Author Topic: Suppressing weeds - advice needed, please. (Read 5230 times)

mabel · « **on:** April 10, 2009, 04:48:05 pm »

This is my first post, having only just found this site.

Like many people, we start the growing season full of good intentions, then fall by the wayside as our time gets taken up with running a business and a family. This year, my husband has bought some weed suppressant fabric on a roll but, once he put it down, it was truly hideous - just a bright, white splodge. As we are renovating and trying to improve our place, I felt this was a backward step, there was absolutely nothing aesthetically pleasing about the stuff.

Can anyone suggest a form of weed suppressant that won't cost a fortune, but that looks OK, please? I think my marriage could be at stake here!

Fluffywelshsheep · « **Reply #1 on:** April 10, 2009, 05:03:28 pm »

bark chippings,
Some councils provide them free of charge or even at a small fee.

i you ground is very stony you can always collect them up and place them on the soil aswell
linz

doganjo · « **Reply #2 on:** April 10, 2009, 07:40:16 pm »

I didn't even know there was white weed fabric, I've seen white protective fleece though. Mine has always been black. I've used bark chippings and gravel as well.

northfifeduckling · « **Reply #3 on:** April 10, 2009, 07:47:33 pm »

cardboard covered in grass cuttings. Doesn't cost anything and can be renewed when it gets unsightly or just worked into the soil or composted. I found everything else unsatisfactory - carpets degraded and the weeds just grew through them & the black fleece I bought ripped & tore in the wind. I tried gravel but our weeds are dock and couch grass -they were just growing through them- the worst thing ever was picking up all the stones to get to the roots, lol

MrRee · « **Reply #4 on:** April 10, 2009, 10:48:06 pm »

We use the old bedding straw from the pigs and chickens,the kitchen composting bucket and any other biodegradable material.As long as it doesn't touch the plant stems,it seems to be fine,even helps....... Ree

mabel · « **Reply #5 on:** April 11, 2009, 09:19:00 am »

Thank you for all of your replies - they have been most helpful.

It looks as if it's going to be grass cuttings then, which will also be much cheaper.

carole h · « **Reply #6 on:** April 11, 2009, 07:57:56 pm »

Don't forget the cardboard underneath it ... grass cuttings on bare earth use up the nitrogen in the soil as they rot down.....and don't put them on too thick - they will just make a disgusting slimy mess!

VSS · « **Reply #7 on:** April 13, 2009, 01:10:54 pm »

spent hops are really good if you have a local brewery - smells fantastic too!

rustyme · « **Reply #8 on:** April 13, 2009, 01:46:40 pm »

depending on where you want rid of weeds ie lawn, flower bed or veggie plot ? you could do it the old way , if you are patient enough

? For a veggie plot you just dig and clear the area, this will entail removing all weeds such as docks , nettles, thistles etc , roots and all !!!! then you just dig over the area rake level and leave for a couple of weeks . The weed seeds will then sprout and start to grow , leave them growing for a week and then hoe and rake off. You do this again , let the new ones sprout again and grow for a week, hoe and rake off. Turn the soil again and let sprout and so on .....this will take a whole season to do but it removes nearly all dormant weed seeds in the ground and as long as you removed all dock roots etc , you will get hardly any weeds growing at all thereafter, EVER . It really does work very well , you just have to sacrifice a years growing on that bit of ground. It doesn't mean you can't grow anything , you just do sections of the land you want to use this way , while growing veg in others. Then in subsequent years just swap over.If you have very dry periods during this process, then as for veg you will need to water to get the weeds to sprout . Most viable weed seeds will be in the top soil only , so as long as you dig and turn the top soil , and allow the seeds time to sprout , you will be clear of weeds.

cheers

Russ

spitfire · « **Reply #9 on:** April 13, 2009, 04:52:14 pm »

Hi Mabel
or you could cheat and put the white fabric down and then a layer of bark chippings over the top- they'll blow away eventually but takes the whiteness off the area while doing a good job. It'll keep hubby happy seeing his idea being used but still make the garden look nice.
I had an area of ground full of crouch grass a few years ago- couldn't shift the stuff so eventually gave up and did as you have to keep it down but gravelled over the area- the kids loved it-it was a different take on a sand pit!

weeds! cam't live with them, can't live without them
someone once said-'weeds are just plants growing in the wrong place!'

take care
Lynne

mabel · « **Reply #10 on:** April 15, 2009, 03:19:59 pm »

We've started using the grass clippings now, with cardboard underneath.

I've compromised and said he can use the white stuff around his bee hives, as long as he puts bark on top, so honour has been satisfied. The grass clippings are certainly more aesthetically pleasing.

Once again, I'm so grateful for the responses on this lovely website - what a find!

Mabel