We are always looking for ways to keep down weeds here at Wicked Raven Farm, and we are also big upcycle/recyclers here too. We dont have carpet in our house except on the one set of stairs but we do use throw rugs in some places around the house on the wood floors.
Occasionally, one of the carpets gets ruined, a bloody nose, dog barf - you get the picture - and we have to replace it. We hang the rugs over the clothes line or a railing or a pallet stack to get hosed off or rained on a bit to clean them off before we use them (especially the barfed on ones)! Once they have aired a little you can cut them to any size you need.
When my friend took out her carpet to put in wood/laminate floors, we saved the carpet rolls that came out so we could re use them as mulch between rows in the gardens. It helps keep in the water and keep out the weeds.
The above is a pile of carpet strips ready to go into the rows and you can see one throw rug already between the rows of black currant berry bushes.
I use a utility knife to cut the carpet into the size I need to fit between the rows I have.
Above photo shows the rows of the berry garden with the carpet in between. Obviously there is still some weeding that has to be done! Yikes - we let this area get a little out of control while we were working on other areas - its a never ending battle!
This rug has been on the porch of what we call the "brown shed" because its brown and we also have a white one. It is growing moss now and it will be moved out to the garden rows soon.
It takes a good many years before the carpet breaks down and has to be replaced in the garden. Some of mine has been down for about 10 years now - when the weeds start to grow up through it (happens after a while no matter what you use) just pull it up and flip it over - just like new - new carpet mulch that is.
I have also seen folks do this as a mulch around trees by making a circle of it and using it like a Christmas tree skirt - lay it around the tree and then put a pebble layer over that - it keeps out some of the slugs and keeps in the water and it also gives a good mow around area for the trees - makes life easier if you have to mow.
Next time you have a bad carpet experience - turn it into a good one by reusing it in the garden!
Happy Fall!