Some thoughts that came to mind early this morning while I was out in the field behind our house, riding the Deere.
I reflected at length on the pros of landscape fabric and the cons of losing earthworms because of it. And, while I'd very much like to have both, I'm going to come down in favor of the fabric. For this important reason: I've had both knees replaced, and while they gave me the ability walk without a cane, you can't kneel with prosthetic knees. Oh, I know a couple of people who claim to be able to do so, but I have my doubts.
This means that my much younger partner has to do the weeding, and with beds that stretch some 300 feet around three sides of our front yard, it's practically a full-time job. The best I can do is place a Samsonite folding card table chair at the edge of a bed, and lean down and pull. Unfortunately, I can't get much more than 12 or 15 inches into the bed without falling out of the chair (not a pretty sight). 'And of course, the chair sinks into the soil if I place it in the bed.
So, it because a practical choice, and we're going to give the landscape fabric a try.
Took this picture yesterday evening about seven. The area in view represents the area remaining to be mowed. What you can't see is a similar-sized area to the left which has already been mowed.
To place things in perspective, it's about 300 feet from where I'm sitting on John Deere, to the tree line.
I do some of my best thinking while riding the Deere.
