Allotments 4 All
Allotment Stuff => The Basics => Topic started by: merv on November 03, 2003, 19:31:17
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Hiya, :)
Peeps I see, the first thing they do is cover as much of their plot with carpet/black plastic.
When it is lifted, instead of being as smooth and sweet as a baby's bottom....ermmm prolly not bottom...umm...baby's face, it's like a witch's cauldron of white wormy weeds and slugs by the bucket load (and not a Frog in site).
"Oh aye, kept t' weeds down a treat"
"yuppers says I...they've all spread sidewise."
I have only used carpet to keep the Compost Pits warm and snug, and don't seem to a have any more weeds than them as have Wall to Wall.
Am I missing something? or is this carpet thing a hangover from the past?
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Not to carpet! Definately an out of date practise...well in my opinion....don't wanna offend :-/ Black plastic is another thing I think is odd - surely you want the air to get at the ground. ???
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Aye - it's a bit like slug pellets. Tell your neighbour it's a wonderful idea - and your neighbour will keep the slugs happy! ;D
All best - Gavin
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Good idea Gavin.....*snerk*
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so DONT carpet or Tarp at all ?!?!?
Most of the lotties round us have !
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Like it Gavin ;D ;D ;D
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- where the hell do people keep getting carpets from?
And have you ever tried to lift a big one - slugs and all - on a wet but frosty day? Superhuman?
And where do you store it? Or how do you get it to the tip? And would they take it? Never tried, as you may guess! = Tim
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I black plasticked a lot of my lottie in september when I first got my plot, after hoeing it all down - reasons for doing so - a. not enough time to dig out every bit of perennial weed and plant stuff and b. my soil is like oatmeal - very fine and very over-cultivated and not a lot of structure, so my feeling was that doing yet more digging pre-frosts would damage the structure further. I weighted down plastic around the edges to exclude light. Soil has done fine - no massive slug invasion or slimy soil - but I can see on clay soils it could cause problems
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I have taken a 'full' plot as opposed to 1/2. It being easier to give half up if too much, than to get half back once given up. So, what I need to know is how do I stop weeds spreading on one half, whilst working on the other? :-/ had thought of laying a covering of seaweed then covering with carpet or something else. Any other good suggestions?
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I use Big tarpaulin sheets from our local pound shop Mimi, has the advantage of keeping the area I am working on at the moment dryer too!
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here's my experience:
I got my plot early Autumn and did the carpet thing. Scavenged loads of carpets from skips outside carpet shops (with permission of course!). Plot was covered with weeds- mainly couch grass,dandelions and the odd bit of mare's tail (or horse tail- can't remember the difference).Had the carpet down for for about 4-5 weeks before removing to dig. Didn't find a single slug hiding underneath. On balance, am glad I did it- it did help kill the weeds and make it easier to dig but admit it was a lot of work dragging the carpets to and fro....but luckily another plot holder wanted them when I had finished with them -but they are really heavy when wet and not nice to handle. I see it as a one-off- as long as I keep on top of the weeding throughout the year, not planning to use again.
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How about a green manure instead? Too late for this year but you could try a winter 'crop' (eg fieldbeans or mustard) to protect the ground reduce weeds and can be dug in to improve ths soil in spring.
Not much good though for anexisting pernicious weed problem. Dont know what the answer thereis other than hours of hard diging to remove them (or chemicals - yuk).
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We have loads of old discarded carpet under the soil near our shed and I can tell you .... its a bloody nightmare....to rotten to pull out..too intact to dig thru.
All for what ? nothing that Black Plastic cannot achieve
Please stop using carpet...unless for walkways its not big or clever.
:'(