Allotments 4 All

I have just received  BLACK WEED MULCH MATERIAL /GROUND COVER 1.5M X100M , i covered a jam jar with the material and secured it with an elastic band 4 hours later none of the water had passed though the material, which suggests it does not allow water though as was stated when i brought it, my question is, should BLACK WEED MULCH MATERIAL allow water in?

bajmoe

I thought all weed control membranes were semi permeable apart from the black polythene type, but confess I have never tested it as you have!

Suggest you check the packaging, and contact the manufacturer/supplier for details if it does not say.

Even if it's a woven material (which many of them are), if you've stretched it across the mouth of the jar, it may have become watertight.  Try loosening the band so that the material is a bit rumpled as it would be if laid on the ground.

jam jar still full of water, so i cut a metre square and put it on the ground then put the hose on it for ten minutes then lifted the material, bone dry underneath, can't see that being any good on the allotment if the water can't get to the soil!

it's not polythene

no packaging got it off ebay, supplier says it does let water in!

bajmoe

I dont know how things work re returns on ebay but i suspect their sold as seen,in which  case someones passed on a dud batch.   :-[

Distance selling regulations apply on eBay, irrespective of what the vendor might have on his page. You are entitled to return things which are not as described and, if you paid through Paypal, get your money back, including postage. The community boards have people who will help if you have problems.

I lifted up my black weed mulch material at the allotment the other day to dig and the soil was moist underneath.

If it's this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BLACK-WEED-MULCH-MATERIAL-GROUND-COVER-1-5M-X100M_W0QQitemZ310056790426QQihZ021QQcategoryZ75584QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

then the listing doesn't say that it's permeable - indeed it says that it "AIDS THE SOIL IN RETAINING VALUABLE WATER" which suggests that it's primarily a weed suppressant for use under paths and shrubberies.

I know that the seller says that it's good for the vegetable patch, but personally I'd tend to use it as a winter cover, and perhaps around fruit bushes, for example.

But if you want to grow, say, tomatoes, you'll have to install some form of watering device such as lemonade bottles with the bases removed to act as funnels.

If you have a genuine grievance then Paypal, if you used it, always sides with the buyer. You have to register a complaint within 30 days of making the payment.

Quote from: bajmoe on June 12, 2008, 13:44:13
I have just received  BLACK WEED MULCH MATERIAL /GROUND COVER 1.5M X100M , i covered a jam jar with the material and secured it with an elastic band 4 hours later none of the water had passed though the material, which suggests it does not allow water though as was stated when i brought it, my question is, should BLACK WEED MULCH MATERIAL allow water in?

bajmoe

When you start planting through the BLACK WEED MULCH MATERIAL /GROUND COVER or whatever you want to call it you will find that the water will get under it through the cross you cut to put your plants through just keep them watered until they get established then nature will do the rest,also the  BLACK WEED MULCH MATERIAL will weather over time allowing water through how long that will take I don't know but I personally wouldn't be to worried

just received a reply from the suppliers, [ Sorry for the delay in replying but we have conducted our own experiments to make sure we are not going mad. You are quite right that it seems to hold the water well, but that is due to the capillary nature of the product. In plain English, the fabric has to be laying on the ground for the water to be pulled through the matting, or, pressure in the form of stones or bark chips etc that will be laid on top of the mat will have the same effect. The water must be drawn through, or "pushed" (for want of a better word) through the mat. If you are laying this on the ground, then water will seep through the mulch ] :-\

bajmoe

Try it and see. If they're right, the ground underneath shouldn't dry out.