Do you love Black-eyed Susans? Well Softhair Coneflower may be the plant for you. In the same genus as Black-eyed Susans, Softhair Coneflower is a taller relative and native northern Florida, southern Georgia, and southern Alabama. This plant is stunning in the landscape. It is perfect for areas that need taller flowers. Ours reach almost 6' tall! Not only is this a great addition for explosions of yellow flowers, but the pollinators love it too. Check out the video to see more about this plant. Softhair Coneflower Rudbeckia mollis

What Is Weed Fabric? Weed fabric (aka landscape fabric or weed barrier) is typically a woven or non-woven synthetic material laid down before covering with gravel, bark, mulch, or pine straw. It's designed to block weed growth while still allowing water and air to penetrate the soil. ✅ Advantages of Using Weed Fabric 1. Weed Suppression (Short-Term) The primary reason people use weed fabric is to prevent weed growth. It can significantly reduce weeds, especially in the first 1–2 years after installation. However, it only blocks weed growth from existing weeds in the soil below. Weeds that sprout from seed after installation will still be able to grow. We see this all the time with new mulch installations. The weed fabric stops old weeds from coming through, but seeds that were unintentionally mixed in with the new mulch will sprout on top of the fabric. 2. Soil Erosion Control In sloped areas or places with loose soil, the fabric helps stabilize the ground and reduces erosion beneath gravel or mulch. 3. Cleaner Look Weed fabric prevents soil from mixing with gravel, which can help keep paths or decorative stone areas looking tidier longer. 4. Foundation for Groundcover Some soil types (especially here in Florida) do not support a heavy groundcover like landscape gravel or rock. After rains, the gravel or rock will begin to sink into the soil and eventually disappear. Landscape fabric will help keep the gravel or rock above the soil surface helping it to last longer. This typically does not apply to mulch, bark, or pine straw as they are generally not heavy enough to sink in soils. 5. Improved Drainage Quality thin and light landscape fabric allows water to pass through, helping avoid pooling while still protecting the soil from being compacted by gravel. Thick and heavy fabrics can be used in areas where water runoff is desired. ⚠️ Disadvantages of Using Weed Fabric 1. Weeds Still Grow (Eventually) Over time, dust and organic matter build up on top of the fabric. This creates a layer where weeds can grow — on top of the fabric — making removal harder. The fabric makes a perfect place for sprouting weeds to root and grow. The mesh material is a perfect place for roots to grab a hold of. 2. Poor Soil Health Weed fabric can inhibit natural processes like decomposition and earthworm activity. It blocks organic matter (like mulch) from enriching the soil underneath. 3. Difficult to Maintain If weeds start growing on top or fabric tears, it’s a pain to fix. Also, if you ever want to replant or move things around, the fabric becomes a nuisance. 4. Mulch Slips Off Wood mulch tends to slide off smooth fabric more easily, especially on slopes, making it less effective and less aesthetically pleasing over time. Florida summer rains can cause mulch to float away in some places. Since water can take longer to absorb through some landscape fabrics, mulch may float in the rainwater. If the area is not flat, mulch may be carried “downstream” from where it was installed. 5. Cost & Labor Fabric adds to the cost of your project and takes extra time to install properly — cutting around plants, securing edges, and overlapping seams. 💡 When to Use It (and When Not To) Best Use Cases: • Under gravel in walkways or decorative areas where you won’t plant. • In areas with aggressive weed problems where short-term control is key such as in the original install. • On slopes to stabilize gravel or soil temporarily. • Areas where chemical weed maintenance can be used instead of hand pulling. Not Ideal For: • Garden beds with perennials or annuals. • Vegetable gardens (opt for thick layers of mulch or cover crops instead). • Anywhere you plan to amend soil or plant later. 