# Use of old carpet in garden



## kellyprzy (Oct 2, 2007)

There was a thread on another forum about the use of old carpet in the garden as either as mulch (place in garden, cut holes in it, allow plant to grow in hole) or used as a weed-free pathway. Some wrote that the carpet is not allowed in organic gardens, toxins can leach from the carpet. What is the gardener's thought? Is this true? I am always looking for a way to prevent weeds in my paths in my raised garden.

Thanks,

Kelly


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

You're correct about it not being organic but I wouldn't worry about leaching toxins into the soil. I've known a number of people who used carpet for permanent paths. I've even got some in the garden shed that I just never got around to cutting down to size. However, I would not use it for growing plants directly in it. It's not because of any adverse effects but the pain in the rear for garden cleanup. Unless it were outdoor carpet, the backing and glues would begin breaking down from the constant moisture. You'd then end up with something that couldn't be used a second season.

Martin


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

the carpet got all covered with dirt eventually and the weeds started growing in it....then it was just like the soil around it. If you can keep the dirt off of it, it would probably do just fine. 

I use the landscaping fabric. I got a 4'X100 ft rool at Costco for $35. I wil cut it in half lengthwise and it will pretty much cover all my paths. I don't put anything on top of it, since it would be pretty expensive. when the fabric starts to go, I will just replace it.


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## crafty2002 (Aug 23, 2006)

I have a bunch of carpet to use I got from a dumpster and someone here PM'ed me and said they had tried it and it was great the first year but rotted and they had a time cleaning the mess up for the next year. 
I have been saving every cardboard box I get my hands on. That will rot so next year I can just till it into the garden. I hope it will rot fast enough to get tilled in this fall so I can plant a cover crop. I've never did that before but I want to start doing so. 
Dennis


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

crafty2002 said:


> I have been saving every cardboard box I get my hands on. That will rot so next year I can just till it into the garden. I hope it will rot fast enough to get tilled in this fall so I can plant a cover crop. I've never did that before but I want to start doing so.
> Dennis


When to rot is the problem with using cardboard for mulch. One wants it to be effective at stopping weeds for 5 months and then suddenly disintegrate two days before you want to till it in. Can't have both. The guy who plows our complex specifically asked me last fall to include cardboard removal as part of the garden cleanup. I guess that he got tired of dragging some of the heavier stuff all over and getting off the tractor to remove the wads from the plow.

Martin


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## PETSNEGGS (Oct 7, 2005)

I have been told by the owner at a local feed store to use newspaper to keep down the weeds...She said just layer it in the garden and even put dirt on top of it to hold it down... never tried it but, getting old and the back can't take all the weeding anymore so considering it.


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## MN Gardener (Jan 23, 2008)

I use it between my raspberry rows, it seems to be the only thing that keeps the raspberry plants from popping up where they don't belong. It has been there for 2 years so far with no problems. Even if I have to replace it every few years, I think it will be worth it. The local carpet places usual let you raid their dumpster for free if they know what you want it for.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Anyone who has ever tried to remove carpeting that has been on the ground until it is half rotten and full of weed roots is just cringing at the thought of using carpeting for mulch. Not to mention the nasty chemicals you are putting in the ground that feeds your food crop.

It looks like it would be better to use Round-up between the rows or over the whole garden first thing in the spring before planting.


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## SueInMichigan (Sep 27, 2007)

I've used carpet around the perimeter of my garden to keep the field grass from creeping in...the more contemporary stuff has lasted years, the older stuff (from the 1970's or so) rotted after a year or so. The strands wreak havoc with the tiller, so I have to make sure it's far from the garden come tilling time! 

Last year I had super success mulching the pathways with cardboard, and then putting a mulch of old hay over that. Not a weed to be seen, and the plants between those pathways were more vigorous than the ones in the un-mulched half of the garden (I'd planned to do the entire garden, but a broken leg in May put the kibosh on that idea!)


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## MN Gardener (Jan 23, 2008)

I do use the newpaper technique in the other areas of my garden and actually prefer it to carpet because it will breakdown better and is probably better for the enviroment. Make sure you wet the paper quite a bit as soon as you lay it down, otherwise it will blow all over (trust me, I know! LOL) If you have something stubborn like raspberries newpaper does not work.


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## Moongypsy (11 mo ago)

fishhead said:


> Anyone who has ever tried to remove carpeting that has been on the ground until it is half rotten and full of weed roots is just cringing at the thought of using carpeting for mulch. Not to mention the nasty chemicals you are putting in the ground that feeds your food crop.
> 
> It looks like it would be better to use Round-up between the rows or over the whole garden first thing in the spring before planting.


