How to care for agro-textile to last for years? A guide to use and maintenance

Agro-tex­tile It pro­tects flowerbeds, paths and veg­etable patch­es against weeds, reg­u­lates the humid­i­ty of the sub­strate and reduces soil ero­sion. This is why it is one of the most com­mon­ly used solu­tions in mod­ern hor­ti­cul­ture and, if used prop­er­ly, can last for sev­er­al sea­sons. In prac­tice, how­ev­er, many gar­den­ers treat it as a dis­pos­able prod­uct, which leads to unnec­es­sary costs as well as wast­ed mate­r­i­al. It is there­fore worth know­ing, how to extend the life of an agro-tex­tile fab­ricso that you don’t waste time and mon­ey replac­ing it every year. Find out how to look after this pop­u­lar flowerbed cov­er and avoid com­mon mis­takes that short­en its lifes­pan.

Choosing the right agro-textile — the basis for sustainability

The foun­da­tion for the long-term use of non­wo­vens is, first and fore­most, the con­scious choice of the right mate­r­i­al. Although appar­ent­ly all sub­strates look sim­i­lar, they dif­fer in the para­me­ters that are cru­cial to their dura­bil­i­ty. First of all, atten­tion should be paid to gram­mage of the non­wo­ven fab­ric, i.e. the den­si­ty of the plas­tic expressed in grams per square metre — the high­er, the more durable the mate­r­i­al. For sea­son­al appli­ca­tions (e.g. as frost pro­tec­tion), a light­weight non-woven fab­ric is suf­fi­cient 50 g/m². How­ev­er, for the cre­ation of gar­den beds and paths, prod­ucts with a weight of 50–100 g/m².

Performance of the agro-textile and its durability

It is equal­ly impor­tant to match the plas­tic to the spe­cif­ic use. If the gar­den­er does not adapt the prod­uct to the con­di­tions of the site, dura­bil­i­ty of agro-tex­tiles will short­en sig­nif­i­cant­ly. Black non-woven gar­den fab­ric is used for mulching and weed con­trol, while white is designed to cov­er cold-sen­si­tive plants. Well-cho­sen mulching mat will pro­vide bet­ter sta­bil­i­ty, reduce stress and make sub­se­quent use eas­i­er.

Distinguishing features of sustainability

It is worth not­ing whether the prod­uct has UV fil­terwhich pro­tects the fibres from rapid degra­da­tion when exposed to the sun. High-qual­i­ty agro-tex­tiles, intend­ed into the gar­denThey are more resis­tant to stretch­ing, abra­sion and crack­ing. As a result, they not only per­form their func­tion bet­ter, but are also more durable i mul­ti-sea­son.

What is worth bearing in mind to avoid destroying the nonwoven fabric too quickly?

Agrowo­ven fab­ric, although durable, is requires appro­pri­ate use and careso that it will last for many sea­sons. Inad­e­quate sub­strate prepa­ra­tion, errors in lay­ing the fleece or mechan­i­cal dam­age can sig­nif­i­cant­ly short­en its life. Here are some key tips to help you keep your agro-tex­tile in excel­lent con­di­tion.

Correct substrate preparation

Thor­ough­ly clean the area of stones, roots, weeds and oth­er sharp objects before lay­ing out the fab­ric. Uneven, sharp objects can punc­ture the fab­ric over time. For very com­pact­ed soils, con­sid­er using a thin lay­er of sand or fine grav­el to lev­el the area and ensure even dis­tri­b­u­tion of the plas­tic.

Unfolding and fixing of the fleece

Agro-tex­tile gar­den fab­ric should be fold­able loose­ly, with­out stretch­ingin order to avoid exces­sive stress­es that lead to cracks over time. When mulching flowerbeds, it is worth ensur­ing that the edges of the fleece are pro­tect­ed with spe­cial fix­ing pins or met­al pins to pre­vent the mate­r­i­al from being blown up by the wind. Do not crush the sub­strate with large stones; this leads to dis­tor­tion, accel­er­ates degra­da­tion and hin­ders prop­er air cir­cu­la­tion under the fleece.

Avoiding mechanical damage

When plant­i­ng, cut the fab­ric with hor­ti­cul­tur­al scis­sors or a seg­ment­ed knife, cut­ting in an ‘X’ shape. Avoid cut­ting too close around the stems, which can cause fray­ing.

Do not encum­ber the sur­face with pots, box­es or heavy gar­den dec­o­ra­tions. In addi­tion, ensure ade­quate drainage to avoid water pond­ing under the fleece.

Protection against UV rays

Unpro­tect­ed fleece will age more quick­ly when exposed to the sun. Cov­er it with a lay­er of bark, wood­chips, straw or grav­el at least 5 cm thick. This will not only pro­tect the mate­r­i­al, but also improve the aes­thet­ics of the gar­den.

Cleaning and drying before storage

At the end of the sea­son, gen­tly remove the sub­strate, remove soil and leaf debris. Rinse with water if nec­es­sary, avoid­ing strong spray. Thor­ough­ly dry the fab­ric before curl­ing in an airy, shad­ed area, as damp fab­ric can mould.

Correct storage of agro-textile after the season

Check the plas­tic for dam­age (tears, dis­place­ments) in ear­ly spring. Repair minor dam­age with tape, patch­es or hor­ti­cul­tur­al sta­ples. If the agro-tex­tile is removed for the win­ter, store it in a dry, shady place (garage, gaze­bo, cel­lar). Roll it instead of fold­ing it into cubes to avoid deep creas­es. You can label the sec­tions to facil­i­tate reuse.

Cor­rect main­te­nance of the fleece is the key to its long-term and suc­cess­ful use. In shop Samm­ler avail­able is sus­tain­able, high qual­i­ty agro-fibre, suit­able for mul­ti-sea­son use, ide­al for both orna­men­tal beds and organ­ic grow­ing. Focus on sub­strate prepa­ra­tion, cor­rect unfold­ing and fas­ten­ing, avoid­ing mechan­i­cal dam­age, pro­tec­tion from the sun, as well as prop­er clean­ing and stor­age will ensure that the mate­r­i­al will serve you for up to 4–5 years, retain­ing its prop­er­ties.