As some of you will have seen from my garden blog we have weeds at the bottom of our paddock.
If I cover them with black plastic, then cardboard will I be able to then put compost/top soil on and scatter my meadow mix of grass & wild flowers on the surface?
Thanks
Dx
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my new blog is here...early days yet!
compost would be too rich for wild flowers - the weeds would take over and smother them. Wild flower meadows need very poor soil. I'm not sure how deep they need, though.
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The quiet power of growing things is truly magical
Aqui is right, the rougher the ground the better the wild flowers. You might have to cover it with black plastic etc to kill of the weeds this year and then plant the wild flowers in the autumn or next spring.
As an interim thing you could lay the plastic and cardboard and compost and sow salads for this year - but you would then have to move all the compost - so perhaps not a good idea.
Maybe use tubs or planters that would hold the plastic down and you could grow thing in those.
The only other alternative is to use an 'organic' type weed killer that the leaves absorb and it kills off the roots.
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It would be a bad idea, I think, to put down black plastic and then compost on top no matter what you planted into it because the ground would become waterlogged and the worms and stuff underneath might get confused! Using black plastic is excellent for longterm clearance but not for short term. If you want to plant in that area while you are using the black plastic you have to plant through it into prepared holes beneath the plastic. Obviously this is of no use to you when it comes to scattering meadow mixes! To clear perennials using a blanket mulch of black plastic takes up to 3yrs and to clear annuals approx a year. So if you have the time to wait I would recommend this is what you do. Cut them right down, cover tightly with black plastic for 2yrs minimum and then you will have an easy to prepare peice of ground ready for scattering.
Cardboard is not a very good perennial weed mulch in my experience. I had bindweed and other hardcore perennials poking through in the same season as laying a 2inch thick layer of cardboard with an inch or 2 of straw on top!
Sorry to go on...but
...in 2004 I laid down a black mulch over an area of couch, bindweed and hybrid bramble to name a few. I then hated it so much I decided to plant my butternut squashes through the plastic. So I lifted th plastic and dug the holes where I wanted them, replaced the plastic and planted the squashes through some crosses I cut into it and it worked. The entire mulch was covered. The second year I planted two fruit trees through the black plastic and three soft fruit bushes and more squash. it was great - low maintanence!
This year the plastic is off and I have sown green manure around the fruit ready for next years meadow mix.
Sorry to blahblab quite so much!!!! Couldn't help myself!
frum
hen _________________ 'is it kind, is it necessary'
Buddha Shakyamuni
We used old carpet as a weed supressor last winter. It worked, but I don't think it's regarded as very environmentally friendly because of the toxins in the carpet. Anyone throw any light on this?
n
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