grgfinney
Well-Known Member
I have been thinking about useing fabric,hay,straw,pine straw to prevent weed growth.A lot of folks use fabric but i have a question soil compaction with the fabric,with the others wouldnt it be easier ti aerate the soil
weed control
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I used fabric 1 year and then threw it away. It was such a pain in the ass. Looking back it was probably cheap stuff because a fair amount of weeds grew through it. When I went to hoe the weeds I ended up digging up the fabric. I like using hay but you can't put it down right away because it will keep your soil too cool and slow down your tobacco growth. So with hay I still find myself weeding for about a month after transplant. Another thing I like about hay is that it is great to prevent frost damage. Last year I had about 150 plants planted and late May the Weathermen were calling for 2 nights of hard frost. Since I already had hay in anticipation of using it as much I used it to cover all the tobacco plants. Out of 150 plants I had damage to about 6 or 7.
skychaser
Well-Known Member
Fabric always looked like it would be a pain in the ass to me so I have never even tried it. And I'm a cheap bastard who hates spending money. My answer to weeds is hoe hoe hoe. I spend a lot of time with my hoe, especially in June and early July.
Markw
Well-Known Member
One of the old timers on our allotment uses old stair carpet rolled out with a gap between them and plants in the gap. he also spreads manure down and roles the carpet over it. the worms take it down ready for the next years grow it works quite well.
I used fabric last year but the compaction I experienced was due to the soil being heavy with clay. I'm going to work in some sand, rotten sawdust and manure this year. I liked it but it was a pain to take up at the end of the season. Last year I cut an X at every plant in the fabric, this year I plan to do like Mark's friend and run two rows of fabric and plant in the gap. I think this will make it much easier to take up and will keep down more weeds. The 3' fabric I used last year still allowed the grass to reach over from the sides and meet in the middle. Using a 3' run on each side of the row will pretty much eliminate the weeding except for the small gap and weeding that will be a piece of cake.
Brown Thumb
Well-Known Member
I will be doing the same this yr. Worked great 2 yrs. ago but I put mulch mulch between the the plants, worked out good you saw them.
BT
I hadn't thought of that. Thanks BT. That will eliminate weeding altogether. Weeding hurt my back last year more than any other operation. Yeee haaaw
squeezyjohn
Well-Known Member
I agree - if you got access to old carpet for free (we call it skip diving over here) - there's nothing like it for keeping the weeds down. Things like tobacco which cover a large area but don't smother the ground either side need some kind of mulch or constant weeding otherwise the weeds get to grow big while the baccy takes it's time growing. The worms love it and take anything you put on top underground for next year ... that's the best kind of mechanisation!
squeezyjohn
Well-Known Member
Just don't leave the carpets down too long ... my allotment was a nightmare to inherit as the last tenant used carpet and forgot about it for years - the weeds either side grew massive and in the winters composted themselves on top of it ... and carpet covered in a thick layer of compost is near impossible to get out!
Best way for health, environment and budget. It also contributes to plants.
Markw
Well-Known Member
I have to agree with that John I had the same when I took over my plot last year I must have inherited a 3 bedroom house full. it had been there for years.
A good Hoe and grass cutting work just as well.
A good Hoe and grass cutting work just as well.
jekylnz
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Mulch worked for me enough to. .any weeds I just stacked more mulch on.and once the plantd get to a ft high they shut out most the light to the weeds
chillardbee
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In 2012 I used cheap dollar store tarps for cover. They 3'x6' and cost $1.25 each. I helped to have a already built up soil as was the case in this planting. I have to say that The maintainance for your weed control in almost reduced to zero.
jekylnz
Well-Known Member
That's great for the price. .and does the job well.
Like Chill's tarps, the black plastic mulch used by the commercial veggie growers has worked well for me. 4 ft wide, is covers two rows of plants, and completely eliminates hand weeding. And re-useable, with a bit of work - mine's going into it's fourth season. I lay irrigation drip tape beneath it before placing, and plant through it after it's down.
The best part - the use of the mulch resulted in plants twice the size of plants without it, in a controlled test my second year of growing.
Probably due to the lack of weed competition, and conserved moisture.
The best part - the use of the mulch resulted in plants twice the size of plants without it, in a controlled test my second year of growing.
Probably due to the lack of weed competition, and conserved moisture.
DonH
Well-Known Member
I used straw my first year, but some of it turned out to be hay (with seeds) even though it was sold as straw mulch. The second year I used nothing and. I noticed less insect damage. I think the straw gave a lot of places for earwigs to hide. The nice thing about tobacco is when the plants get big there is so much shade that weeds don't grow to well. Of course we had a drier summer last year than the south did. Must have been weed heaven down there.
chillardbee
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Don, I found the same thing with my partly composted saw dust I used for mulch, too many critters hide in there.
Bigdog
Well-Known Member
I think the colour also atracts heat which I imagine could help. I am just woried that this method might promote soil disease?
grgfinney
Well-Known Member
I ended up using 4"of cedar mulch and didn't have to weed all season and plants did pretty well
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