Non-organic mulches
Weeds: know, understand, clear with no dig
No Dig Gardening

In this lesson we look at non-organic mulches, which are mostly plastic sheeting. We consider when they can be useful, and when they are best avoided.

Clearing difficult weeds or mulching quickly

1. May: we planted squash in holes cut in polythene covering couch grass
May – we planted squash in holes cut in the polythene, which had been covering couch grass
1a. May: potatoes emerging during a cold spring, were planted through holes in the polythene
May – potatoes emerging during a cold spring; they were planted through holes in the polythene (see how this worked in ‘Potatoes’ section below)

Large covers which exclude light are a delightfully easy way to clear weeds, for little time and effort. Sometimes you can grow vegetables at the same time, and I illustrate this here with potatoes and squash.

Other vegetables that you can grow through holes in the plastic are any of those that need a lot of space per plant. This results in fewer holes, cut into whatever material you are using. Suitable vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, kale and Brussels sprouts.

However there are downsides:

  • Vegetables grown through covers suffer an increased risk of slug damage, caused by moisture retention under the material.
  • If using the non-woven polypropylene (landscape) fabric, you will need to lay cardboard first to achieve 100% light exclusion.

Or mulch with no cropping

Sometimes it may be simpler just to cover an area of problem weeds and grow nothing. This ensures total light exclusion, and is appropriate where you have other space ready to grow plants, or are simply happy to wait a year.

Thinking ahead and mulching like this can save so much time and effort in the following year. The prerequisite, especially if using polythene, is that the ground is moist before laying it. This keeps soil organisms happy, and means they build soil fertility when eating and secreting any organic matter that you have applied before covering with plastic.

This table gives details of possible mulches to use.

Attributes of non-organic mulches
Mulching perennial weeds
Clear difficult weeds and crop at the same time - part one
Clear difficult weeds and crop at the same time - part two
Combination of polythene and organic matter to kill weeds
Step 15
Step 15
Close

Follow with:

- My video on YouTube: No dig, two ways to clear weeds

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