Are you talking about using actual black plastic sheeting? That is a no in the vegetable garden. Or the black permeable landscaping fabric that comes with holes to allow for water and air through?

That is good stuff as long as the soil is well wet first, the soaker or drip hose is placed under it not on top, and it is covered well with something organic once the soil temps warm up enough to plant. Otherwise, if left uncovered, it cooks the plant's roots - especially in your zone.

However, it won't kill the bermuda - control it somewhat yes, but kill it? NIME. It grows from runner rizomes just below the soil surface and keeps on growing as long as it can get water and air.

You could have perhaps have solarized the plot all fall and winter to kill much of the bermuda (clear works too) but now if you use the solid plastic to solarize it kills the garden plants too.

Dave

By all means use the black plastic as soon as possible the only problem in your warmer climate you will have to mulch on top when the temps get warmer so it will keep it cooler. Also if you do not have drip irrigation or something similar i would say only use it very early on before planting the garden to kill all of the weeds and the weed seeds then take it off when you plant or you will not get water to the plants.I am in mi. and use black plastic on the whole entire garden (137x40) the entire season and I put it on as soon as I can in the early spring time.

Dale

Yes, I was referring to the plastic sheeting (but I also have the landscape fabric that I could use as well).

So it's a NO solely due to my climate? and what about mulching over the top of it? I saw another post on GH where someone drilled holes in the plastic while it was still on the cardboard roll, and then put it down.

What is the reason for not using it for veggies?

I would guess that it all depends on where you live and what type of watering system you use, also if you are in an area with a warmer climate, warming the soil is not needed so if you are just using it to curb weed growth i would probably go with the cardboard or other mulching method. and yes you can use it for veggies with great results.

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Dale

Yes, ringa it is our heat down south that causes the problems with the black plastic. It not only cooks the roots but the worms and all the beneficial soil bacteria. It causes increased transpiration for the plants which increases the need for water and increases the risk of plant diseases. The lack of adequate air to the soil causes the soil and compost underneath to turn anaerobic. That leads to disease, altered pH and loss of nutrients.

Folks up north can use it (tho I'd argue that their soil too would be far better off with the landscape fabric - all the benefits with none of the problems) but it can be lethal to the garden bed down south.

Since you have the landscape fabric use it or do as Dale suggested and use it early if you wish but plan to remove it once the soil temps reach 70. If you look at the holes in the landscape fabric it would be very difficult to punch all those microscopic holes by hand. ;)

Dave

People in my area use the black plastic to control johnsongrass. Once it gets into your garden, it is like Bermuda grass on steroids. The roots are huge and if you miss just a tiny piece, it sprouts. What we do is to cover the soil after preparing it and after we plant our seedlings, we cover it all with a mulch of some kind to prevent overheating. We drip irrigate with an emitter for each plant. We also punch in a lot of small holes for water/air exchange. We are hoping that after a few years, the johnsongrass will have died out and we will not have to use the plastic.

Commercial growers all over the country use black plastic mulch for the types of crops you mentioned. You could even change to a white-over plastic as is commonly used for cool season crops like lettuce or cole crops.

But the root of your problem will be that Bermuda grass will seek out any light such as from the planting holes and you may still end up with substantial grass growth at the base of every plant. For that reason you might want to apply an antigermination spray such as Devrinol at the exposed base of those plants at transplant time. It may buy you a month or 2 of control. The alternative is trying to pull grass that has it's roots wrapped around your transplant roots. It can be done but you'll need the persistance of ten mules.

Your strategy seems reasonable and Dale's pictures show a good example of what it looks like when all works well. Nice garden, Dale

Consider investing in woven black plastic mesh fabric. It is expensive, but typically lasts 5 years and gives excellent results.

http://www.shawfabrics.com/

The 15 X 300 lumite rolls are about $1 per linear ft shipping and all.

DarJones

OK, so I have a roll of the fabric, so what's the best strategy in putting it down. I have all the pieces for a drip system, but it's not put together yet. so I was hoping to put down the fabric (maybe on top of newspaper) then decide where I want plants, cut openings for them, then mulch it over with a thick layer of compost/mulch.

Is it imperative to have the tubing for the drip emitters UNDER this material? couldn't the mulch hold it into place?