Topic: Covering with Cardboard over winter

[schmelda]

I'm in the process of thinking ahead to the winter months, and next spring.  I was a little on the back foot this spring because the ground that I had cleared in the autumn sprouted with weeds before I got a chance to get veggies in the ground.  My clay had baked solid, which made weeding and hoeing nigh on impossible.   :-\

I'm thinking that this year I will cover what I don't have in use as much as I can.  I have some black plastic which will do some of the job, but I was thinking of giving cardboard a go too - see which works better for me.  Now, my question is, what sort of cardboard should I use, and is it's the really big stuff, where do you all get it from?

[Deb P]

I've used this method myself with good results. I used flattened boxes that had been used to pack a kitchen in, but have also scrounged boxes from a local supermarket and timber yard. I used them to cover weedy ground, overlapped the cardboard, watered it on a still day preferably then covered the cardboard with mushroom compost, my lottie compost or manure and then planted on top of it in the spring.

[artichoke]

I have used lots of cardboard, the main problem being that it looks so depressing and tears and blows about however carefully you weigh it down.

Over the years I have collected tarpaulins wherever I have found them cheap enough, and that is my current covering method, weighed down with carefully arranged planks of wood.

[Uncle Ted]

I have for the past few years entirely covered my allotment with plastic, which has successfully suppressed the weeds, however, this year we were plagued with the dreaded 'flea beetle'.  Is that a coincidence? Is it a myth, or, is it not a myth that covering you ground with anything insulates it and stops the frost killing of bugs/eggs/pests?

[newspud9]

I've always found black plastic covering to be more effective than cardboard...if there's even a short spell of warmer weather, I find weeds will find a foothold(?) if you're using only cardboard.  I was once lucky enough to get hold of what looked like a roll of damp-course heavy plastic and it's proved the best thing ever.

[delboy]

Big sheets of cardboard with semi-rotted stable manure on top.

Big sheets from: bike shops/white goods shops/shoe shops(strangely)

[elvis2003]

why do you cover? we never do and its always fine,cant stand the sight of it actually. am guessing you all have good reasons for doing so but what are they?

[Digeroo]

My plot neighbour has huge rolls of plastic, have to say it was impressive.  They would come along unroll a portion and plant something.  Seemed to save a lot of preparation. 

However it did not subsequently suppress weeds in fact they seemed to have even more than everyone else.   

[cambourne7]

My allotment was on a hill in the middle of a country park i made some raised beds and in the winter the plan was to cover in manure and black membrane i did try black plastic but it just pooled water on the top and leaves blown on the top rotted and caused plants to grow on the top :(

When i moved and gave my allotment up i started growing veg at home not got to the point of making raised beds yet but i have already popped most of the beds down for the winter as its been such a bad year. I have clay soil here so i know what you mean about it being rock hard. I was going to dig the beds over but there so water logged not had a chance so gave up i have them covered in black membrane which lets the water thorough but will surpress the weeds have bought a couple of bags of soli the plan is to uncover surface plant and add some top soil this year which gets around the whole digging side of things. This time next year i have ear marked for the raised beds and as there going up 2 ft i don't want to do 2 much soil preparation at the moment.

Have you considered just spraying and then covering in black membrane???
Cardboard is good but its not going to do a lot for the soil so depending on what your planning to grow next year you could put down some manure and leave it for 4 months to break down even covered it will help condition the soil and make it easier to dig next year?? some crops don't like it so you might also want to consider spent hops etc.??

[Kea]

Covering with cardboard works if you water the cardboard and weigh it down. I get boxes from the DIY shop nice big ones but don't get fancy ones with pictures and shiny coatings. When the growing season starts move them to your compost heap along with the slugs hanging onto the bottom.

A good alternative is a green manure.

[schmelda]

I tried green manure last year, but once it was time to dig it over, the ground had gone rock hard again  :-X I had to chop it down to stop it going to seed, and dig it up a while later after it had rained!

I do have black plastic already, and am very pleased with the results.  I'll try to get hold of a few large boxes too, and see how I get on with those.  I like to try things out!

My reason for covering is that I am pretty much surrounded by uncultivated land - 2 sides will never be (I'm on the end) and 1 side is a plot which isn't being used at present (hopefully I'll get a neighbour soon!)  This means I am being bombarded by grass and weed seed, as well as bind weed.  I'm struggling to keep on top of it at the moment, and every spring sees weeds spring up a few weeks before I have plants ready to go in.  If I can prevent (or at least limit) that then I will be happy  ;D

[Strawberrygirl]

Hi everyone,
We have recently taken over an existing plot that hasn't been worked in over a year.  It is a large site, one half was full over annual weeds which were about 5 foot tall, and the other end was a mix of bind weed, ground elder and grasses with very long root systems.  We have dug over about 80% of the site and are now covering for the winter. We have put in two raised beds, one we have laid with cardboard and then compost and topsoil (we have planted a few bits to see if we get any return this season), and the other we have just filled with the existing soil and covered with cardboard which is pinned down with a chicken wire panel.   The rest of the site is now covered with a mix of cardboard, weed membrane and tarpulin - all held down with planks of wood, bricks and some old chicken wire panels left from previous owner (this is necessary due to local foxes constantly digging!).  It does look a bit of a mess at the moment but we need to do this to try and keep the weeds at bay, although i can already see bind weed trying to push its way through.    We are going to lift the tarpulin and weed surpressant in the Autumn and cover the whole area with manure and then hopefully in the spring it'll be in tip top condition - fingers crossed  :)

[delboy]

To help reduce leaching.
To keep weed seeds off
To inhibit and weaken weeds already in situ.
The cardboard is biodegradable - plastic is not.
The cardboard allows the goodness from the manure through to the soil as it degrades - plastic is impermeable
Pedantic.