How to stop weeds coming from under the fence?

[chris97]

Hello!

I am in the process of updating my backyard.

I want to revamp the garden bed along the fenceline and was wondering about the best way to stop grass/weeds from outside the fence coming in.

At the moment there is some kind of sloped looking base (??) under the fence which doesnt look like a normal colorbond plinth which you can see in the first picture - if someone could tell me what that is that would help alot.

Should I install extra barriers to stop grass/weeds getting through? How deep should I dig the trench and what material would be best? I'm assuming a weedmat on the actual bed itself would also help out.

Thanks very much

Chris

 

[Dave-1]

Afternoon @chris97 

That sloped base is a colourbond plinth (I didnt know it either just had a squiz and looked at some pictures. I dont think you will be getting much weeds coming through that. (The one I saw in the pictures was 3 courses of sloped so maybe they are cut to size)

When you say "revamp" the garden edge along the driveway, do you have anything in particular in mind?

I fyou just want to stop weeds growing I can think of two ways to deal with it.

First

Dig out down to the bottom of the slab and then backfill with say white pebbles or something that wont rot down and convert to healthy dirt

Second

Dig out to the depth of a paver and a half, use gravel to fill a little and then run the pavers along teh edge to from more path/driveway type space. Fill the edhe with gravel or the white pebbles. You still will get weeds but nowhere near as many. Here is my project wher I had to cut some conrete but it shows the paver idea. Fixing water ingress issues in garage 

Dave

[EricL]

Hello @chris97 

It's wonderful that you've received excellent advice from @Dave-1. I totally agree with his recommendations regarding the use of pebbles. In regards to using weedmat, that too is a viable option. Please note that due to the size of the soil gap, I don't think it's a good idea to plant something in that area. If you are keen to put something in that spot, I propose a medium sized raised garden bed or potted plants.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[chris97]

Thanks Eric and Dave

To clarify theres 2 parts - in the first photo theres a strip of dirt between the fence and slab that the shed sits on. Weeds/grass comes in under teh colorbond sloped plinth.

In the second photo theres an existing garden bed thats a bit worn down with paver edging starting to lift/warp. The rosemary bush is in there currently. What minimum width is advisable for planting? 

[Dave-1]

Afternoon @chris97 

No minimun distance is advisable really, but for me id go the route of the width of a shovel so you can turn the soil. or maybe two times the width depending on the plants you want to grow? The Rosemary bush will crowd out other plants but taking the sunlight from them. So depending on what you want you could hard prune it back and then freshen the bed with some compost styled material.

Dave

[EricL]

Hi @chris97 

That's very sound advice from @Dave-1. Preferably the more space the better as any concrete impediments will serve as a barrier for the plant roots. You'll be able to tell if your plant is not compatible with the space as it will either grow poorly or not at all.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric