Plastic Ground Sheet Stuff

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Plastic Ground Sheet Stuff
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DorsetScott

Joined: 23 Oct 2011
Posts: 500
Location: Bournemouth

Posted: Thu Nov 28, 13 2:59 pm Post subject: Plastic Ground Sheet Stuff

Ok, I've tried googling but don't know if I'm being simple or using the wrong names or something.

Basically, I've seen people dig their beds in the autumn/winter and then cover them with what appears to be black plastic. I'm not talking weed control mesh stuff, I'm talking proper plastic which I'm assuming keeps the ground warmer and weeds at bay.

Does anyone know where you can get it from? If it has a name? Am I making sense?

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Thu Nov 28, 13 3:10 pm Post subject:
Try a builders merchant. As an alternative cardboard (from card board boxes) opened out then covered with manure.

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Thu Nov 28, 13 3:13 pm Post subject:
Or a farmer what that makes silage.

OtleyLad

Joined: 13 Jan 2007
Posts: 2737
Location: Otley, West Yorkshire

Posted: Thu Nov 28, 13 3:36 pm Post subject:
Is this what you are looking for? I've used it and its great - lay it now and roll it back in the spring and hey presto - no weeds! Good for taming wilder areas too. I've been putting it under gravel for paths and under wood/bark chipping on borders. It saves a lot of work. Wish I'd have done it years ago.

DorsetScott

Joined: 23 Oct 2011
Posts: 500
Location: Bournemouth

Posted: Thu Nov 28, 13 4:03 pm Post subject:

Not quite OL. I've got that stuff in my strawberry bed and thought it was probably a bit thin for what i was thinking, though it sounds like you use it succesfully exactly as I'm meaning.

I basically read about laying manure on the ground and covering it with plastic ready for the spring. As I understand it the plastic would also increase the temperatre of the ground too, hence my assumption that weed control membrane would be too thin.

Between the kids/foraging/house stuff/life at the weekends and the fact I go to work and come home from work in the dark, time is at a premium. I'm looking for the easiest way to prepare the allotment for next year without the hard work going to waste and the area weeding over again. And I have all the nasties (and ones I don't even know the names of) in my plot, it will weed over

OtleyLad

Joined: 13 Jan 2007
Posts: 2737
Location: Otley, West Yorkshire

Posted: Thu Nov 28, 13 4:10 pm Post subject:
It's thick enough that a single layer (if held down with something-I use a few bricks/stones) kills off all the weeds in just a few months. I put it on on area that had really thick turf that had been there for years and years - when I rolled back the sheeting there was nothing but bare earth.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46369
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Nov 28, 13 4:31 pm Post subject:
if you use manure and clear plastic the heat and damp kills most weeds,never tried black as carpet was free

DorsetScott

Joined: 23 Oct 2011
Posts: 500
Location: Bournemouth

Posted: Thu Nov 28, 13 4:37 pm Post subject:
I'll have a look OL, if it ends up cheaper and works then I'll give it a go. dpack, we're not allowed carpet at my allotment so I need the colour

Went

Joined: 19 Mar 2006
Posts: 6968

Posted: Thu Nov 28, 13 4:53 pm Post subject:
Look out for cheap offers on pond liner - most is quite thick and would last longer than basic 2m wide plastic. End of rolls and such they sometimes reduce drastically. Depends how big it is and how much you need?

roobarb

Joined: 15 Apr 2008
Posts: 139
Location: Carmarthenshire

Posted: Thu Nov 28, 13 5:19 pm Post subject:

We use black plastic to cover our beds over the winter. We got a large roll of very wide (possibly 10mx100m) from a nursery which was closing down, so I suspect you could try specialist horticulture suppliers. Otherwise try the builders merchant, as some types of damp proof membrane are just like thick black plastic. I've used the same piece of plastic now for 5 years, as it's so strong, so worth the investment. I would also add the the stuff that farmers wrap silage bales in isn't much good as its fairly narrow, thin and is sort of sticky (a bit like clingfilm) so not easy to work with in the garden.

Woodburner

Joined: 28 Apr 2006
Posts: 2904
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Nov 28, 13 8:00 pm Post subject:

I use cardboard. Needs replenishing in a wet winter, but it's free, and adds to organic matter in the soil.
I have also used plastic sheet to good effect in the past, but check how lightproof it is. (Binliners are no use.) Same with permeable mulch sheeting, rarely is it thick enough to be used without additional mulch. (eta The woven type might be better, haven't tried it but it is definitely tougher/more durable.)
Pondliner offcuts are awsome, especially if it's to go over rough weeds. Nettle stems and bits of brambles make holes in the plastic garden sheeting.

onemanband

Joined: 26 Dec 2010
Posts: 1473
Location: NCA90

Posted: Thu Nov 28, 13 8:30 pm Post subject:
What did people cover veg plots with pre-cardboard and plastic ? Did they just do more digging/weeding ?

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16105

Posted: Thu Nov 28, 13 10:18 pm Post subject:

There is very wide black plastic sheeting available. We have used it to cover a log store, and it is now covering a pile of split logs. Think it comes in something like 100x20m or something like that. It is designed for putting on fields for growing strawberries and similar through. We got ours at a sort of agricultural supplier. It was on the log store (I'm talking about 100 cu m capacity) for several years and is now over a pile of split timber and still going strong. Got slightly damaged here and there, but withstood gales, snow and the odd log hitting it.

gregotyn

Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area

Posted: Fri Nov 29, 13 3:46 pm Post subject:

You are right when you say not the weed control stuff, but the black plastic can be used as just that over winter or after a spring dig for later cropping-later sown winter eg. veg.etc. But I used it to allow my ground to warm up earlier in the spring but I then used to put a cloche over the top of the black plastic!; reason being that the black plastic would absorb the heat of the day through the cloche and onto the black plastic and subsequentially into the soil. As the day cools down the heat tries to go the other way but the black plastic and the cloche slow down the rate of loss, and so the ground heats up quicker and earlier than by being left to its own devices! that's the theory- in practice it worked for me well when I was gardening a sandy 'Bridgnorth Series' soil. and I was able to plant my early spuds in early February way before those who didn't use the technique
The sight of a log 'thrashing' plastic sheeting amused me MR-Monty Pythonesque-sorry.

pollyanna

Joined: 03 Nov 2012
Posts: 221

Posted: Fri Nov 29, 13 4:38 pm Post subject:
The plastic you need is silage clamp black plastic. Comes in different gauges and sheet sizes.

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