black plastic sheeting

Hi,

Is there a source for inexpensive black plastic sheeting or would it be smarter to get plastic bags on a roll and use that to cover my raised veggie beds to kill out the volunteers and weeds over the winter?

Also... would it be good to put compost and/or manure and/or leaves under that plastic to amend the soil for next year?

maple leaves...

Thanks,

Janie
<{{{><

should be able to find black plastic on a roll at your hardware store or walmart like the clear plastic. If you are just using it to kill weeds, try carpeting. Trash can at the back of the rug store works great for me. I sometimes think I want to carpet the whole place! For white plastic, think mobile home sellers. They use it when moving 1/2 houses down the hyway.

How about a cover crop? Dee

you can get black plastic from a garden supply store in most any width.
we use black plastic on melons, tomatoes, strawberries.
warms up soil faster in Spring, keeps weeds down, helps hold moisture around the plants, & most of all speeds up harvest time.
clear plastic does allow weeds to grow.
Don

I've yet to find anyone selling black plastic anymore. All that's available is the black fabric. Last year I had weeds actually growing under it and pushed up the fabric.

You can also kill off weeds with layers of newspaper or cardboard. If it's a large area this would be a lot cheaper and better for worms and bioita. Add compost ingredients on top and make it a lasagna garden

Karen

I second the newspaper and compost. It works very well and decomposes.

go to a house that is being built and get the thermal seal that they tack on the house Tyvek stuff. When they are putting it on there is a lot of waste.

Yikes.......I hope you can learn from my mistake. For years I used newspaper topped with mulch and it worked beautifully. I don't know what ever possessed me but recently when I redesigned two beds I laid down the black fabric (I am getting old and lazy and for some dumb reason thought if it cost money it must be better). To make matters worse my yellow lab and the neighbors dog discovered a fun tug of war game this winter with the black fabric. There are shreds of fabric and piles of mulch every where...what a mess and keep in mind if you plan on ever transplanting or rearranging in your garden it is VERY difficult to cut through the fabric with a shovel. Best of Luck Katy

n2dyt,
I saw the black poly[plastic] yesterday at my local Wally-world. It was right beside the blk fabric stuff- which I hate.

Although I do still use it, newspaper just doesn't last long enough for me. It disintegrates soo quickly here. I have a bed that we put thick paper in last year and the red sorrel has completely re-taken the bed. The paper never smothered that hateful stuff anyway.

Berrygirl,
I have a friend who used cardboard to smoother poison ivy and it worked like a dream for her.

Forget the black plastic and sprinkle Preen around your garden. It will both fertilize and prevent weeds from growing.

Preen also surpresses germinate of certain veggies.
Preen is Treflan, a farm chemical that is used on soybeans. Grasses, corn, & some others will not grow. A number of flowers could also be slowed in growth.
Go online & search for the label on treflan to get the use information.
Bernie