🌱 Alternatives • Thick layers of mulch or pine straw (3–4 inches): Naturally suppress weeds and enrich the soil over time. • Cardboard or newspaper layers: Biodegradable and effective for smothering weeds temporarily. • Living groundcovers aka Green Mulch: Low-maintenance sprawling growth habit plants that crowd out weeds naturally. There are some options like Perennial Peanut that also help amend soil through nitrogen fixing. Specifications and Products • Product Thickness can be measured in millimeters (mm) or in weight by square yard commonly expressed as a number of oz. Products showing mm are obviously showing a measured thickness. Products showing thickness in oz are expressing a weight per square yard that correlates to their thickness and durability. Common Landscape Fabric Weight Categories Weight: 3 oz/yd² Thickness Level: Light Best For: Garden beds, short-term weed control under mulch Weight: 4–5 oz/yd² Thickness Level: Medium Best For: Under gravel, long-term mulch beds, paths Weight: 6+ oz/yd² Thickness Level: Heavy Best For: Commercial landscaping, driveways, high-traffic areas   Please Note Manufacturers use terms like "Heavy Duty" in product names and descriptions for marketing purposes. Make sure to check the product specifications to determine if the product is suitable for your intended use. • Product width and length per roll helps to determine how the fabric will arrive and how it can be used for installation. For the easiest installation, choose a roll width that is close to the width of the area that you wish to install. • Method of securing is the manufacturer's recommended way to keep the fabric secured in the ground. The most common method is metal landscape staples that are driven in by a mallet or can be pushed in by hand in soft soils. • Woven and Nonwoven are additional options when selecting a fabric. Woven fabrics offer higher strength, better weed suppression, and are recommended for gravel and rock. They also help with moisture retention in the soil below. But, they do not allow water and air to transfer through the fabric as well as nonwoven fabrics do. Nonwoven fabrics are bonded together for thickness and are easier to cut and shape. They allow better drainage but are less durable and break down faster. Nonwoven fabrics are best for drainage projects or for areas where rainwater needs to be allowed to drain through. • Type of material can help determine if certain products will fit your needs. Most landscape fabrics are made from polypropylene which is similar to a plastic burlap. Other fabrics may be made from a synthetic felt, biodegradable paper, plastic, and even hemp. Polypropylene can allow air and moisture to penetrate through the material. Thickness and woven vs non-woven will directly affect the permeability of the fabric. Additionally, you may see some products listed as “needle-punched”. This feature increases the permeability of thick woven fabrics for better drainage comparable to thinner non-woven fabrics. Ashman Heavy-Duty Landscape Fabric Weed Barrier Ashman Heavy-Duty Landscape Fabric Product Length and Width: Multiple Options Product Thickness: 0.15mm Fabric Type: Woven Polypropylene Biodegradable: No Manufacturer Warranty: 1-Year Availability: Home Depot / Manufacturer Website     Cisvio Heavy-Duty Landscape Fabric Weed Barrier with U-Shaped Securing Pegs Cisvio Heavy-Duty Landscape Fabric Product Length and Width: Multiple Options Product Thickness: 0.18mm / 3.5oz per sq.yd Fabric Type: Woven polypropylene Biodegradable: No Manufacturer Warranty: 30-day guarantee Availability: Home Depot     Vigoro Heavy-Duty Grid Landscape Fabric Vigoro Heavy-Duty Grid Landscape Fabric Product Length and Width: Multiple Options Product Thickness: 0.43mm - .52mm Fabric Type: Non-woven (material type not listed) Biodegradable: No Manufacturer Warranty: Limited Life-time Availability: Home Depot / Manufacturer website           SVOPES Garden Fabric Weed Barrier SVOPES Garden Fabric Weed Barrier Product Length and Width: 100ft x 4ft or other options Product Thickness: 4.7mm / 5.8oz per sq.yd Fabric Type: Woven polypropylene Biodegradable: No Manufacturer Warranty: 1-year Availability: Home Depot / Lowes     Sandbaggy Heavy-Duty Landscape Fabric Weed Barrier Sandbaggy Heavy-Duty Landscape Fabric Weed Barrier Product Length and Width: 4ft wide x 30ft long – 4ft wide x 300ft long Product Thickness: 3-3.2 oz / sq.yd Fabric Type: Woven Polypropylene Biodegradable: No Manufacturer Warranty: None but claim 40-year life if not exposed to UV light Availability: Manufacturer website Farmtek Heavy Duty Ground Cover Farmtek Heavy Duty Ground Cover Product Length and Width: 100 or 300 ft long x 3ft to 12 ft wide Product Thickness: 4.1 oz/ sq.yd Fabric Type: Woven Needle-punched polypropylene Biodegradable: No Manufacturer Warranty: Not listed Availability: FarmTek website   Farmtek Heavy Duty Ground Cover         Final Thoughts Weed fabric can be a useful tool — but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. It works best for non-planting areas with gravel or as a temporary measure of weed control. Long term, it can create more problems than it solves if used improperly. Have you had good or bad experiences with landscape fabric? Keep the conversation going by commenting below!  

