Topic: My soil is full of plastic

[daninlondon]

We’re digging over a new piece of ground, which looks like it’s been abandoned for about nine years.

Somebody seems to have buried a large amount of clear plastic sheeting under two inches of topsoil. I’m not sure if this was once a fashionable gardening practice, but the plastic has now become extremely brittle and has broken up quite a bit.

I was trying to remove it this afternoon and grew depressed as the fragments became increasingly small and invisible.

Should I:

(a) stop worrying so much, and just pick out the biggest bits, as the rest will eventually disappear and turn into clay?

(b) spend silly amounts of time trying to get rid of every piece?

(c) give up and grow blackberries?

(d) report the matter to the police, as whoever buried the plastic ought to be detained under the Mental Heath Act?

[legendaryone]

Hi, do A, otherwise you will drive yourself crazy :)

[LauraB]

I'd do A. Give it a good raking and be thankful it's clear and not a bright colour  ;)

[manicscousers]

or carpet !!!, we had rotten carpet, all tangled up under the soil we were trying to turn in to beds
 do A .As long as there's soil in there, it'll grow crops, apart from carrots, you might get some funny shaped ones  ;D

[kt.]

Just pick up the pieces as you go. Dont worry if you miss some. You will get them over the years. As said previously - as long as the soil content is greater than the plastic you will still get crop.

[cornykev]

I'd go for D. Danin and call the old bill especially if your in the Forest Hill area you never know what's been buried there. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Palustris]

Do A and be grateful it is not a nice mixture of glass, crockery, scrap metal, corrugated asbestos, old batteries and barbed wire which is what we find in our garden. We dare not delve into the soil without gloves on.

[marestail murderer]

im with kev on this one...................id phone the police........................
but id also mention that the smell is terrible and you think its caused by somthing wrapped up in the plastic........................ ;D

job done................within the next hour you could have bobbies digging your plot for you........................and the crime scene tape they leave will be ok for keeping the birds off your lettuce........lol

[Rose.mary]

Why do people do this sort of thing? I also have bits of blue plastic all over, and as for carpets they are a menace as I have said quite often. It cost me the price of a skip, a lot of energy, and time, and I am still pulling bits of shag pile and threads that seem to go on for ever.

Rosemary

[kitten]

Hi dan, knowing me I'd probably do b) then a) followed by c), and upon seeing me doing all of the above my OH would call the cops and have me detained under the mental health act  :o

However, what I think you should do is a) and accept from the outset that you're not going to get it all perfect this year, and not to stress out about it.  ;)

I'm trying to adopt this philosophy, but my darned obsessive compulsive tendencies will keep creeping in and tripping me up lol.  :-X Good luck  ;D

[daninlondon]

Thanks for the replies.

I’ll try to pick out the large and obvious pieces, but for time management reasons perhaps it’s not worth getting it all out.

I have to say, I’m mightily glad I don’t have old batteries and asbestos in my soil.

[cornykev]

Good job you've got no batteries Dani or the police may want to  charge  you.  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Blue Bird]

Really enjoyed reading all the above -  needed to be cheered up and you have all done that  :D  well done ;D ;D ;D ;D

[louise stella]

im with kev on this one...................id phone the police........................
but id also mention that the smell is terrible and you think its caused by somthing wrapped up in the plastic........................ ;D

job done................within the next hour you could have bobbies digging your plot for you........................and the crime scene tape they leave will be ok for keeping the birds off your lettuce........lol

OOOh I like you thinking!!!!!

I hope you get things sorted out!

Louise