Seriously, use Roundup? And you're worried about nasty chemical around your food crops? Glyphosate is a known cancer cause. Use 30% vinegar to control weeds or sprinkle livestock salt on pathways where food isn't growing.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Please note the DATE on the post you replied to.


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## Moongypsy (11 mo ago)

So the date makes it alright to recommend using a known cancer causing poison? Got it.


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## barnbilder (Jul 1, 2005)

Sand is a known cancer causing poison. Found in a lot of gardens.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Moongypsy said:


> So the date makes it alright to recommend using a known cancer causing poison? Got it.


Glyphosate has not ever been proven to be a carcinogen. The WHO declared it a _"probable"_ carcinogen but they supposedly omitted quite a bit of evidence.









Under fire by U.S. politicians, World Health Organization defends its claim that an herbicide causes cancer


At a U.S. House science committee hearing, witnesses explain why certain information was omitted from findings




www.science.org


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## Moongypsy (11 mo ago)

barnbilder said:


> Sand is a known cancer causing poison. Found in a lot of gardens.


Then we're all doomed!


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## RJ2019 (Aug 27, 2019)

The recommendations to use salt or vinegar in a garden are ill-advised. Especially salt. Vinegar, you could correct the PH but with salt you pretty much ruin that area for many many years. Even if it's just in a pathway it will leach and spread.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Moongypsy said:


> Then we're all doomed!


Yes, nobody gets out of this alive.


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## weaselfire (Feb 7, 2018)

Moongypsy said:


> So the date makes it alright to recommend using a known cancer causing poison? Got it.


First, it's not known that it causes cancer. It is known that the manufacturer set aside money to pay lawsuits with no admission of guilt or liability.

But... the settlement and publicity were later than the post you brought back from the dead. It's like you chastising someone for writing a book about a detective addicted to legal heroine. Even if he wrote it 130 years ago.

Jeff


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Paquebot said:


> You're correct about it not being organic but I wouldn't worry about leaching toxins into the soil. I've known a number of people who used carpet for permanent paths. I've even got some in the garden shed that I just never got around to cutting down to size. However, I would not use it for growing plants directly in it. It's not because of any adverse effects but the pain in the rear for garden cleanup. Unless it were outdoor carpet, the backing and glues would begin breaking down from the constant moisture. You'd then end up with something that couldn't be used a second season.
> 
> Martin


And a major pain to clean up and dispose of!


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

weaselfire said:


> First, it's not known that it causes cancer. It is known that the manufacturer set aside money to pay lawsuits with no admission of guilt or liability.
> 
> But... the settlement and publicity were later than the post you brought back from the dead. It's like you chastising someone for writing a book about a detective addicted to legal heroine. Even if he wrote it 130 years ago.
> 
> Jeff


And apparently they joined just to post an inaccurate comment about glyphosate. I have comments for people like that but I'm too polite to post the comments.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Hmmm, Monsanto no longer exists but the lawyers are paying satisfaction money. There is a defunct gun company whos lawyers are paying satisfaction money. I'm beginning to see a trend.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Moongypsy said:


> So the date makes it alright to recommend using a known cancer causing poison? Got it.


Howdy, Chicken Little.... SMH

Yes, the date DOES matter. The OP is from 12 years ago. Much more is known about glyphosate now (though many of us were railing against it back then). 

@Evons hubby is right. I helped a friend rip out carpet she used for mulch, and it is a royal pain in the patootie. 

Don't do it, unless you want that carpet to be part of your landscape for a long, long time.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

@Pony, don't feed the troll. They joined ONLY for that response. They haven't been back since posting it.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Danaus29 said:


> @Pony, don't feed the troll. They joined ONLY for that response. They haven't been back since posting it.


Grrrr.... woke joke people are so irritating.

Wish there was a way to delete their inane comments.


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## BigHenTinyBrain (Apr 4, 2013)

We've put old rugs down in the garden several times. They aren't a permanent weed suppression solution, and when they do break down they become a mess of tough threads and un-break-down-able pieces. We usually get two or three seasons out of them, making them a great way to kill the weeds in a new bed, then they get heaped up behind the raspberries- out of sight, out of mind.


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## Heartbroken (12 mo ago)

I don't use old carpets in the garden; at one point I tilled up an area of the yard that apparently had been used as a dump by the previous residents and yes carpet threads can really be a pain and mess up the tiller. But I have had good luck using old rugs under the trees and other areas where I put down decorative bark mulch. Really helps keep the weeds from coming through and works better than landscape fabric. I also used old carpet pieces to create a padded area to set up my little swimming pool.


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