Plastic sheeting as weed suppressant

14 Apr '07 1:34 am

hello,jack ,just read all the replies by gee we have some smart cookies on this site ,personally i have tried weed mat ,its ok untill the soil on top gets weed seeds in it the plastic is horrible ,i like the thick paper bit when there is a lot of digging to be done usaly i compost the newspaper under clippings , unless i am specifically covering an area,i am using mushroom compost at present it has a lot of sugar cane pulp in it,,i was thinking of putting some carpet down around my trees as a weed mat and moisture control,just have to watch the pattern does not clash Laughing

maybe your mum would like that Wink

23 May '07 9:52 pm

dear jack i have only just read all the magnificent ladies mail,i agree i found that weed mats the seed lands on the top so you have weeds growing on top ,plastic kills under the best i found apart from newspaper for weeds , here it comessawdust if you can get to a sawmill ,i would cover the ground quite thickly [this is good for vegs also] and the next year dig it in start again i also planted garlic beside each rose this stopped aphids, good luck Rolling Eyes

24 May '07 3:01 pm

I do landscaping and I can tell you from first hand experience that it is worthless. The weeds grow under it and on top of it.
I have removed more paper, plastic and whatever people have used as a weed or grass suppressant, and can tell you that the weeds laugh at it.
I found that removing said shield becomes hard as well because the roots of the weeds grow thru it. At this point it rips or shreds and makes a mess and you fight with it like a college wrestler with his girlfriend watching. Ive had more luck with Dimension or Preen...and chemicals arent everyones cup of tea but we use them alot in the landscaping world. They work! Ive got Dimension in my rose bed and blessedly weed grass and icky free.

Angela

See the weedX under the rose? look at the state of this bed...it was killing this A Shropshire Lad...

25 May '07 1:25 pm

I've often read this thread as it has grown but withheld comment. Personally, I just hate seeing the plastic showing through and I agree with everything CajunAnnie said about what a chore it is to remove later because I did do that a long timie ago. I know paper is better than plastic, but for my pathes I've used the landscape cloth under an inch of decomposed granite. A number of plants (especially Weeping Mexican grass and New Zealand Wind grass) like to start seed in this stuff but they aren't able to thrive and are easily plucked out. Other weeds also will get started but never become fully established. (Of course, who knows if they would eventually succeed if I didn't give them all the boot regularly enough.)

Cajun, I wonder what you've found to work the best for gravel surfaces. My entryway gardeen is 3/8ths ginger and gold gravel pounded flat over plane ground also pounded flat, and I pretty much just weed everything out a couple times a year. I'm a little leary of using longer lasting defoliants for fear of unintended victoms if nearby rose, perenniels and trees should have or put out feeder roots in the area. I don't use any pesticides because I've decided to put my money on drawing in enough benificials to keep things in balance, but I'm open to defoliants to avoid all that weeding. I think you would say go for it. Is there any need to worry about unintended victoms?

25 May '07 6:24 pm

Mark,

Have you thought of using a torch, like a "Bernzomatic" to burn the weeds off pathways? Since they would always be small weeds, it shouldn't take long to do that and you'd probably only have to do it once or twice a season. I can't do that because my paths are all wood chips, but with gravel it should work.

-gordonf

26 May '07 1:35 am

I'd read somewhere about these but have never found one in any store. The one I read about looked like a plumber's torch on a pole with a remote switch. Do you know of any major chain stores that sell it? (I'll try googlint it.) Thanks Gordon

26 May '07 11:27 am

Im wondering the same thing, torches would be ideal if it dosnt scorch the rock. Ive used Over the top but not near roses, there is a list of plants that you can and cant use it around. Dimenson is good chemical and you can water it in and it helps keep the clover nut grass and those darn shamrocks that I detest from coming in. Rock seems to smother well if you put as you did over planed ground with the cloth. They have a much thicker tarp now and Ive been doing that WITH the Dimension under the rocks...over kill?

26 May '07 11:52 am

I've seen the new, thicker landscape cloth too and have wished it was around when I laid my paths. Oh well, that may need redoing some day anyhow. I'm not sure I'd want it under the gravel though. I'm not using any barier there now because I know it would become exposed and ugly. Everytime I open the gate my dogs take off like greyhounds, spraying gravel up behind them and onto the paver driveway. They rarely saunter. Everytime they hear a squirrel or someone passing by they take off with a spray of gravel. I don't mind sweeping it back into the gravel entryway, but I wouldn't want to see the cloth exposed. I think I'll start reading some defoliant labels.

26 May '07 12:18 pm

Sorry about that. I'm usually only bad with names in person where I can be thoroughly embarrassed.

Here are some photos of the gravel courtyard you pass through coming into my garden. The gravel transitions from pavers at the end of the driveway, to the circle lawn at one end, and to an area of concrete slabs reused from demolition at my school when they retrofitted for earthquake safety.

26 May '07 5:24 pm

Hi, Mark;

Great pictures! Your garden looks really inviting to visit!

As for the torch idea, all I meant was one of those little, hand-held gas torches that are used for small soldering jobs by do-it-yourselfers. As far as I know, they're available in most hardware stores. Just ask at the counter, perhaps give a description, and I'm sure they'll steer you in the right direction. Somewhere (in an American magazine, I think) I've seen ones advertised that were especially designed for killing weeds in driveways, etc. Since you live near San Francisco, try a very large garden centre - they might be able to steer you towards one. Good luck! Very Happy

gordonf

Plastic sheeting as weed suppressant

weed mat

weeds ahhh

Weed X, Tarp,Plastic...BAH

Hey Jack, you still following this?

Clearing Weeds from Paths

Where can you get a Bernzomatic?

Thanks CajunAnne,

Oops, that's Angela! Where did I get Annie from?

Torches