Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Killing Grass
I'd like to kill the grass in our (future) raspberry place, to make tilling easier. We have both clear plastic and black plastic. Which one do you think would do this better? Thanks! Pat -- CLICK DAILY TO FEED THE HUNGRY United States: http://www.stopthehunger.com/ International: http://www.thehungersite.com/ |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Killing Grass
Pat Meadows wrote:
I'd like to kill the grass in our (future) raspberry place, to make tilling easier. We have both clear plastic and black plastic. Which one do you think would do this better? Thanks! Pat I am going to quote Glenna Rose's post from last April. It is the first one that explained the whole process so that it made sense. ------------------------------------------- De-Weeding with Plastic Moisten area to be covered. Cover with heavy clear plastic, I usually use 6-mil purchased at a home improvement store. Fasten edges and wherever else necessary to the ground. This can be done with fabric staples or even rocks or scrap lumber, keeping in mind that wherever the sun does not reach (or the plastic blows up from the ground), the weeds/plants will not be killed. It must be fastened so wind and breezes do not raise the plastic and circulate air; the plastic must be close to the ground to effectively hold in the heat. Keep the plastic firmly in place for several weeks. Explanation: It is important to use clear plastic, NOT black plastic. Clear plastic allows the light through to sprout the seeds in the soil. The plastic holds in the moisture which also encourages seed sprouting. (The plastic will actually "rain" on the ground with condensation from soil moisture.) The heat produced by the sunlight will be held in by the plastic causing the soil to superheat killing the plants. While the plants are killed by the superheating, the animal life is unharmed as the worms, etc. are mobile and can move away from the hotter areas of soil just as they do on an extremely hot sunny day. As the plant life sprouts and dies, the remaining seeds will continue to sprout and also die from the extreme heat. It is important to leave the plastic in place until all seeds have a chance to sprout; this will take several weeks and will be dependent on how much sunlight (hours per day and time of year) reaches the plants. On my very weedy lawn, I started mine in May and left the plastic on all summer; when I seeded the lawn, I had the most beautiful, totally weed-free lawn you can imagine! The best thing was that there were no chemicals involved so no little critters were killed or damaged. It is important to not cultivate this ground after removing the plastic as this works for only the top couple of inches (how far depending on the seeds in the ground and how much heat got how deep). If the ground is cultivated (raking is okay), it will turn up seeds buried deeper in the ground and they will sprout. That would still not be as many as are in the top couple of inches, however, and the weed population would be significantly reduced. Of course, either way, all of the existing weeds, etc. are killed and their roots don't regenerate. You will have people tell you black plastic will work. This is not true! Black plastic retards the growth; as soon as there is light again, plants will grow. This method sprouts the seeds and kills the plants. (It is basically like continuously pouring boiling water over them.) To assure yourself which will work best, try a 6-foot square of each of clear and black. You'll see for yourself. :-) Happy de-weeding. Glenna -- Susan N. There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary and those who do not. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Killing Grass
On Thu, 27 Mar 2003 21:16:28 GMT, The Cook
wrote: I am going to quote Glenna Rose's post from last April. It is the first one that explained the whole process so that it made sense. ------------------------------------------- Thanks very much, Susan. Clear plastic it is! We're putting it on tomorrow, I don't know if there will be time for the grass to be killed, but there may be: we'll not be planting the raspberries until mid-May. At a minimum, it can't hurt. Pat -- CLICK DAILY TO FEED THE HUNGRY United States: http://www.stopthehunger.com/ International: http://www.thehungersite.com/ |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Killing Aggressive Grass | Lawns | |||
killing grass | Gardening | |||
Killing established St. Augustine grass | Lawns | |||
Killing grass under my apple trees | Edible Gardening | |||
Killing grass | Gardening |