On 13/02/2014 12:19, David.WE.Roberts wrote:
Starting point - I don't have the time at the moment to dig the allotment
and anyway the amount of water in the ground presumably makes this 'not a
good thing'.

My plan was/is to cover beds with black (or dark colour) plastic to stifle
the weeds and so allow use of the beds with minimal preparation.

However I have seen warnings that black plastic can make the ground 'sour'.

So is it O.K. to cover waterlogged ground with plastic (assuming it will
stay there in all these winds) or is it likely to do more harm than good.

TIA

Dave R

If your ground is waterlogged then no way would I cover it with anything.
Any cover will slow down the drying out of the ground and raise the risk
of stagnant soil.
Leave it uncovered, rough dig when you can to let more air in and THEN
cover it.
David amongst the fallen trees.