Using weed mat in the front garden

[ambily]

Hi I am very new to the site and not good at DIYs.

We have made a garden box with sleepers but not sure what flowers to plant.want somethng needs less attention and flowery most times.

Do I put weed mat first and garden soil on top?

Please help...

[Jarrod]

Hi Walter and the rest of the discussion contributors

Weeding an established rose garden 4m x 0.5 m

The information here is great but I wanted to clarify a few things. I have an established section of 4 roses in a 4m x 0.5m area. I plan to whipper snipper the grass and weeds down between the roses and then use a Tiller (Honda FG110) to loosen the soil and clear any grass or weeds. 

My question is after I tiller do I use a garden rake to remove all visible grass and weeds?

From my research, some information says that the weeds/grass provides nutrients to the soil.

Now after the soil between the roses are cleared and I can put the weed mat down, do I then cut segments of the weed mat to fit in between each rose? Do I need to overlap or cut each weed mat on each side of the base of each rose?

I am wondering if the weed mat will be secured enough with the pine bark mulch on top.

Also is mulch and wood chip the same? I put wood chip or mulch in the search function and got the same page on the Bunnings website.

Hope you or someone else can confirm.

[Jason]

Hi @Jarrod,

Love the avatar photo! Nice work. Let me extend a very warm welcome to the Workshop community. We're really pleased to have you join us and trust you'll get loads and loads of helpful info, advice and inspo from our amazing members. 

Let me tag the super knowledgeable @Noelle who might like to share her thoughts on weeding your established rose garden. Personally, I hate weeding so there is no way I would risk putting any weeds back into the garden to spread - there are other ways you can boost the soil so your roses bloom beautifully. 

Thanks again for joining in the discussion. I'm looking forward to reading more about your projects and plans for around the house and garden. 

Jason

[Noelle]

Hi @Jarrod 

Your weeding plan seems somewhat drastic and extreme for a 4m x 0.5m garden bed!  While it may seem tedious, you will get a much better result by removing the weeds by hand. Whipper-snippering is not great around plants because there is always the risk of damaging the main stems/trunks of the roses; it also disperses any seed heads that may have developed on the weeds.  Using a mechanical tiller is an even worse idea!  As a horticulturist, I believe a tiller should only be used in the preparation of a garden bed, prior to planting, to break up the soil and turn it over.  Using it among established rose bushes will almost certainly damage their roots.

My preference would be hand weeding or using a fork to assist in lifting out the weeds without damaging the roots or dispersing seeds, followed by an application of rose fertiliser (as per label instructions) and then 10cm deep layer of wood chip mulch (not compost mulch).  The mulch will stifle weed growth and eventually decompose down to add organic material to the soil.  It can be topped up every 6 months or so to maintain the depth. 

I certainly would not be putting down weed mat - it can reduce aeration of the soil and moisture penetration, both of which are vitally important for the continued health and vigour of the roses.  Once the area is weed-free, it is reasonably easy to keep it that way by hand pulling weeds every couple of weeks when you notice them and without letting them get out of hand again.

[Jarrod]

Thank you Noelle for your quick and detailed response. It was very useful information. Thank you to Jason for welcoming me and referring me to Noelle.

I actually did initially what you mentioned but with a hoe a couple of years ago. After hoeing I placed wet newspaper and then the wood chip mulch. Unfortunately, the weeds came through and it got out of hand. I will attempt to do exactly what you mentioned and see what happens. I think my mistake last time was that the depth of the wood chip mulch was not enough.

Thank you again 0)

[Jason]

Great, thanks for letting us know. It can be a constant battle against weeds in the garden @Jarrod but I'm sure that now you are armed with such fantastic advice from @Noelle that you will get much better results. Feel free to post anytime you need a hand with anything.

Jason