pickupguy07
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Posts: 253
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 7:06 pm
Location: GA

Gardening.. putting down plastic.

I was curious if any of you have done (or saw) folks put down plastic all in their garden to keep weeds out.
As we all know weeds grow all around the plants as the veggies grow. Tomatoes, cucumbers, watermellons, and especially brussel sprouts, and broccoli (at least in my case)
Dad told me that he saw up in a lot of the nursuries just put down plastic to keep weeks out of everything.

Curious if anyone had done this in their own person gardens.
Did you use clear plastic or black plastic...
I sure would love to NOT have to dal with all the weeds all over the place, and it would make it much easier to get in and pick the veggies.
Wanted some input..
Thanks
CT

albucsfan
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Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 12:20 pm
Location: North Alabama

Haven't tried plastic, but have had great success with newspaper covered with mulch....wanted to put down something I would have to worry about pulling back up...newspaper about 4-6 sheets thick and then covered with leaves or grass clipping...cut the wees WAY down :D

DoubleDogFarm
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You may try the Search the Forum above. Plastic has been covered. :P

I had black plastic on a raised bed of strawberries. It did warm the soil and this row was probably about two weeks ahead of my other row. I just couldn't handle the looks of it, so I ripped it all out.

One thing I did wrong. I applied the plastic after the plants were in. This left a slit all the way down the row, so some weeds came up. It would be better to lay the plastic over a fresh bed and bury all four edges in trenches. Keeping it flat and smooth. Know cut X's in the plastic for the plants. I also used solid plastic, mistake number two. It would have been ok with drip or soaker hose underneath, but I use overhead sprinklers. So If I attempt this again, I would use woven plastic weed barrier or road fabric. Water flows through.

This is what I really think. Plastic has no nutrient value. Cardboard, paper, hey, straw, pulled weeds, prunings all can be used for weed suppression and builds soil. :D

The holes in the plastic the first year, may not be in the right locations for the next. So the plastic just gets in the way. Cardboard, paper, biodegradable plastics will disappear by the next planting.

Eric
Last edited by DoubleDogFarm on Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:50 am, edited 3 times in total.

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rainbowgardener
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What DDF said. Also plastic is good if what you want is to heat up your soil. For most of us in summer, that isn't what we want. The mulches help keep the soil cool. Plastic isn't breathable, that is it shuts out air and water from your soil, also not a good thing.

They make landscape fabric that is woven with pores, so that it does let air and water through, specifically for weed suppression. But the experience of many of us is that the landscape fabric does a great job the first season. After that the pores gradually relax and weeds start being able to grow through it. Then it's a big mess, because you have weeds, but because they are entangled in the fabric you can't pull them. Then you end up ripping up the fabric you spent money on and time laying down.

Stick with the organic mulches!

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gixxerific
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Location: Wentzville, MO (Just West oF St. Louis) Zone 5B

I'm with DDF and Rainbow.

Adding to what Rainbow said I like just organic mulch it keeps down weeds and adds to the soil. As she was saying the landscaping fabric will work for now but after you dirt and maybe mulch gets thrown on top than weeds will appear anyways I have been ripping out the fabric around my trees for a while. It doesn't do any good other than keeping my dog busy digging holes trying to rip it up herself. :lol:

Some people use plastic I don't see the point.

The Mad Hatter
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Posts: 165
Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2010 12:49 pm
Location: Lincoln Nebraska

The only place I use any type of man made weed barrier is around the outside of the garden that I use as a walkway and that comes up at the end of the year.

This year I experimented with the brown paper weed barrier from Menards. I did not like this either. It would not lay flat, once it was wet it got soggy and the wind scattered it everywhere.

Do yourself a favor as the others have advised. Six to eight layers of newspaper then eight inches of grass clippings. Make sure you have no weed killers in your clippings if neighbors donate to you.

Newspapers + grass clippings + weeding where needefd = WIN!

T.M.H.

mattie g
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Location: Northern VA, USA -- Zone 7a

I didn't bother with any weed mat in my garden - I just weeded first and then mulched everything thickly. A few have popped up here and there, but overall it's really weed-free.

I did put weed mat down in the gravel paths that go through the garden, though. They're working pretty well.

pickupguy07
Senior Member
Posts: 253
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 7:06 pm
Location: GA

Thanks for the suggestions...
Never considered putting down paper and covering it with something (although I did put down paper and covered it with straw along the edges of my garden to keep down grass
NO IDEA why I didn't consider this option to use IN the garden.
(As you'll all find out.. sometimes I miss the obvious.. I had brain damage about 13 years ago and almost died.. so it's not unusual to miss something easy or obvious.

SO in any event I am thinking now I can put down the paper, and put straw on top of that. That option sounds pretty good IMO. From spring to fall... it should decompose enough that I can till it all into the garden come Fall. (I am thinking)

I have the landscape fabric around my plants/flowers all around the house, and put wood shavings all over it to keep it moist. after a few years it 'gives up' and you have to rip it out (and like someone said the weeds have grown through, etc etc. too much work there
Thanks for the ideas.. feel free to post other thoughts.

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rootsy
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Location: Litchfield, Michigan

If you are going to use a plastic mulch you MUST put an irrigation system beneath it. Period.

On a small scale, where you have time to weed it is probably cost prohibitive and a PITA. On a large scale it is the only way to fly but isn't "cheap" and requires some special machinery.



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