Hopefully they live happily ever after…
“My husband did NOT want to buy Garden Mats. I purchased enough Garden Mats for half of the garden and issued a challenge to him to prove how much time I would save on my side. Needless to say, I WON! The side with Garden Mats were not only weed free, but produced many more delicious vegetables! Thank you!”
We loved this testimonial. This is just one challenge issued between a wife and her husband. We have witnessed many such challenges between spouses over the last thirteen years.
We find it fascinating how Garden Mats receive a divided opinion between spouses. I cannot tell you how many times a couple has arrived at the factory and test gardens, sometimes after having driven for hours, and it is clear (to all of us that work here) one of the two was less than enthusiastic. When this occurs, we always remain completely neutral and try to be supportive. You can see it in their body language and hear it their voices. One is perky, interested and excited when offered a garden tour. The other is slow, reserved and somewhat disinterested. One wants to buy more than they originally planned and the other mumbles under their breath.
Interestingly, the skepticism is pretty much divided between the sexes. This is not a scientific finding by any means. But having been pretty sharp at research methodology in Social Psychology back in my undergraduate days, I can still keep tabs on these things.
Anyway, the good news is, no matter which spouse issued the challenge, by the second season they are usually united again. This is right where we want them to be. After all, they have one thing in common; nobody wants to weed.
The other good news is, regardless of who started the challenge, those who were behind Garden Mats from the beginning are winning every time. And hopefully everyone is living happily ever after.
If you had a happy ending, please let us know.
Looking forward to trying Garden Mats – especially for the strawberry patch I plan to start this year! …or maybe the herb garden? hm…
I am so unhappy. Spent 6 weeks (weather permitting in Tarpon Springs, Florida), redoing entire flower/plant landscaping.
Well planned for area and plant needs. However, placed best on market,
weed blocker and lots of pine bark. Only 1 week later, weeds are back and appear to be coming at a fast pace.
I have a nice size corner lot in a busy traffic community. Everyone has seen me work so hard and complimenting me on the choice of plants.
Don’t know what to do. I need about a thousand square feet of weed blocker. Should I find a working solution, I am certain, all my neighbors will follow suit. Will your garden mat work for me?
We can see why you are so frustrated. Unfortunately, we are not sure our weed blocking fabric will solve your problem either. Our material is designed to be a top cover only. This means you cannot place anything on top of it, i.e., bark mulch or crushed stone. The reason: Eventually weed seeds will blow onto the bark mulch or rocks and will grow on top and root down through the fabric. If you use our material as a top cover only, it will work wonderfully.
I just happened on your site. I’m 52 and last year was my first garden and it was fabulous but laying newspaper was time consuming and hurt my back and knees. I am interested in your product and just have a couple questions. With the mats do people still plant beans with corn etc? Also would I plant marigolds right next to the plant in the mat? I didn’t see pictures of staked tomatoes and I made large cages with animal fencing as my tomatoes went crazy last year. Any pictures or ideas would be greatly appreciated. I live in Arkansas so I have good growing seasons.
Kathy,
First, it is not wise to use newspapers or cardboard, or any “processed” paper. There are lots of chemicals and glue in paper, even brown paper. As for people that plant beans with corn, we have never heard of that. We use Mat #3 for beans and Mat #5 for corn. But you can experiment and see how it goes. Yes, you can plant marigolds right next to the mat, no problem. Tomatoes, we use Mat #7 and either use stakes or cages. They fit in the 8″ hole no problem. And some people make up their own system with animal fencing. So, again, you can experiment and let us know how it goes.
The Mat Man
Thank you so much for getting back with me. I love gardening and just want to do the best I can at it. Unfortunately while my grandfather was alive I never was interested.