In message , Pete C
writes

"Roger Tonkin" wrote in message
...
In article , BertB.ae203b8
@gardenbanter.co.uk says...

I'm a new allotment owner and looking for advice regarding weed control
fabric. I've weeded and dug over a section of the plot and thought to
buy some weed control fabric to stop the weeds coming up and wind
disperesed seeds landing and germinating i the soil. I've come across a
range of this stuff online at 'Weed Stop Fabric | Landscape Weed Control
| Weed Fabric' (http://tinyurl.com/ybqdujj) and it seems to be the good
enough to do the job but I would appreciate any views on it before I
make a purchase. Any comments will be much appreciated.


Usual recommendations for large areas a

1) Old carpet upside down (I would suggest woolen carpet, not sure about
modern man made fibre things)
2) Thick black polythene


'Don't' use carpet! It leeches chemicals into the soil and is banned on some
council owned allotments.

I don't really like carpet much either.

Left long enbough, it starts to rot and break down and then you pull it
up to find it is falling apart. Heavy and awkward to man handle as well.

We seem to be endlessly battling weeds and use this sort of thing to
cover up bits of the veg patch. You can use polythene sheeting, but this
stuff is easier to handle, seem to be longer lasting in then end (it's
polypropylene AIUI, rather than polythene and seems to be more resistant
to UV degradation. Can also be used for paths and things (not other
comments about stuff rooting through it, it's not perfect.

Are you planning to lift this once you get to planting/sowing or plant
through it?. This type of sheet is not so good for planting through. The
woven nature of the material means that it tends to fray and you end up
with little strips of polypro around the place. The lighter weight,
non-woven type sheets (mulch fabric on that site) are much easier to
plant through, but no where near as strong, tears much more easily and
not so good for lifting moving about etc.

FWIW I found Ebay the cheapest place to source the weed control fabric.
--
Chris French