One piece of grass (vine like) was 7 foot long. Started in the yard went under the fabric and up through the hole cut for the rose.

The wind or something else brings in seeds and they root like mad and can't really be killed without herbicide or dumping it all out and being thorough in removing every trace of roots. If you stay on top of it and pull it as soon as the seed germinates you might be OK, but the point I am trying to make is protecting the area with an underground barrier may not be enough.

Edging a bed helps somewhat, but I think the best defense is a good, thick layer of mulch. That, and just keeping on top of it by pulling the young seedlings and any other grassy growth before it gets a decent foothold.

I've never buried a container in the garden with the sole purpose of keeping grasses away, but I really don't see it helping too much, considering the way grasses grow.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Sad But true if someone asked me to point out the healthiest plant in my yard I would have to point out a weed.

Al

Under my deck I have a layer of weed barrier with rocks on top of that. This isn't the thin cloth like barrier you typically see, but the thicker more rubber like stuff. Weeds/grasses seem to have no issue growing in this. Even sunflowers from seeds scattered by the birds grow under the deck. The deck is 4-10ft off the ground and south facing so plenty of light for them. Because the deck itself has lots of container plants on it, the drainage water provides all the water and nutrients these invaders require to thrive. The barrier actually serves to retain soil moisture so the weeds love it.

As an alternate possibility, use several layers of newspaper as a barrier to stop any seeds, young plants from growing up through it and cover that with an organic mulch of your choice. This eliminates many of the hassles/drawbacks to fabric barriers as the newspaper rots not long after it has killed anything under it from lack of sunlight. The mulch makes it easier to pull invaders out as they will root in the mulch making them easy to pull out. Don't wait too long though or they will find the soil underneath and become more resistant to removal.

There are other things you can try if you find this isn't enough. Preen will stop a lot of seeds from germinating. There is an organic version of it that is based upon corn gluten. This works like a charm in some cases and not very well in others. CGM's means of preventing germination is by acting as a desiccant. If the area is frequently watered/rained on it loses it's effectiveness. The non organic product doesn't suffer this problem. It's based on Trifluralin. It's a synthetic herbicide that is not without it's share of controversy and potential dangers, but you can do your own research and make your own choices ;)

I have the easiest time using a nice thick layer of wood mulch, and just being vigilant in weed pulling. Of course, as the gardens expand, this becomes harder to keep up with! My solution is to begin at one end of the yard, and do a little bit every day.

I've read, though I haven't tried, that using layers of newspaper, wetted down, and then weighted with a thick layer of mulch, will do a good job of preventing weeds... and the newspaper is biodegradable, so it's not a bad thing if you're into organics.

I think grasses and weeds are just something gardeners have to put up with, more or less. I recently read something that made me think... "if there's room for a weed, there's room for another plant!"... meaning, I can fill in those spaces occupied by weeds with more perennials... or at the very least, an annual!