Hi all
seems like all newbies are excited and I am no exception! I've just got a half plot which is great! BUT it is covered with grass and other unwelcome plants, and is very bumpy. I want to water a systemic weedkiller on most of it then cover that area with black plastic for 3 months (I will work the rest with the aim of producing SOMETHING this year!). Does anyone know where I can get a large amount of plastic sheeting - I can't find it in garden centre websites or builder supplies....would appreciate some tips!
Thanks
Laurence
If youre going to cover you dont need the weedkiller. Just cover with whatever you can get your hands on plastic, carboard, weed membrane, tarpaulins etc. That way you dont poison your soil. If you have to use a systemic weedkiller dont cover it, the weeds need to keep on growing for the weedkiller to get down to the roots.
I got some black plastic sheeting from this site:
www.allplas.co.uk
go onto ebay and search SILAGE SHEET.
or google it.
huge weather resistant lumps of black plastic up to 20m x 50m .
Saw mills have very large sheeting that their wood comes covered in, aprox 2-3mtrs by 7-8mtrs. My local ones give it to me for free and it lasts year after year. Worth a try.
Quote from: AdeTheSpade on April 16, 2010, 23:21:19
I got some black plastic sheeting from this site:
www.allplas.co.uk
that's where I got mine too. Remember some things can be planted through the plastic, like squash, pots...
Presumed you have tried B&Q ?
When I got my plot I bought the damp proof sheeting from there. I'm still moving it round my plot :P
If you are going to use systemic weedkiller you musn't cover them as you plants need to be actively growing to distribute the weedkiller around whole plant..once you weeds have died..then cover with plastic as this prevent any new seeds that are now exposed to the light from germinating..
so kill first..and plastic later.. ;)..and that gives you couple of weeks time to find yourself a bargain plastic sheet.. ;D
uppsie...just noticed that weequinie explained it allready..hopefully message will reach you now.....
..things like bindweed and docks wonn't die even under plastic though...
Poundstretcher has breathable black eedkiller fabric for £2.99 or 2 for £5.
Dont use black plastic. Your weedkiller needs the plant to try and grow, it then weakens and the weedkiller is drawn into the roots. The systemic action will not take place if covered in black plastic. I guess you are thinking of using Roundup, if so you will usually see signs of yellowing after 7 to 10 days. The weeds need to be left alone at least that long for the systemic action to work, after that time, so long as you can see signs of it working, you can work the soil. This is what farmers do all the time. 8)
WOW! Thanks all for your replies! ;D will remove that black plastic ASAP!!! Also thanks for the tip about bindweed ...don't think there's any on the plot but it is in my back garden and I battle it year after year. Basically I just manage to keep it down by regularly pulling it out and at times spraying with weedkiller. A fellow allotment holder thought there was horsetail on the plot, and apparently that's hard to get rid of too as it has long roots? some weeds are OK I guess I will just control them so long as I have space for what I WANT to grow! - don't want to be spraying TOO much...now have a promise of a rotavator so will use that in a couple of weeks, albeit a bit paranoid that it will chop up hardy roots and sow them everywhere!
nah, the rotavator will be fine if you have done the glyphosate - which I truly recommend. Takes at least 10 days to run right through the plany though so plan accordingly as you need the roots to be dead. So, if you get on it right away, you will have tons of time to grow just about anything.
Oh..the bindweed you have to leave it to grow to a good size and then spray/hand stroke it..more top growth and further down the chemical travel..if you try to spray it when it is still small you only deal with few inches of the root and rest just re- grow back... ::)
Well it depends on your choice, I use absolutely no weedkiller, ever, as I don't fancy much eating it. Rant over.
Why would you use weedkiller of you are covering it? cover properly and you will have nothing under it after a few weeks.
I cover with thick cardboard followed by tarps. That works a treat. I too seem to have trouble getting that thick builders plastic!
I got a 50m roll from a farmers wholesale cant remember the width but its bloody wide covered the whole plot with it when i first got it and use it to cover me beds during the year its still going and this is me 5Th year, cost me £50. ;D
Laurence, I'd strim/mow the growth down as short as I could and just dig it with a fork - it'll take a few weeks to dig it all and you'll need to keep strimming/mowing, but just that will weaken most of the weed growth. I wouldn't even bother to pull anything out as I dug, no weed roots, nothing. Just that will kill pretty much everything but couch grass - do you have couch grass? Then I'd plant potatoes, trailing marrows, courgettes, runner beans, sweetcorn which out-compete most weeds, and I'd just pull the worst of the weeds out if they started to compete - and not many do. The rest of the ground I'd leave for a month or so and then I'd dig it through again making a bit of an effort to pull out the weeds this time.
You'll get crops this year, and by next year after an autumn dig it'll be pretty much weed-free - all without the fuss and expens of plastic sheet or the dubious application of chemical weedkiller.
If you are going to cover I would recommend buying some decent quality weed supressant matting. The cheap stuff just falls apart after the sun has been beating down on it. Try screwfix.com.
Or you could save your cash. Cover with [free] cardboard and plant through it as you go. Pull any weeds that grow around the card and you will help to add organic material to your plot as the card rots down.