[Paulj]

I'm wanting to reduce some of the weeding on my plot to save a little time if possible and wondered if it will be ok to put weedguard down between my crops?

I know it's not necessarily going to stop everything coming through, but I have enough left over to put a double layer between several rows where there are effectively paths between crop rows.

[Jabberwock]

I have done the very same this year between my rows of peas, I have placed some planks on top to walk on so that I'm not compacting the ground too much and it's working well.  The only thing to look out for will be slugs because we are creating a lovely hiding place for them, but I put pellets down before laying the membrane and don't seem to be troubled by them at the moment.

[boldondig]

I have done the exact same thing as like most people I can not spend as much time at the allotment as I would like. I use the heavy duty woven fabric which stops all weeds except couch grass which finds its way through. The finer weed guards with nothing on tend to tear after a while ,,,, I used a metre wide stuff - buried 20 cm each side which lefty me with a 60 cm path.

[Paulj]

Glad to hear there are others doing the same then. I looked around the rest of our site, and no one seems to do it, and wondered if there was a reason not too.  Although not foolproof, it would seem to me to be an idea to greatly reduce the work - one other chap on our site did say that even if it doesn't stop the weeds growing, it can mean they aren't as healthy and vigorous, and by autumn are brown and much easier to pull out of the ground.

[Yana]

Glad to hear there are others doing the same then. I looked around the rest of our site, and no one seems to do it, and wondered if there was a reason not too.  Although not foolproof, it would seem to me to be an idea to greatly reduce the work - one other chap on our site did say that even if it doesn't stop the weeds growing, it can mean they aren't as healthy and vigorous, and by autumn are brown and much easier to pull out of the ground.

I use this method all the time and fellow lottie mates are starting to do so as well. Not only does it smother the weeds, it makes the plot look tidier. If you give the ground a really good soak and you use the fabric membrane to plant through, I find that it keeps the moisture in and so needs less watering. The membrane doesn't last long but the time saved and improvement in the crops far outweighs the cost...... Shop around for good deals on the fabric.

[snowdrops]

A couple of years back I bought 2 of those log rolls on a special offer,the ones wired together to use as a temporary path at the other side of my runner beans,worked quite well apart from the weeds coming up in the gaps, then I thought -but still haven't done -I could staple some weed membrane to the other side. So another little job to go on the todo list

[J_B]

poundland has a good deal for a quid

[Paulj]

I've been using tent pegs from Wilkos to keep mine on the ground.  Going to check after work tonight if they've done the trick, as I'll need more if they are working.