Can Grass Grow Through Landscape Fabric? No, Here’s Why!

Landscape fabric has a wide range of uses from laying gravel to protecting a garden from invasive weeds. Whatever your reasoning, it’s crucial to know that it’s not the best choice for a lot of lawns. While landscape fabric keeps your soil free of most weeds, it could have detrimental effects on the grass.

Grass can’t grow through landscape fabric because the material prevents sunlight and moisture from reaching the roots. Furthermore, most fertilizers won’t go far enough below the surface to penetrate the fabric. However, you can lay artificial turf over landscape fabric.

In this post, we’ll talk about what landscape fabric does to grass, whether or not the lawn should be removed before laying the fabric, and how you can plant grass while using the fabric. We’ll also show you when you should and shouldn’t use landscape fabric.

Tip: Preview Amazon’s selection of their best landscape fabric to find out which one suits your lawn. Make sure you follow the method mentioned below before laying down the material, though. Our process works with any landscape fabric as long as you use lawn staples.

Do You Need to Remove Grass Before Laying Landscape Fabric?

You don’t need to remove grass before laying landscape fabric, but you need to trim it as low as possible and cut a 12-inch trench around the grass. Use lawn staples to stretch and secure the fabric over the trimmed grass to prevent it from sliding around. Tilling the grass will prevent it from pushing through, though.

Here’s the step-by-step process:

1. Mow the grass at the shortest setting on your mower. It’s usually best to mow down to about 2.5 inches, but mow as the lawn as short as possible to keep the blades from poking through. They won’t grow anymore once they’re covered by the fabric.
2. Use a shovel to remove about 12 inches on all sides of the grass. SF Gate shows this strip will let you secure the landscape fabric. It also stops grass blades from poking around the edges of the material, which could make it look tacky.
3. Tighten the landscape fabric over the grass and use lawn staples from edge to edge. After a couple of weeks, the grass will die from lack of oxygen, water, and sunshine. You can lay gravel over the landscape fabric right away, though.

The BzBirds Lawn Staples are made in the USA and push down to six inches with 11-gauge thickness. You’ll receive 20 durable staples that don’t fade from rust, corrosion, and so on.

If you prefer other lawn staples, make sure they’re rust-resistant and at least five inches long.

Can I Use Landscape Fabric to Kill Grass?

You can use landscape fabric to kill grass because it removes all three essential components of plant life: Water, sunlight, and oxygen. Without these nutrients, the grass will die. Landscape fabric has been used to remove large plots of grass for quite some time.

It’s important to remember that landscape fabric will likely ruin any nearby vegetation. If you have plants you want to keep growing, keep them away from the material. Also, note that some grasses might take longer than others to smother when using the fabric.

If you notice your grass isn’t going away when you put landscape fabric over it, you might’ve left too much room for it to grow.

Try these three suggestions:

1. Apply an herbicide over the entire plot of grass before laying the landscape fabric. This layer will ensure there’s nothing left for the grass to eat, while also damaging the roots.
2. Tighten the fabric as much as possible to make it crush the grass below it. The pressure is often enough to cause trouble for the blades and roots.
3. Secure the edges with gravel, lawn staples, or potted plants. You should add about four inches of soil on top of the landscape fabric if you’re not using gravel. Many homeowners add a bit of soil below the gravel to prevent the fabric from showing through.

Following these three tips will ensure the grass doesn’t grow through the fabric. You can plant artificial turf on top of the fabric, too.

If you want to use landscaping material but you’re unsure if you can grow a garden on it, head to the next section.

Can You Plant Through Landscape Fabric?

You can plant through landscape fabric if you cut a hole in it big enough for the plant’s roots to spread. Most plants need enough space to grow, soak up water, and sprout. Keep in mind that planting through landscape cloth could prevent the plant from spreading or seeding.

According to Landscaping the Gulf Coast, even the best landscape fabric available doesn’t let sunshine through. It could let water and oxygen penetrate the soil, but the roots won’t grow without enough sunlight. Cutting a hole where you want to plant to grow is your best bet.

If it still doesn’t seem like your grass is growing once you’ve cut out a space for it, the grass might be out of season. Some grasses are better in different climates or times of the year. Have a landscaping company analyze the grass to know which type of grass (or other plants) you have before removing it.

When Should You Use Landscape Fabric?

You should use landscape fabric when you want to remove grass, weeds, and other plants. You can also use it as a base layer for laying gravel, rocks, bark, mulch, and more. Landscape fabric should be secured with lawn staples and inspected for holes annually.

If you want to grow grass and other plants later, remove the fabric and till the soil. Landscape cloth can compact the dirt, making it hard for the roots to spread. Mix it up, add fresh soil, top it off with some fertilizer, and spread the grass seeds. You can store grass seed for a long time, even if the bag is opened.

Many homeowners make the mistake of thinking landscape fabric is only good at preventing weeds. However, it damages the roots of all plants under and above it. You should only use it if you want to redo the entire area or put gravel and other materials over the plot.

Wrapping It Up

Now that you know when you should and shouldn’t use landscape fabric, you can create the ultimate yard. Make sure you place the fabric about three to four inches below the surface and pin it down with lawn staples. Porous fabric is good for drainage, but it’s not enough to grow most types of grass and other plants.