Topic: Mulches for Weed Suppression

[Cat]

Hi everyone,

This is a silly question but here goes (I need reassurance)!

Do I need to strim the weeds on my plot prior to adding a mulch over the top?  Or can I just cover the lot and leave it?

What is best to do?

What is the best mulch?  I have read about carpet, black membrane, cardboard.

Thanks

Cat

[supersprout]

Hi Cat ;) this topic has had plenty of airing as you can imagine! Worth doing a search on 'mulch'. I like the 'lazy sod' (aka Lasagne) method, which creates instant beds:
1. Strim or roundup if the weeds are taller than (say) a meadow or if they are about to seed
2. Mark out beds
3. Cover beds in whatever you have - compost, manure, spent hops, kitchen waste, lawn mowings, cardboard ...
4. Lift the sods at the side of the beds and fold them over at the sides, earth side up (like a turf)
5. Fill in any gap down the middle of your new bed with whatever you have again til it is flat ...
6. Cover with black plastic, thick newspaper or cardboard. If you use cardboard you can mulch over the top.
7. Plant seedlings into holes straight away, or plant seeds in soil in a card gutter and bung it into a slit in the bed cover when the seeds are growing away!

I tried this for a laugh on the plot I got as wasteland in May, but was forced to eat my hat ::). I have used this for spuds, leeks and broccoli and they seem fine so if you don't fancy digging for England I'd recommend giving it a try  ;D

[bupster]

Carpet can have nasty chemicals and it's a right sod to get up again. Weed suppressant membrane from garden centres also lets moisture through, unlike black plastic, but it's usually around £1 per sq m which can get expensive, and it doesn't last as long as the other stuff. Except cardboard, which rots into the ground.

I should just get whatever's convenient to you. I'm going to try lazy sod methods in the spring, but because my plot was rotavated the soil's too loose to use as turfs (turves?) at the moment. So a third of my plot is cut-down brambles to be dug over in the winter, and of the remainder there's some already under cultivation, some sown to ryegrass (which seems to be keeping the rest of the weeds down a bit and can be dug under if I want to as a green manure) and there's some under weed suppressant, because it's light and I could carry it to the plot in a rucksack.

There's no absolute 'right' way to do it, it's different according to individual circumstances. Just take it a bit at a time and there's no point in rushing it especially at this time of year. What's the worst that can happen if you end up leaving a bit for a few months? It'll stay more or less as it is.

Good luck, enjoy yourself, and keep reminding yourself not to try to do it all at once. Long term project, long term project, etc etc :)

[supersprout]

Whatever you use, remember to weigh it down firmly cos of the gales. My neighbour covered some of his plot black plastic and I returned it to him the other day when it blew all over my plot  ;)

[wardy]

Hee hee.  I lost my fleece!  It's probably in Poland by now  ::)