Spring Garden Prep | I'm NOT Loving this Idea...

I love how your husband looks at you when you speak! He seems like such a nice guy. Happy gardening to you both!😊

I am on team yes! Keeps most weeds at bay. I have a mulch covering over mine so you don't see the black fabric

Team yes. Less maintenance, softened by mulch, more time for fishing and visits to your cabin🎉

I’m team no landscape fabric. Rachael, it made me giggled a little when you said the landscape fabric wasn't natural because that would be me as well.

I was always team No but am now absolutely team Yes. I cannot keep up with all the weeding that the size of my garden requires each season while still keeping house and three kids alive. It has lifted the burden tremendously. I have pavers over it on my paths but some areas are just the plastic. I plant tons of flowers in my garden and it helps keep it beautiful. And my back is FULLY team Yes. 😂

After the endless hours of weeding, gardening in mud and having times I wasn't able to get out there daily and the weeds taking over in a matter of days, I quit gardening. I felt like I was just failing. I took the plunge and put down the fabric. I now enjoy gardening again. And when life happens, you don't lose a bunch of crops being starved of nutrients because of weed pressure.

Todd and Rachel, I agree. Your garden is so lush that you will hardly notice the fabric!

Yes. Saves so much work as far as weeds go. Also Keeps soil moist even in drought

We bought a wood chipper! It’s amazing for the orchard and garden pathways! Also get wood chips When the trucks are working in our area!

I'm a team Yes, I use it pretty much everywhere. What I do to make it not look so bad is put mulch on top, in the raised beds I use straw and on the walk ways I cover them with wood chips to where I cannot see the black mulch. It does make the garden look nice and tidy and no weeds.

Long time viewer but don't think I've ever commented before. I've loved your gardens in the past. It's been beautiful and full of nature. This trend of smothering everything in plastic disturbs me. Mother nature knows what she's doing. She hates bare soil and will cover it in weeds to protect it and what weeds grow where can tell you a lot about your soil and how you can "fix" it. I'm very much in the NO camp for this fabric. Take the time to learn what your garden is telling you instead of smothering it. BTW- I'm loving your gardening book!

Living Traditions Homestead has had a lot of success with the landscape fabric. I’m with Rachel, I want a “natural” but managed looking garden. I try to stay away from plastics in all other parts of my life so I can’t see putting it in my favorite area of my property. Though I understand why people choose to use it.

The older you get the more you will appreciate it.

I am team fabric. I have lost the war with weeds in my garden. I enjoy gardening more when I can focus on the produce out of the garden instead of the weeds. And I garden to can my garden goods.

I'm on the NO Team. 100% with Rachel in the way the garden feels with everything organic, and that has to include Creeping Charlie (which I also have) and all the othe weeds. I tried many things (cardboard, wood chips, pavers) and finally went with low growing Dutch clover all over my paths and it made a big difference with keeping weeds at bay but also keeping it green and entirely organic. I'll be ordering more of that this year as it really makes the garden look amazing.

I’m on team fabric! Year number one gardening, I lost the whole garden to weeds. I just plain couldn’t keep up with them. Year number two I put down the fabric and little to no weeding! Game changer! So worth the investment!

As a 72 year old gardener, I am team YES! Raised beds and weed barrier enable me to spend more time gardening and less time weeding.

Rachel, I understand! I use landscape fabric in my main garden and love the ease of it there, but I didn’t in my kitchen garden until this past year. I hated it in my sitting area for the same reason. So I bought a couple rugs to put over the plastic. It helped so much and I actually enjoyed the area more.

Team ground cover here! I live near Lansing, MI & I can't garden without it! The weeds are incredible! I used to spend HOURS weeding the garden (my garden is approximately 50' × 200') Now that I use ground cover, I probably spend a grand total of 45 minutes to an hour weeding ...for the entire growing season!!! ❤ Love your channel! Thanks for sharing with us!

I'm on the Yes team. My entire garden has it and also the inside of all my beds have it. But the open pathways are all covered with small rocks. I use it because I hate weeding.