Using Shingles as Weedblock
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- Опубліковано 20 бер 2022
- In a previous video I showed the beginning of using shingles as a weed block, in this video the project continues. You can often find free shingles and they work far better then weed block products. I know there is some contreversy about the safety of these but nobody seems concerned about the water running off them from the roof so why would this be any worse?
Announcing a change to the channel - I will be featuring some home projects as well as gardening. Think of it as Home and Garden Solutions :) I do a lot of home projects and friends often say I should share some of these ideas so look for these in the near future.
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You can use my general amazon link (amzn.to/3qjBw6K) or check out one of the tools below. These are tools I use every day in my garden and highly recommend.
Tree saw - this Silky Professional F180 has a comfortable grip and cuts through branches with ease. I use this for things too large for the pruners. To date there is no rust on it, I put a loop of paracord through the hole in tha handle to make it easier to hang. Link: amzn.to/35Mb77Z
Pruners - The Felco F-2 Pruners are the choice of gardening experts everywhere. They seem to last forever, if you are a real heavy user you can buy replacement blades and make them like new again. Link: amzn.to/3qjzgMO
Snippers - For more precise work such as cutting delicate leaves off of new starts, these Corona stainless steel snippers work great. They have a long narrow blade to get into the tight spots on your seedlings or to prune smaller plants. Link: amzn.to/2TZmk2B
Trowel - Now this isn't really classified as a trowel but the Corona Scopp is my everyday all prupose tool that I probably use more than anything else (besides the pruners). This is not the best for digging in the soil but I don't really do much of that in my food forest. This is an excellent tool for potting, which I do a lot of. It holds a lot more than a traditional trowel and is a very well built tool. I've left it out in the rain many times and no rust. Link: amzn.to/3zRa5We
Knife - This Morakniv knife has held up well, it stays sharp and while the blade has lost its bright color it has not rusted. I use this for opening bags of soil and cutting ropes and twine. This knife is fairly inexpensive and includes a belt holster if you prefer to carry it that way. Link: amzn.to/3d9IPbD
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I used some recycled shingles to make a pathway so weeds wouldn't grow there. It was an experiment, and it worked. I did use some stakes to hold them in the ground due to high wind conditions. So it's been about a year, and it's working!
Mine have worked great as well! I've had to go back and add a few to cover some gaps but otherwise they work better than anything else I've used.
What a brilliant idea
A great way to beat weeds and grasses with running rhyzomes persistent in small areas and avoid roundup. Shingles are not profitable enough to recycle so they end up in the landfill. Using shingles after 1989 (prior had asbestos) in real problem yard areas is a good way to recycle in my opinion. I try to work naturally with the soil food web but some spots continue to beat me.
I was thinking about doing this under my fence line so we dont have to weedeat so much. Do you how well a mower works going over them?
I have mine extending past the blocks a few inches so when I mow it essentially goes over the shingle and limits the amount of edging I have to do. I haven't had any get lifted or chopped by the mower, it may also depend on how heavy the shingles are. I have a friend who used this method for their pathways and there's also been no issues mowing right up to them.
How long do they last. Are you having to replace them often? Thanks for the reply
Did you place the shingles upside down, with the grit side on the dirt? And if so, why?
Also, did you overlap them by the same distance that would have been used on a roof, or just by a few inches, or not at all?
Trying to determine how many I’ll need.
Thanks!
I put them upside down since the backside is smoother, some of them are architectural shingles which have an uneven topside. I overlapped by about 3 inches but next time I'd go further and go 50%. In that case you would need 2x the measurement for coverage. We have torpedograss here and if you are familiar with that it gets everywhere with runners that can go several feet underground.
@@GardeningSolutions Thank you for replying! Great info. Our crabgrass (SW Va) sounds like the evil twin of your torpedograss!
I picked up 30 shingles last week, at .75 each because I had to try this and I couldn’t wait for free ones to become available! So far, it’s a great solution. I only need about a thousand more. Haha!
Awesome! Our house came with left over shingles in a backyard pile. I was going to throw them all out but I’m in Florida and the garden weeds are unmanageable. I put these down and viola. No more weeds. I was reading about toxins leeching into the soil but I’ve also read that newer shingles don’t contain the toxins the old ones before 1980 did. I’m still trying to learn more and decide if they are safe for my crops.
Aren't shingles toxic?
Nope - I did a lot if research before deciding to use these. Think about it, rain runs off your roof and feeds your lawn and gardens and a lot of people collect rain water for their gardens from their shingle roofs. I've also read that they are not toxic when placed in ground contact or buried. Even with all that, this is a propagation area and not a food garden so all is good :)
𝐩𝓻Ỗ𝓂Ø𝓈Ｍ 🌸