Has anyone used carpet as mulch?

dk54321 8/22/2015, 9:24 pm

Mel mentions the idea in ANSFG, and in SFG (p. 195) says that when he tested various mulches in side-by-side beds, carpet was the best he found. But I haven't heard anyone else mention using it. If you have, what were the pros and cons? How many seasons did it last?

**Scorpio Rising** 8/22/2015, 9:55 pm

dk, never even noticed that, nor would I mulch my SFG with a non-degradable mulch, I think! Interesting! study

Marc Iverson 8/23/2015, 4:12 am

I can tell you from my master gardening classes that the agriculture professors giving the lectures emphasized that some of the old ways of doing things -- blanketing the soil with black plastic or otherwise impeding the natural exchanges of gasses from the soil to the atmosphere -- had been proven less healthy and fruitful to soil than using mulches that can breathe. My worry with carpets is that the synthetic backing is poorly permeable to both atmospheric and soil-sourced gasses. Also, I wonder about how well the rain gets through, though maybe that's not really a problem.

At any rate, I worry about stifling the natural transfer of gasses with artificial and air and/or water impermeable substances.

**sanderson** 8/24/2015, 12:20 am

Wool carpets are natural fiber but expensive. I don't think I want synthetic fibers disintegrating in the beds. ??

**walshevak** 8/24/2015, 5:28 am

I replaced my polyester carpet with hardwood flooring back in 2010 and put the L/R piece under a tree that cast a deep shady area where grass was struggling and I had more dirt and mud than grass. Made a really nice patio area where I had my outdoor couch and chairs. Worked great for a few years until a hurricane took down part of the tree and I had more sunshine in the area. At that point the creeping bermuda grass moved in and started covering the carpet from the sides. Crept almost all the way over the carpet, but stayed low and didn't need cutting. Just pulled the carpet up this summer. It came up in one piece grass roots and all. Soil is very compacted under the area. I would still use carpet in the aisles around the beds but not under them or as mulch around plants. And yes, I did get the idea from the forum.

Kay

**sanderson** 8/24/2015, 9:57 am

Now, the isles or around non-food areas sounds like a good use of carpet. Very Happy

**Kelejan** 8/25/2015, 12:15 am

I have used carpet on pathways. Never on the veggie beds though.

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Has anyone used carpet as mulch?

Has anyone used carpet as mulch?

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Re: Has anyone used carpet as mulch?

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