Okay, you've installed a weed barrier in your bed, covering it with mulch. But with the barrier and mulch in the way, what do you do when it's time to install plants?
After laying down the barrier, it seems a shame to have to puncture it, so that you can plant. But puncture it you must. However, don't get carried away when making incisions in your barrier for planting. You don't need to cut a big circle out of the barrier in order to accomodate a plant. There are two general principles to follow when making incisions in a weed barrier:
- Keep the incisions as small as possible.
- Make slits in the barrier, rather than cutting out and removing portions of weed barrier.
The accompanying photo says it best. I cleared the mulch away over the projected planting spot, just enough to gain access to the weed barrier. But it's the cut that I want you to take note of. Notice that I've merely made an x-shaped incision in the weed barrier. I haven't removed any material. The incision gives you sufficient access to the soil beneath for planting.
"But," you may object, "why not install the plants first, then lay the barrier down?" You certainly could do it that way. But I find fitting a weed barrier around existing plants to be more troublesome than installing plants through the barrier. And by mulching before planting, you're getting a lot of the "heavy lifting" out of the way first, with no worry of backing over a plant with your wheelbarrow!
In Step 7 we begin planting.
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