Garden....... Foe!!!! Wait... AND Friend!!! Wait... but why? So like many other times we've discussed moth's and their larvae, we generally list them as both garden friends and foes. Here is a quick reminder why: Although the larvae of moths (frequently called worms or caterpillars) are generally destructive to food crops, the adult moths are beneficial nocturnal pollinators. We always want to support our pollinators and beneficial insects. But, these caterpillars can be super destructive to plant foliage. Plus they host on numerous vegetable crops. What should we do? First let's learn about the moth and caterpillar. At the end I will discuss management methods. Or you can skip there now if you want. Saltmarsh Moths have a wide range from Central America all the way to Canada. Some people call them woolly bear moths because of the numerous hairs on the mature instars. But, Woollybear Caterpillars is a name generally saved for caterpillars of the Isabella Tiger Moth and look very different than caterpillars of the Saltmarsh Moth. Adult moths have a 3-5 cm wingspan which makes them easy to notice. They do not emerge until night. They are mostly white but males do have a yellow-orange hind wing. Both sets of wings will have small black spots scattered throughout. The body will also have a yellow-orange color in addition to white. Female moths can lay around 1,200 eggs in a single cluster. Male Saltmarsh Moth Eggs hatch in about 4 days. They are very small and spherical in shape. Just after hatching, these small caterpillars are very hungry hungry caterpillars. They begin feeding on the closest foliage to where they hatched. While they can cause major damage, they typically do not eat through an entire leaf. As they progress through different stages, or instars, they begin changing colors. They can become brown, yellow, white, and have spots. Around the 4th-5th instar is when they will become darker in color and numerous hairs begin to grow. As the caterpillars become more mature, they also become more solitary. This is not typical for many caterpillar species. They will leave other caterpillars in search of new food, probably to reduce competition. On large farms they have been observed leaving the borders where they began feasting on weeds in search of food crops. It is believed that this may be because the bordering weeds are not typically irrigated as well. Another characteristic of the saltmarsh caterpillar is that it has the ability to drop from vegetation and spin a silk that allows it to be carried by the wind. Basically using the silk as a parachute to go for a ride in search of new food. After around 20 days, mature caterpillars will begin to search for a suitable spot to pupate. This occurs in the top layer of soil. They prefer to find an area that has leaves or other debris. They spin a thin cocoon that is interwoven with their hairs. After 12-14 days they emerge as adult moths. Managing this caterpillars is relatively simple. As always, we begin with the least "aggressive" method and work our way up to the chemicals. 1. Let the other insects do their jobs. There are many other predator insects and critters that will take care of these caterpillars for you. If you have a healthy ecosystem in your garden/landscape, these beneficial predators will show up pretty quick too! Some of the predators include: Tachinid Flies Parasitoid Wasps Assassin Bugs Birds Lizards Other opportunistic bugs and animals 2. Hand Removal is another technique to use especially when finding only a small amount of caterpillars. We encourage you to relocate the caterpillars to broadleaf weeds so they can still munch and become moths. You save your prized food crops and allow the caterpillars to still thrive. In our small experience with these caterpillars, we have not found them to sting or bite. There are some reports of people having skin sensitivity to the hairs. If you are concerned, wear a thick pair of gardening gloves. 3. Insecticidal use is an option. We recommend staying as organic as possible with sprays like Bt spray. Bacillus Thuringiensis is a liquid bacteria that targets moth and butterfly larvae but will not harm other insects. That includes the adult moths and adult butterflies. It can be found in any gardening store or online. Saltmarsh Caterpillar in Florida Food Forest