[AndyRVTR]

Simple question really.... weed supression fabric or black poly sheeting...... or something else?
I've just started tackling a very overgrown plot with loads of weeds... you name it, it's got it....
Docs,
Marestail,
Dandelions,
Nettles & Thistles,
Wheat,
Barley,
Clover,
Brambles,
Rye Grass,
Bindweed,
Couchgrass and god knows what else..

Anyway.... although I have sprayed twice with Roundup (once a week), at the moment I dont have any intention of working the plot untl the beginning of next year... so... what will do the best job for me?

[Yorkie]

NOT CARPET 

Of the two things you suggest, a decent weed membrane is far better in that it allows air and water to pass through the soil, so the soil doesn't go stale.  Plastic isn't permeable so the soil quality isn't as healthy when you remove the plastic eventually.

Don't bother with the cheap, thin weed membrane as that will just rot off and you'll be back to square one.

Other things could be a thick layer of cardboard, if you have access to enough.

[AndyRVTR]

NOT CARPET 
Other things could be a thick layer of cardboard, if you have access to enough.

Yorkie... have you got something against carpet... 
Funnily enough I can get 4' square sheets of thick (5mm) cardboard from work... could I use the mebrane on top of the carboard?

[prakash_mib]

everybody is against carpet! 
I had it in my plot when i took over and it rots, leaks chemical, and very hard to pull it our when weeds grow through it (especially crouch grass and bind weed.  carpets add another dimension to your weed problems! 

[davethespread]

only one way to find out 'FIGHT'!

[Yorkie]

Yorkie... have you got something against carpet... 

Nothing personal against it but ... ohhhhhhh yessssssss 

only one way to find out 'FIGHT'!

But we're all agreeing 

[Elcie]

It is a shame that you have decided not to work the ground until next year.  Is there a small area at least that you could clear this year to plant something in?  Seems a shame not to use some of it.

[Spana]

Pile grass cuttings on top of the cardboard to hold it down then dig the whole lot in in the winter Dont leave it over winter, its nice and warm underneath for slugs and mice.

[Snap Dragon]

only one way to find out 'FIGHT'!

My first thoughts too 

[solway cropper]

It's odd but it was the organic movement that first suggested the use of carpet as a weed suppressant. The problem isn't the carpet but the fact that people put it down then forget about it and the weeds eventually grow through it and make it impossible to lift.

[PAULW]

Roundup take three weeks to work, why spray twice in a fortnight? . Stick a fork in one corner of the plot and turn the soil and remove all the weeds and roots then cover, We have a three month rule on our lottie if you have not got your plot up and running in three months your booted off.

[savbo]

when we took over our current plot it had lots of carpet on it - but it's some kind of plastic (polypropylene?) type, obviously industrial with no underlay, and it's worked very well. No rotting, not growing through and only a bit of grass that's invaded over the top. As a result we've kept most of it for covering beds...

[AndyRVTR]

Roundup take three weeks to work, why spray twice in a fortnight?

Errmmmm in case I missed any the first time 

[PAULW]

But how would you know if you have missed some the second time unless you see the grass/weeds starting to wilt?

[AndyRVTR]

But how would you know if you have missed some the second time unless you see the grass/weeds starting to wilt?

Simple Mathematics really.... of the hundreds of thousands of weeds/plants/blades of grass on my plot... the law of averages say I MUST have missed some