On 24/11/2018 19:51, john west wrote:

Our plot at the allotment is bordered with a tall palisade metal fence
with masses of weeds and nettles etc poking through it.

we spend a lot of time trying to trim tall nettles through the narrow
gaps in the fence. As the path is close to the fence we are constantly
getting stung.

Nettles respond well to either grabbing hold of the stems and pulling
(wearing suitable thick gloves as PPE) or hitting with any weedkiller
that you happen to be using. Glyphosate being the most cost effective.

Brambles and wild roses require thicker chrome leather gloves.

It quite difficult to get to the other side of the fence which is waste
ground.

So have bought a bag of road salt and masses of cardboard to put down.

It will wash away ineffectively and look a total mess. But your choice.

Is there a specific time of year that would be best to lay down the
cardboard and salt please?Â*Â* Thanks for any advice

Never. What you propose to do is a complete and utter waste of time.

Take a look at the kill zone of roadside piles of salt before you waste
your time. Road salt is only useful for gritting paths and roads.

Heavyweight carpet might actually be enough of a barrier on its own but
it will not look pretty. I let some nettles survive in the wilder parts
of my garden and its boundaries to encourage the butterflies. YMMV

You can fairly easily kill any that get too close to the path. They are
relatively shallow rooted and the stems strong enough to pull up clumps
by the handful once you get the hang of it. Easier if you can loosen the
soil a bit with a fork first.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown