I won't comment on whether or not the fabric needs to be taken up; that is a personal preference.
I swear by the Preen Contractor grade landscape fabric that I purchase at Sam's Club. See here:
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/p...
I have just recently pulled up the same landscape fabric from my previous garden/yard and it looks as new as the day it was installed. This stuff is thicker than regular 'consumer grade' and is well worth the money. I normally use a double layer to make sure that weeds do not creep up from the bottom.
