Jute Erosion Mesh As a Seed Cover

Lawn Upholstering? 

Jute erosion control mesh is not burlap - it's a fabric woven with extremely coarse yarn and large holes.  The mesh is commonly used for erosion control along new road construction while grasses and shrubs are being established. It is biodegradable, and within a couple of years, maybe more in a dry area, will decay and turn into organic material in the soil.

I'm using it like a mulch to protect newly scattered buffalo and blue grama grass seed and native wildflower mix. It should prevent my seeds from blowing away, discourage seed-eating birds and hold moisture.  It is definitely weed-free, which my compost is not.  It supposedly decomposes in a couple of years, so I will write more than this post about how it works.

Upholstered Lawn

It does look like I carpeted the lawn, and the neighbors are looking at me funny.

Seeds first? Mesh first? 

It doesn't matter, unless you want to rake the seeds into the dirt. I scattered the seeds first, didn't rake them.

Applying the mesh to a flat area.

The rolls I used are 225 feet long and 4 feet wide; 90-100 pounds of tightly rolled fabric that is heavy and awkward to handle.  I moved it with a furniture dolly until enough had been unrolled to lighten the roll.

This was the least hassle method I could think of.  If you have a flat area, do the longest possible strips first. On a slope, start at the top of one side of the seeding area.

1. Put the roll at one end of the site, with the free end coming from the bottom of the roll so you will be able to unroll it without picking it up.

   

   Unrolling the Jute

2. Unroll enough to fold under a few inches and secure it with 3 stakes.
3. Push it with your foot to unroll it to the other end.
4. When you reach the other end,  unroll it a few inches past the end of the seeding area and cut it.
   
   NOTE: If you are ending at a wall, grab a bunch of warp threads (the lengthwise ones) and tug some fabric loose to leave enough to cut and fold under.  Don't pull the crosswise threada - it just unweaves.
   
   NOTE 2: This stuff is hard to cut.  I used an old pair of trauma shears (also known as "EMT scissors"). My "craft scissors" weren't doing the job, and I didn't want to ruin my poultry shears.
   
5. Straighten the mesh, get the wrinkles out, tuck the end under and stake the end and the edges.
6. Flop the roll over so you can unroll it back towards your starting point.
   
   NOTE the Third: On a flat area an overlap of an inch or two is enough, with a stake every 4 to 6 feet.  On a slope, the recommended overlap is 4 to 6 inches, and you should stake every 2 feet with some stakes in the middle of the strip.

Applying the mesh to a slope.

1. Place the roll with the free end coming off the bottom of the roll, as show  above.
2. Fold the end over 2 or three times to make a secure place to put the stakes.
3. Stake the top end in 4 or 5 places and push it downhill.
   
   CAUTION: Be sure you have something at the bottom heavy enough to stop the roll.  And keep pets and humans out of the way.
   
4. Straighten the mesh, get the wrinkles out, tuck the end under and stake the end and the edges.
5. Carry the roll back up the slope and repeat.

The jute is biodegradable, but what about the stakes?

Biodegradable*, of course. I didn't want to have to dig the wire staples out of my yard in a few years.

Applying in a planted area. 

It's easiest to apply this to bare dirt, but you can work around plants.

• If you only have a few shrubs and trees, you can cut the mesh as you apply it to make room for the trunks. 
• If you have some low-growing plants, apply the mesh over the top, then go back and cut "X" openings or straight cuts and pull the stems through.
• If you have turf or clumping grasses, cut the grass as short as you can and apply over the grasses. They will grow up through the mesh.

Planting after the mesh is installed.

Grass and other small seed can be scattered and then watered in.  For small transplants pull the mesh apart and plant through the hole.  For larger ones, make x-cuts to make room to dig the hole.

Mowing over the mesh.

Uh ... you probably can do this with the blades set as high as possible, but I have no plans to mow my grass. 

About that "chemical smell".

Several reviews of jute erosion mesh complained of a "fuel" or "chemical" smell and leapt to the conclusion it was full of toxic waste.  The smell is normal.  In an early stage in the production of jute yarns - the step called "batching" - the fibers are treated with an emulsion of oil and water (about 1/4 oil and 3/4 water with a bit of emulsifier) to soften them and make spinning possible. Without the emulsion, the fibers break and it's a mess.

The "jute batching oil" is usually made by distilling naturally occurring complex hydrocarbons (yup, petroleum) and can have little odor all the way to a strong "fuel" smell, depending on which brand of batching oil was used and how many Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons were in it, and how long ago the jute was batched. Other batching oils are made from inedible vegetable oils

Jute batching oil is biodegradeable and there isn't enough of it in the jute to impede seed germination. For the past few years, a patented batching oil has been available.  It reportedly has less odor, uses less oil, and is more easily decomposed.

Sources

The Online Fabric Store* sells it by the yard. A full roll is 75 yards, and it comes sewn into a tidy burlap wrapper.

* I get no commissions from these links.