"Jake D" wrote in message
...
Hi all,
I'm fairly new to vegetable gardening, having started one year ago.
Now that the growing season is over, I'm thinking of trying the
technique of covering the plot with black plastic sheeting, to kill
off all vegetation, prior to next Spring's planting.

The timetable I am contemplating is to plant winter field beans, right
now, to enrich the soil. Then, early next Spring, when the field beans
have grown, cover the whole lot with black plastic for a suitable
time, to kill everything (field beans and weeds) then remove the
plastic and plant my vegetables in the weed-free soil. (I probably
won't dig the soil over at this point, as I want to try no-dig
gardening next year.

Does this sound like a good plan? Is the field-bean idea worth the
effort? Does it really improve the soil significantly?

Anyone else used the black plastick sheeting method routinely? Which
month do you do it and how long do you leave the sheeting in place? Do
you save the sheeting for use again, the following year?

Thanks,

JD

I think at you are going to a lot of trouble without there being much
chance of success as the soil will be far from weed-free when you remove
the covering.

Best to roughly dig the soil and expose it to the frosts so that in the
spring you can break it down into a fine tilth ready for sowing.

Regards,
Emrys Davies.