Ground Cover Fabric.

How to Use the ground cover fabric

Before placing or laying your ground cover fabric, certain steps need to be taken prior to laying. You need to first ready the soil by pulling out and removing all unwanted vegetation like weeds and grass. Also you need to level the ground to ensure the cover stays level on the ground and when using the ground fabric, you should also break up lumps of soil and make sure there are no sharp rocks that can pierce the fabric. After these prior steps have been taken you can then proceed to actually installing the ground cover fabrics

Steps

1. Open the ground cover fabric roll and unwrap it on the ground.

2. Measure the length of fabric you require and roll it out from the full roll you have with you.

3. After measuring, place a heavy object on it just before the area you will cut out and use a sharp object to carefully cut along the line you have measured.

4. Unfold the fabric and open it up. Place stuff at specific points to ensure it is adequately weighed down and you don’t have any unwanted movements.

5. 5. On each side, tuck in about two to three inches. This will make the fabric sturdy on the corners and hold the pegs more securely to the ground. Peg down the fabric at the corners to ensure it is properly fixed to the ground.

When installing the ground cover fabric in a garden where you already have plants growing, you have to follow a different procedure for installations. First you need to cut out opening in the fabric that will house some of those plants, trees or shrubs. Allow a spacing of about 4 inches between the trunks and the edge of the fabric. This spacing is to allow further growth of the plants in that whole. For a walkway, after installing the ground fabric in the even area of land you require it, you should then spread gravel to fill the other parts of the walkway and sprinkle a little water around it for compactment.

Please note that proper care and safety measures must be taken to avoid any issues from the processes outlined above. When you start to move soil around and compost, wear a mask to protect yourself from inhaling dust particles. Also you should wear protective glasses and work gloves for further protection

Why ground covers?

A lot of people turn to ground covers in order to protect their plants from competition that weeds bring with them. The covers act as a form of mat or covering that keeps weeds and other unwanted growth at bay from your plants. Ground covers are available in different sizes and dimensions and you can pick the ones that suit your needs most. There are a lot of benefits to be derived from using ground cover plants. Some of the most important ones are;

1. It frees air, water and other forms of liquid to flow into the soil

2. They can be used beneath decking in place of a mulch

3. Controls the growth of weeds and other unwanted plants.

4. Puts a barrier between the soil and stones or gravel on walkways

5. Clamps the soil in place on slopes where otherwise the soil would have rolled over.

Some gardeners are also turning to ground cover plants like clovers and moneywort. These groundcovers are hardy and easily spread around surfaces with a tolerance to diverse weather conditions. This makes them very suitable as ground covers. They can grow almost anywhere and once they are in place, they starve off weed and keep them at bay and this makes the very useful too. Ground cover plants do not need as much sunlight and moisture as our plants do and thus they prevent water loss and soil erosion.