How to Use Rags in the Garden

Clothes wear out. Even your favorite pair of jeans eventually becomes too thin to wear without risking an unsightly rip or tear. Use your old clothing to make a weed barrier in the garden. By using old rags, you can greatly decrease the amount of weeding you do in the garden and create a biodegradable weed barrier between rows of plants.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Worn clothing or linens
• Scissors
• Slow-release nitrogen fertilizer
• Mulch

1. Cut off all of the seams, waistbands, or other bulky areas of the clothing or linen. If you know the location you plan to use the rags, cut the rags to an approximate size for covering the area.

2. Pull weeds if the area where you intend to lay the fabric has tall or bulky weeds. You can lay the weeds down where you plan to place the fabric. The fabric barrier will prevent them from growing again.

3. Lay out your fabric. If you need multiple pieces of fabric to cover an area, make sure to overlap the fabric pieces by 4 to 6 inches so that the edges don’t slip and allow weeds through.

4. Sprinkle a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer, such as coffee grounds, over the cloth. This will aid in the decomposition of the rags. The idea is that the rags create a weed barrier for this year but also that they decompose from year to year. The nitrogen aids in this process.

5. Cover the rags with a layer of mulch to hide them and to beautify your garden.

Tips & Warnings

• Using rags works best if you garden using the no-till method. The rags will decompose. However, if you till your garden every spring, you might uncover partially decomposed rags, which can bind up your tiller and which can be unsightly.
• This process can be used in a no-till garden year after year.
• You must use natural fabrics for mulch such as cotton, wool, and hemp will decompose. Synthetic fabrics will not decompose and should not be used in your garden.
• Do not allow the fabric to actually touch your plants. If it touches the plants, you can create a beneficial environment for pests.

Resources

• A Guide to Creating a No-Till Garden