black plastic in garden

**sinopa27** · 01-05-2011, 01:47 AM

Hello FV family!

I am planning on gardening by using organic soil bags to plant in. Last year, I grew my tomatoes in the soil bags and had a huge yield of tomatoes. I canned 40 quarts.

I want my backyard to eventually become an edible garden with no grass to mow. I know I will have to build on this project every year.

I am wanting to put that black plastic down so that my grass won't grow....no weeds too. I would like to put the soil bags on top. In between the rows I want to put the stepping stones so I can have a permanent walking areas and have no worry of weeds.

My question is about the black plastic. Do you think that will be harmful to use? Do you suggest a different product?

Any help would greatly appreciated.
Sinopa

**lparker** · 01-05-2011, 10:31 AM

The black plastic isn't any more harmful than the plastic bag the soil comes in. It may even lessen a slug problem. When the sun hits it, the soil under it can hit 160 degrees!

Environmentally...it uses up petroleum products and it is almost impossible to recycle. On the other hand, the little you use doesn't compare to the millions of square feet used commercially every year.

Lee

**KeithBC** · 01-05-2011, 02:38 PM

I am not a big fan of black plastic. It does slow the weeds down for the first couple of years. After that, they start to grow in whatever medium you put on top of it. Think weeds won't grow in crushed rock? Think again! You end up with just as many weeds, and you've got black plastic hiding under them.

I'm afraid I don't have an alternative, though. Where I live, NOTHING stops the weeds!

**krbshappy71** · 01-05-2011, 03:30 PM

I've had great luck thus far with fabric weed control carpet. I used it for the surrounding rock area of my pond and no weeds yet, its been a few years.

Which surprised me as I have black plastic elsewhere with weeds.

**Ramona** · 01-05-2011, 05:35 PM

Originally Posted by krbshappy71

I've had great luck thus far with fabric weed control carpet. I used it for the surrounding rock area of my pond and no weeds yet, its been a few years.

Which surprised me as I have black plastic elsewhere with weeds.

Do you buy your fabric weed control carpet on line? If so, may I have a link?

**krbshappy71** · 01-05-2011, 06:30 PM

At the time I bought it I was at Lowes. Shop DuPont 100' x 3' Weed Control Fabric at Lowes.com

If you shop around could probably find it cheaper. The stuff I have from Lowes is thick and grey, I was in the middle of a very impulsive project at the time. As usual.

**Gotonenerveleft** · 01-05-2011, 06:56 PM

I did a flowerbed with the lasagna method....can't easily explain it but you can google it...tons of info on the web about it. Anyhow, I just put down cardboard over grass....shoveled on dirt.....moved dirt around and planted my flowers....rootball on the cardboard and all. The cardboard will decompose enough to let the roots grown down. Has worked wonderfully for me. No weeds...no grass and it's been 3 years. Supposed to attract worms too but I haven't dug it up to check. It was great not having to dig up the area before planting.

**craftypam** · 01-05-2011, 07:05 PM

I'm going to give square foot gardening a try this year. Its supposed to have little to no weeds.
You can possibly get Square Foot Gardening or Lasagna gardening out of your local library.
I need to stay out of the sun and keeping up with the weeds is nearly impossible; that is why I want to try this.

**sinopa27** · 01-06-2011, 01:10 AM

Originally Posted by krbshappy71

I've had great luck thus far with fabric weed control carpet. I used it for the surrounding rock area of my pond and no weeds yet, its been a few years.

Which surprised me as I have black plastic elsewhere with weeds.

I have a roll of that black fabric. It is kinda expensive but I don't mind if it gets the job done. I just want to make sure the area stays clear to allow me to make the walkways and be able to plant.
thank you. I may start buying a roll every payday now so it won't be a huge cost when i am ready to plant.

**sinopa27** · 01-06-2011, 01:14 AM

Originally Posted by KeithBC

I am not a big fan of black plastic. It does slow the weeds down for the first couple of years. After that, they start to grow in whatever medium you put on top of it. Think weeds won't grow in crushed rock? Think again! You end up with just as many weeds, and you've got black plastic hiding under them.

I'm afraid I don't have an alternative, though. Where I live, NOTHING stops the weeds!

thanks. I really don't want to use plastic. I try to avoid plastic as much as I can so it just doesn't seem right putting it down on my soil.

I would just like to turn my lawn into a garden and never have to mow the grass. If you find out any alternatives, please let me know.
thank you!

**daylily** · 01-06-2011, 05:39 AM

We use black plastic all the time. We have about 26,000 square feet of gardens. We take the plastic up every year to plow the gardens so nothing grows on top of it. In plastic we plant, tomatoes, peppers, okra (won't mature here without the extra heat from the plastic), eggplant, cucumbers, summer squash & zucchini, beans, and anything that likes warmth. It really cuts down on weeds and helps warm-season crops mature faster. We couldn't grow all that we do without it.

**sinopa27** · 01-08-2011, 05:28 AM

Originally Posted by daylily

We use black plastic all the time. We have about 26,000 square feet of gardens. We take the plastic up every year to plow the gardens so nothing grows on top of it. In plastic we plant, tomatoes, peppers, okra (won't mature here without the extra heat from the plastic), eggplant, cucumbers, summer squash & zucchini, beans, and anything that likes warmth. It really cuts down on weeds and helps warm-season crops mature faster. We couldn't grow all that we do without it.

i wouldn't mind taking up the plastic every year but I dont have the capability of plowing the garden. That's why I am considering the soil bag planting. Plus, I was so impressed with my yield of tomatoes last summer.
Any suggestions?

**Trentt** · 01-10-2011, 12:26 PM

I'm another one in the no-plastic camp. I've never had a completely weed-free garden, but I don't mind pulling a few. I've been trying old newspaper in thick layers, cardboard, anything that decomposes, with cocoa bean hulls on top. It works pretty well, but as others have mentioned, weeds will grow in any medium so there's always some spot-weeding to do.

**madhen** · 01-10-2011, 12:37 PM

I used to use the weed fabric as well, with really good results. I agree with the downsides of black plastic. It works for a while, then starts to fall apart. I just pull weeds by hand - part of the whole "enjoy your garden" aspect for me.

**madhen** · 01-10-2011, 12:39 PM

If you are looking for an alternative, you can put out the bags, but then put 2x6 boards in between, to act as a walkway between the bags. Even weeds can grow up through a 2x6 board. (Well, they can, but it takes a long, long time.)