Hubby spotted water-permeable weed proof membrane in Screwfix yesterday for only £8 a roll that would do the entire bed. Pondering buying that as I think it will be less hospitable to slugs than cardboard, but I'm wondering about one practical aspect: I will want to continue improving the soil by adding garden compost / rotted manure every year. If I use this membrane with bark on top how much of a pain will it be to shift it all when I want to add the compost underneath? Do any of you do this?
I have used that stuff in the past and wouldn't again. The really heavy duty stuff they use exposed is alright, probably. But if you cover the thin fabric type with anything - gravel, bark chips, compost, whatever, weeds grow in the mulch layer. The blurb will tell you that that's OK, because the roots can't go through the membrane so they are easy to hoe off. That may be true if you have polite weeds. What I got was docks growing horiontally, sending fibrous roots into the membrane so when I pulled them up, they ripped a hole in the membrane, allowing the (inevitable) teeny piece of root that got left trapped in the weave to then grow through the hole and voila- weeds growing though the membrane that I couldn't get out without making the holes bigger. I ended up with rags that get caught round the strimmer head and make me say some really bad words on a regular basis.
I really wouldn't go there, if I were you
Slugs are not a major threat to fruit bushes. Apart from anything else, the blackbirds that will sit under your fruit bushes waiting for the raspberries to ripen will eat the slugs while they're there. You can protect the plants when they are young with copper collars, slug pubs, vigilance and slug collecting. Once they are a year or two old, it will only be a problem for your strawberries (the slugs will eat the fruit). I'd suggest if it's a huge problem that you grow your strawbs in hanging baskets instead.
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Thanks Raisingirl - I do have weedproof membrane under the paths in my veg patch and I haven't had such a problem with it - weeds do grow on top (even though it's covered with gravel - I guess some soil gets on it from my muddy boots) but they always come out easily, even dandelions. I have only ever found one dock in my garden! I've already got raspberries elsewhere, and I don't like strawberries, the only things so far planned for this particular bed are blackcurrants and gooseberries so maybe slugs aren't the problem I was thinking. They are a menace elsewhere in this garden though. I grew up in the south east but now in warm and wet Devon and I've never known slugs like it! I suppose really the problem I was pondering is the same whatever I use to stop weeds growing - whether it be membrane or cardboard - if I want to add organic matter to the soil afterwards I'm going to have to move it to add stuff underneath. I'm just wondering how much of a pain that's going to be. If I used cardboard (which I can get for free) with bark on top, could I just scrape off any bark, add next year's layer of compost / manure on top of it and lay fresh cardboard on that before replacing / refreshing the bark? In other words, could I leave the old cardboard (which by then will be too soggy and horrible to move) and incorporate it into the bed?
Going back to your first question, in Forest Gardening, they do recommend growing ground cover plants to suppress weeds and water evaporation, rather than universal mulching. It depends how wide you bed is, but you could grow another fruit like lingonberries for example, or a surface runner such as apple mint or even something like pulmonaria, planted around the edges of the raised bed and they will spread in under the bushes.
What the others have said about competition is true of course, but if you are only growing blackcurrants and gooseberries - both of which are very robust and will grow in grass IME - they will probably cope as long as you feed the whole bed regularly so every plant gets enough food. You would need to let the bushes establish for a couple of years before you introduce the under planting. You also need to be aware that plants that will thrive in those conditions will be quite rampant, so whilst they may suppress weeds inside the bed, they can themselves become weeds if they escape. So it doesn't necessarily avoid weeding - it just moves the problem further out.
Gooseberry sawfly will be a problem. You can use nematodes to treat it.
Personally I'd go with mulch and annual weeding and feeding. But it is possible to do it other ways.
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Yes sorry - cardboard composts very nicely so you just dig it in AS LONG as it's 'raw' cardboard, not printed or shiny coated stuff. I find getting the staples and the sellotape off is the main problem
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
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I really wouldn't go there, if I were you
Slugs are not a major threat to fruit bushes. Apart from anything else, the blackbirds that will sit under your fruit bushes waiting for the raspberries to ripen will eat the slugs while they're there. You can protect the plants when they are young with copper collars, slug pubs, vigilance and slug collecting. Once they are a year or two old, it will only be a problem for your strawberries (the slugs will eat the fruit). I'd suggest if it's a huge problem that you grow your strawbs in hanging baskets instead.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
What the others have said about competition is true of course, but if you are only growing blackcurrants and gooseberries - both of which are very robust and will grow in grass IME - they will probably cope as long as you feed the whole bed regularly so every plant gets enough food. You would need to let the bushes establish for a couple of years before you introduce the under planting. You also need to be aware that plants that will thrive in those conditions will be quite rampant, so whilst they may suppress weeds inside the bed, they can themselves become weeds if they escape. So it doesn't necessarily avoid weeding - it just moves the problem further out.
Gooseberry sawfly will be a problem. You can use nematodes to treat it.
Personally I'd go with mulch and annual weeding and feeding. But it is possible to do it other ways.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”