Thoughts on this for controlling weeds?

13 years ago

Have been looking for some kind of cover to control weeds this year in my garden. I've ruled out black plastic (for "cooking" the roots) and most landscaping fabrics (doesn't allow for tilling in the fall). I've been mulling over the use of newspaper but my plot is close to 20ft by 60ft. I came across this product and would appreciate any opinions or guidance....

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/suffixitem/593TCKRAFT/40X300.html?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=GoogleShopping

40"W x 300'L 300' Long Brown Paper Roll Table Cover. Description: Made of standard brown kraft paper, this roll table cover will repeatedly provide you with a quick, clean, and disposable eating surface. This plain brown paper roll table cover is ideal for covering tables at preschools, daycares, or birthday parties; just give each child a crayon or two and let their imaginations run wild until the food arrives!

Image link:

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

Kimmsr
13 years ago
That is an expensive alternative to newspaper. Newspaper is usually a product of choiuce because for many of us it is readily available and virtually free since we purchased the paper to keep up with the news and now need some way to dispose of it and the recycling centers are not an option.
teenameena
13 years ago
I agree with kimmsr that the brown paper is expensive and you'd need a lot of it. Plus you need to weigh it all down to keep it in place. It probably depends on what you want to do with the area while you're controlling the weeds.
The 'lasagne garden' idea works well with newspaper underneath, or cardboard. Of course you have to have the material to cover it with. I scrounge around in the fall for leaves, and in the spring I pick up grass clippings.
This spring I had an area full of garlic that got away from me. I used all the above plus compost, kitchen scraps, garden cleanup waste, etc; all piled up at least a foot, smothering the garlic. So far its working. I planted potatoes and cabbage in it so far.
Related Discussions
Planning to plant: Cover crops, flail mower, weed control
Q
Comments (1)
I leave last years dead plant material in the garden as well and while some people will argue that doing so gives insect pests someplace to overwinter I will counter with that will also give the predators of those insect pests someplace to overwinter. Since I also practice a version of Ruth Stout's mulching method there is no reason for me to mow, I simply add more mulch, compost and shredded leaves for example, and plant through that. Obviously that means not much seeding although some can be done. Whether a tiller would be needed will depend on what condition your soil is, with sufficient levels of organic matter in the soil tilling should not be necessary. Starting seeds is really easy to really difficult. Some, such as the frost tender plants, such as Tomatoes, need a warm starting bed and are better started inside while frost hardy plants, such as the cabbage family, can be started outside in a hoop house. Frost hardy plants can be started 10 to 12 weeks before your Average Latest date Of Frost while the frost tender plants should not be started much more than 6 to 8 weeks before then. Cover crops have not been something to grow while your main crops are in, although there is some research looking into something about certain cover crops as living mulches.
...See More
Biological pest control - thoughts?
Q
Comments (13)
Well hey, I am not espousing chemicals either, but I am profoundly uncomfortable with the continual movement of non-native bacteria and fungi into an ecosystem which has not been able to adapt at speed of global travel. And yes, we are paying the price for the untrammeled movements of organic materials across oceans. Regarding plant species, we have witnessed the dying of bluebell woods as the more vigorous Spanish bluebell out-competes and hybridises with our native bluebells. RRD from eriophyid mites have arrived from Asia (along with citris longhorn beetle and a host of other problematic life-forms) during my lifetime....and there is no cure on the immediate horizon. For some, who must have variety and novelty, I guess this is seemingly a price worth paying....and for sure, we cannot turn the clock back to a simpler time when we grew natives, wild flowers and local foodplants....and nor would I wish to do so. I do, however, wish for a wider research base, with a more rounded agenda and a bit more of an attempt to understand the dynamic interconnectedness of life. The theory that Japanese knotweed beetles will simply die when they have eaten all the host plant is rubbish - the beetles are being introduced because the current chemical treatment costs massive amounts of money (Japanese knotweed being, in turn, an introduced species with no natural predator). See how the cycle turns?- with no natural predators to act as a counterbalance, we really have no idea what effect this will have upon our finely nuanced eco-system. Moreover, others are not happy with having these things foisted upon them (such as our groundwater being poisoned) - I just hope that the greater awareness we now have regarding how we operate in a shared world will encompass a more rounded and holistic view where a short term profit is not developed at the long-term expense of balance. Hopefully, the brouhaha about chemicals will also spread so we question short-term fixes because we really do not fully understand the workings of the natural world.... Writing this from the fens where a tradition of intensive agriculture and monocropping is turning the most fertile alluvial soils in the UK into a dustbowl reminiscent of Oklahoma in the 1930s. Yep, I am gloomy and somewhat despairing.
...See More
Newbie needs thoughts on using landscape design to control weeds
Q
Comments (6)
Where Landscape fabrics that are WOVEN of polypropylene (like a cheaper version of trampoline mat) have a use is in SEPARATING stone mulch from the soil below. It's useful because it's almost a sure bet that at some point down the road, someone is going to want to REMOVE the stones. If they are just laid on bare soil it's going to be a lot harder to do. (The cheaper, especially rubbery fabric will not work at all to do this as it will break into little pieces as one tries to remove it.) Wood based mulch doesn't need to be removed because it turns into soil over a period of time. For a short time (one year) it may seem like landscape fabric works because wind-blown and water-washed silt has not yet accumulated on top of the fabric. Once it does, weeds will grow again. Many commercial landscapes were created on a site scraped clean and built with new landscapes installed at the beginning. They were professionally maintained and weeds never had a chance to establish. However, if their care was abandoned, weeds would quickly move in. Many homes, however, are neglected and weeds are rampant. Once they establish, they continually make thousands of seeds capable of sprouting for years in some cases. (I'm still pulling up seeds from Grandpa Ott morning glory that hasn't grown here in two years. Regret planting that!)
...See More
Looking for better/different weed control
Q
Comments (1)
Prodiamine WDG for pre-emergent. A bottle will last you for years. It is granular but you use just a very small amount mixed up in water and you spray it over the lawn. Put it down when the forsythia bloom. For post-emergent on broadleaf weeds, Weed B Gon or Weed B Gon CCO, IF needed. It can be spotsprayed. Keeping grass tall and thick is a good protection against weeds. The fewer chemicals used, the better.
...See More
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
13 years ago
Have been looking for some kind of cover to control weeds this year in my garden. Are there plants growing in the area that you want to keep? A lot of weeds already growing?

I've ruled out black plastic (for "cooking" the roots) and most landscaping fabrics (doesn't allow for tilling in the fall). Good decision. Are you saying that whatever you use, you want to remove it soon for tilling? Just tilling it in?

I've been mulling over the use of newspaper but my plot is close to 20ft by 60ft. I came across this product and would appreciate any opinions or guidance.... I think it would work well if that's what you want to use as the foundation for creating a lasagne bed, but not so much if you plan to till later. Not really able to picture how you'll get it to stay there without a lot of bricks or rocks, or by solidly covering it with mulch. Without a solid cover, I think tons of weeds would find their way through the cracks because a lot of sunlight would come through one thin layer of paper. Also don't think one layer would last well all summer exposed to rain and direct sunlight. I think the amount of mulch you would need to make this effective, if going the solid-cover-route, wouldn't be good to till to till down into the soil.
Kimmsr
13 years ago
I have used newspaper many times in the various planting beds and have created new planting beds simply by covering the existing turf ("Weeds" and all) with newspaper and a mulch material with very good results. I have not found it necessary to till once the bed is created either and simply keep adding more mulch to that bed to aid in "weed" suppression. What I have not done is tried this on a 20 x 60 bed because all the planting beds I have made for over 30 years now have been 4 to 6 feet wide so I can work from the outside without having to step on the soil in the planting bed which compacts it and might require tilling.
You can grow just as much, if not more, in several 4 x 4 planting beds (ala Square Foot Gardening) as you could in one large 20 x 60 garden plot with much less work and effort.

Thoughts on this for controlling weeds?

Comments (4)

Kimmsr

teenameena

Related Discussions

Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL

Kimmsr

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US