[Breadsnapper]

What is a good cover to use to prevent weeds where i am not growing.  I have seen all the sheets i the garden centres but as i have about 150 sq yards to cover they would prove too costly.  Any cheap alternative?

[shaun]

a roll of visqueen from your builders merchants, they come in 50 m x 4m i thinks and cost around £40 ish

[woodburner]

I am using cardboard. It takes a while to scrounge that much though.  :roll:

Green manures are better in the long term, you can even incorporate them in your crop rotation.

Is visiqueen UV stable? Silage sheet may be better if it isn't.

[richyrich7]

Cardboard is cheap or free, newspaper sounds daft but it works you need to get a whole newspaper dunk it in water lay it down and then use another and overlap each one. I tried it last year around my rhubarb which was weed infested the newspaper is still there now!

[Oscar Too]

Silage sheet from your local agri supplier.  Ask them if they have any damaged sheet.  Silage has to be airtight or it rots, so any sheet that has been damaged is useless to a farmer and the suppier will be happy to sell it to you cheaply.

[compostqueen]

I like the permeable sheet mulch (heavy duty stuff) as it lets rain through so you don't end up with rock hard soil when it comes time to lift it for planting

I lifted a piece on Monday, and despite the very hot, dry sunny weather the soil underneath was moist and I was able to plant spuds in it without digging it.Wahay    The texture is rough so slugs don't like it, unlike solid plastics which they love

So cheap can be costly in the end, if you know what I mean

I got a bulk order from Alplaz, you can phone or order it off the internet.  Also SmithnJones sell it on the internet

If you can't stretch to proper sheet mulch, given the choice between cardboard and solid plastic I'd go for the cardboard  

[BigPaddy]

Cardboard is cheap or free, newspaper sounds daft but it works you need to get a whole newspaper dunk it in water lay it down and then use another and overlap each one. I tried it last year around my rhubarb which was weed infested the newspaper is still there now!

Excellent suggestion. Just what I need around my blackberries.

[luckypurplebutterfly]

I emailed a few friends at Church and got loads of old carpet (my dad suggestion). You could try asking on your local freecycle (yahoo group) or if you are near Andover we are taking up a carpet to replace with bamboo floor soon.

[lozenge]

i've planted fenugreek on a bed i'm not ready to use and that seems to be working pretty well. need to be vigilant for bindweed, but there's not nearly as much as there is on empty ground.

i used black plastic last year and it was OK for keeping weeds down but the slugs LOVED it and moved in in hordes.