Black polythene sheeting to suppress weeds

[cardplayer]

I have raised beds with wooden sides. I want to cover them with black polythene to stop weeds - long term.

I was wondering what type of nails to use for this. Can anyone help?

 

[Oliver Buckle]

My experience with using sheeting to cover broken greenhouse panes has shown even with heavy duty polythene and clout nails the sheet will eventually rip with the wind at the fastening points. My solution has been to use batons screwed on tight so that it is held along the entire length of the edge. If you tighten up the screws one side you can pull the sheet tight on the other, then tighten up the screws on that side as well, this stops it flapping in the wind.
Welcome to the forum, lots of good advice to read here, hope to see you around.

 

[oneeye]

Thats a good start and it will help a lot. One year of solarization won't kill all the weed seeds, so don't get disappointed if you still have weeds. It may take a few years of working the beds to get what you want. Also, friends keep pulling the weeds by hand to prevent any future seed from dropping. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[cpp gardener]

Are you putting the sheeting on the sides of the planters, or on the top or bottom?

 

[cardplayer]

I intend covering the top completely - then not using them for months.

 

[blenor]

A few old bricks or pavers work pretty well for me - placed on top of the cover. You can push them close up to the wooden side.

 

[cardplayer]

Thank you blenor - I will do that.

 

[cpp gardener]

Clear plastic heats up more than black plastic. Water well, then cover and anchor. In 6 weeks of full sun everything should be dead. It works better in the Summer than now, but it couldn’t hurt.

 

[GFTL]

If you have wood to attach to you can use 1x2 firring strips. 4 or 5 screws in an 8 ft piece should be sufficient to hold down the plastic. Then it is as simple as backing the screws off to gain access under the plastic if needed. I do this for my low tunnels and it works fine.

 

[big rockpile]

Use lear Plstic use them big Staples to hold it down.

big rockpile