"Victoria wrote in message

Not being a lover of the mulching system or carpet etc, bloody mess it
looks,

Doesn't have to.

I mulch with cardboard or newspaper, then stick a layer of compost over
the
top. Paper/card breaks down and joins the soil, and you can plant
straight
into the compost. Does need more weeding (but no more than if you dig).

Couldn't use that or carpet etc., if you intend to garden organically.
Papers and cardboard can contain bleach and printing ink which has some
nasty chemicals. Goodness knows what's on old carpet, flea killing
chemicals etc ?, if it's very very old could even be DDT! :-(

I have a neighbour on the allotments that loves carpet, a strong wind and I
have to retrieve bits from our plots, off our plants. The local wildlife
seems to love grubbing it up, tearing bits off and chucking it about,
presumably looking for what's underneath .....slugs,snails, frogs,
mice....and it then gets caught in the mower when I'm mowing the grass on
the entrance/carpark, mumble,mumble.....

I've never seen the need myself but if it works for you, great. :-)

The only "mulch" we use is on the strawberries which we grow on a hump
covered with strong woven plastic landscape fabric, anything less and the
foxes tear it to bits. (cheap thin stuff from a GC didn't last 24hrs!)
--
Bob

www.pooleygreengrowers.org.uk/ about an Allotment site in
Runnymede fighting for it's existence.