrible.
Seems strange that I have professional landscapers, licensed landscaping businesses, quoting me and suggesting using various weed block methods, not landscape fabric (never heard that mentioned), when I talk to them about what to do with a certain area that we want to just keep decorative and weed-free.
I’m guessing they use a combination of materials and methods to get it done? Other than pulling the occasional weed that makes it through, very rarely, they are always confident it’s easy to do.
I’m sure it involves paying a landscaper monthly to do maintenance, so it involves recurring fees. But if you own an office building, you pay for landscaping whether you like it or not. And it seems like if they charge a flat fee, they’re not going to do this in a way that costs them any more of their time than necessary.
I’m only saying this because I’ve been to this sub a number of times and it seems like anybody looking for a way to do this is always told they just have to pull the weeds the old fashioned way. There is no quick/easy way.
Just saying, it seems like professional landscapers have ways that cost them minimal time. I mean I see them and the results every day.
So, it’s possible you’re damaging your septic system or a french drain that was put in to protect it. That is exactly the same material that was put over the gravel bed in septic leach fields and french drains in the ’90s and 2000’s in my area. I’ve probably seen miles of it laid down. You should check with the county and get a diagram of where everything is before doing too much.
Weed cloth is the scourge of modern gardening.
I know how you feel – it’s horrific to deal with. We had 100×3 feet of not only this BS but also yet another layer of black solid plastic underneath that all of which covered up by several inches of river rocks compacted down over 15 years of debris and other biologic detritus.
It took me weeks to complete but filled in really nice.
And that was just between the fence and alley… Next spring is the backyard 😭
The previous owners of my home did not use landscape fabric.
Instead, they used cardboard.
Painted cardboard.
With the tape still on.
Under and all around the planter boxes, placed directly on top.
Last time I had to rip it up it was underneath “landscaping rock”, and neglected for over 10 years. This shit should be banned.
I had landscapers come a handful of years ago to tear up my front yard and plant a bunch of native trees, shrubs, and plants. Turns out an inch or so under the grass was a layer of white stone, and under that was landscaping fabric. I have no idea what was going on in my front yard at one time, but no one was expecting that treasure. I felt awful. It took them a really long time to dig it all up.
**checks blood pressure**
Fun semi related story. My previous neighbor gravelled their entire yard a few years ago without putting anything underneath it. Aside from an irrigated 20×20 patch of sod, that they paid to have manicured biweekly. Our yarden is, not that, full of raised beds, flower beds, and converted the entire front yard into native prairie, after ripping out landscape fabric in 2017. You can probably imagine the juxtaposition, and the spread of life into the former owner’s “pristine” barren wasteland.
I kept expecting an Uruk-Hai to come out of there.
Or one of Shelob’s victims.
Either way, no bueno.
Get a skid steer
I used to work at a garden center. I spent a lot of time talking people out of buying this for reasons that are obvious on this thread.
That looks like it should be illegal
My neighbor put some of the black acrylic landscape fabric down and the squirrels are shredding it for nesting material. A nest fell out of my palm tree full of that shit. There’s still a shitload of weeds coming up where the tattered fabric remains (they didn’t mulch over it or anything, just left it exposed around their hibiscus)