Planting through weed suppressant fabric

[vaca]

Hello

I've managed to finally dig over my entire plot, but unfortunately I've not managed to get rid of all the perennial weeds as I'd intended. I've had the entire plot covered with black polythene sheeting for several months which worked a treat in keeping weeds at bay, but now, as planting seasons starts, I'm thinking of laying down weed suppressing fabric over the entire plot and plant through it (some parts of the plot are quite infested with couch...)

I've got a couple of questions as to how I should go about planting through the fabric. For plants grown on modules I'm just going to cut through the sheet and transplant them into the holes - no problems there.

What do I do about planting veg such as carrots which are sown directly on the ground? How do I go about accomplishing this through the sheeting? Should I just cut long slits in the fabric to match the rows I want to sow? anyone have any useful tips to ensure the plants don't get stuck under the sheeting and end up dead like the weeds? what about potatoes? can these be planted through the sheeting in the same way as seedlings? any advice would be very welcome.

Thanks,
vaca

[vaca]

[Mimi]

Sounds like a lot of hassle to be honest.  I would think that a good digging and rooting out of the couch grass would be much better.  If you have a heavy infestation then all that will happen is it will run along to the slits you have made for your crops and come up there.   The weed suppressant fabric will not kill it off.   I never tried it (apart from the strawberry bed where it did work) but I think that it would be more work than its worth.  Thats my twopenny worth anyway.. I'm sure someone else will be along with a better idea soon ;)  ;D

[SiWard]

Hi Vaca, I have similar ideas to yours.  I want to use the fabric to limit weeding as much as possible.  I just dont have the time available to keep the weeds at bay.  I have however resigned myself to having to weed the carrots and similar.  Though I will use the membrane and possibly bark mulch to within a few inches of the row.  Good luck  :)

[sandersj89]

I covered a section of my plot last year with woven weed fabric and cut crosses in this to plant courgette, marrow, squash and toms. The ground underneath had not been dug for many years. I simply dug out a hole through the slots and back filled with manure and planted the plants.

The results were very good but you do get some weed growth at the base of the plants around the edges of the cuts.

For sowing rows of stuff I don’t think it would work, the weeds will get enough light and will grow out of the slits I am afraid. Especially things like bindweed which will travel a fair bit under the fabric to seek out light.

HTH

Jerry

[John_H]

I've never tried weed surpressing fabric, but I find a combination of straw and grass clippings is dirt cheap and works really well for me. One book suggests using transplants grown in  old throw away coffee cups and digging out the final planting holes with one of those metal bulb planters.

For direct planting of small root crops, I cut a 'V' shaped trench and fill it with potting compost, then plant the seeds in that. The sterile compost is less likely to have weed seeds growing in it so there is less weeding close up to the seedlings. Further away from the rows you can just hoe the weed seedlings off.

[SiWard]

John, thanks for tip.  I can see planting in a little potting compost can save lots of time in the delicate weeding around plants. Allowing hopefully just a quick how up and down the rows.  Thanks again  ;D

[supersprout]

hi vaca, another point of view  :D
I took over the usual cooch-infested plot in May last year, measured out the beds, and covered two thirds of the plot in a thick layer of manure/compost, then black plastic. I anchored the black plastic down VERY carefully, and dug in the edges where I could.


Through holes in the black plastic I grew large plants:
Leeks


Broccoli
Cabbage
Potatoes
Squash
... and left some bare.

A few twists of cooch found their way to the edge of the holes, and I pulled them out. In the meantime, I dug the rest of the beds and grew late peas, beans, and beet, and did lots of mulching. Over the growing season, when I could, would peel back the black plastic from one bare bed and carefully de-cooch the new bed and plant more veg. Thanks to the black plastic, the weeds were under control, and definitely weakened when I came to dig them, the earthworms were getting busy underneath, and I got crops :D

And finally ...

One bed was carefully dug, de-cooched, manured/composted, and planted with broccoli, next to the one not dug and planted through black plastic. Ditto leeks.

There is no difference at all in the quality of the broccoli or leeks in either bed. I love black plastic, it's helped me take the allotment at my own pace.