Solarization

Part of my veggie garden is out of control, it has been getting worse the past couple of years, I've been thinking about solarizing it and wanted to know if anyone else has done so, how effective was it, and any tips you might have.
I don't want to use any herbicides and I can't keep up with the hoeing and pulling, maybe this would give me a new start.
Thanks,
Becky

Parts of mine need this too. Hope you get some answers. maybe lasanga gardening would help if you have tons of leaves.

Becky and MaryE
I did use black plastic instead of the clear this year for solarization. I used black mainly for the heat that it generated. I grew celosia, statice (sinuata), strawflowers, tomatoes and mellons. It worked wonderful! It keep the weeds down, watering down, and the heat up! I have used dewitt pro 5 with 3 to 4 inches of wood chips for years. I am diffently going to grow more next year with plastic.

I did spray twice, till twice, and watered. Put plastic down. Wood chips on all edges. Planted by cutting holes in the plastic. No mold or fungi so far. I plan on taking it out in November and putting it back down in March so that I can fertilize twice.

Good luck. Bryan

Brian,
Did U use just regular black plastic or the special weeding cloth.. if Regular how did U water it?
Sugar_fl

Becky

The was an article at NCSU that stated that solarisation only worked in the deep south.

Like from northern GA and southward.

Reason given was that you need 4 to 6 weeks of 3 digit temperatures to get the soil temp up over 125F.

Plastic or even newspaper for weed control will work in your area.

Byron

I agree with Byron: MULCH, MULCH MULCH! and also hoe early and often.

But.....if you use double-layered plastic with an airspace in between won't you achieve high enough temps, even if the ambient air temps don't get that high for a sustained period of time?

And maybe I need to be set straight - when I read this thread, I figured we were really talking about two different things:
1. Mulching with plastic (black, in this case), and
2. Solarization, in which case don't plant anything in the bed because a) you want to seal it up tight to help increase the temperature; and b) the temperature hopefully gets so hot it cooks anything growing there (which is one of the benefits of solarization.) And I thought because the sunlight intensifies when passing through clear plastic, it was preferred over colored plastic for solarization.

Yes? No? Help! I was planning on using solarization on a new bed to try to kill the Bermuda (also known as "The Beast that Will Not Die")

Great response, vols. My mind is on the same channel. Solarization is what you do to eliminate or cut down on plant growth. i.e. weeds. BJT72, this sounds like what you are asking about. I've read exactly what Byron is mentioning...and agree that it is good for points in the deepsouth. There is no doubt it will work in this area! However, do us all a favor and find out, eh? (At the very least it will certainly help your soil.) I've been in your area and realize it gets very warm up that way! (Altho your growing season may be shorter than in the South, your daily amount of sunshine is longer.) I also have a greenhouse and know with-out a doubt the temps rise quickly under plastic. You'll have to try solarizing in your warmest months, and be sure to water the ground well...a good watering one day, let it sink in, and another watering the next. Cover your spot w/clear plastic and make it airtight by sealing the edges (with dirt). I feel confident you will kill many weed seeds and also encourage "good" bacteria to grow. This process should go for at least six wks. And when you plant, don't till! Just plant. (Tilling will bring the lower level of weed seeds back to the top.) By the way Vols, you may be onto something...the double layer of plastic will definitly heat up AND perhaps retain the high temperature in the ground during any cool nites. If it were me, I'd give it a good try!

This message was edited Thursday, Sep 13th 8:53 PM

We had a REAL problem with weeds this year..
Can we put down heavy black plastic next spring to help with
this problem?

Sugar_fl, yes you can use plastic mulch. Large-scale vegetable growers like Ohiorganic do because they don't use herbicides (that's a general statement) in order to offer truly organic produce, and hand-weeding is not feasible when you're talking acres and acres of crops.

However, if you're talking about a permanent barrier, like around shrubs, I would urge you to consider other mulches. If you've ever pulled up plastic mulch that has been in place for several years, you generally find slimy, anerobic (no air) nasty stuff that does NOT look conducive to healthy plants. It does keep some weeds from spreading, but some will find a way even through the plastic - go figure.

For a permanent mulch, I would really encourage you to use some sort of organic mulch - compost, leaf mould, pine straw, bark chips, shredded cypress, etc. Put down a new layer each year. Plant your plants close enough together that they will effectively prevent most weeds from getting through, and the few that do are easily pulled by hand.

'Shoe, thanks for the clarification - I thought maybe I was the odd man (person) out here :)

Sugar_fl,

You might want to try landscape fabric. It lets air and water through, but plants, seedlings, grass, etc can't get back up through the holes. It's easy to work with, too. Just remember to keep the shiny side up. Water is funneled down, so holes are larger at the top and smaller at the bottom...can't tell by looking at it as the holes are so small anyway.

Landscape fabric is also good for using around existing plants, too, if you need to keep weeds out. Simply trim it to fit around the base of the plant and mulch over it.

You can get it at Lowe's and such places and it's not too expensive.