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Best plastic/fabric to use to kill weeds?

NiniSNiniS Posts: 18
in Problem solving
We moved into our house in January last year, and the house comes with a lovely long garden which I am hoping to transform into something beautiful over time. However the very back of the garden is currently a weed infested area. Last year I tried tackling some of it with weedkiller, but it only partially killed some of the weeds, while others still kept on growing. I've also tried pulling out the weeds, but obviously this isn't perfect and there's still loads growing!

So now I am contemplating getting some black plastic/fabric to cover this area of the garden, to hopefully kill off most of the weeds. I know this would take a lot of time, but I am currently not planning on using that part of the garden anyway. So I have the time to leave something on there for a while.

Now I need some advice on what type of sheeting would be best to put on there? Does anyone have any experience with this? What would you recommend? Plastic? Fabric? Any sheet in particular that you can recommend?

Any links to online places to get this would be very much appreciated as well, as I don't drive a car so have to get it online. :)
Thank you!

Posts

  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    Old carpets are good if you have any. 
  • NiniSNiniS Posts: 18
    K67 said:
    Old carpets are good if you have any. 
    No carpets here I'm afraid, we ripped them out when we moved in and put in laminate instead. :)
  • Mary370Mary370 Posts: 2,003
    Old newspapers.........dampen them, then cover over with bark
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    What sort of weeds are you dealing with and what is the ground like? If it's flattish then you might be better off just strimming it down and keeping it strimmed or mown. If you really need to blanket the ground then look for something water permiable or you'll end up with desicated soil underneath and much wetter soil around the sheeting where the rain will run off it. I find weed seeds and roots happily sit under sheeting for a long time and shoot up with vigour when exposed to light and water again.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • debs64debs64 Posts: 5,184
    Wilkinson sell membrane that I have used on my allotment it's not too expensive and they will deliver. Good luck! 
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    phone round local carpet suppliers/ fitters. I've found them more than happy to get rid of carpets they've removed from houses.
    Devon.
  • a1154a1154 Posts: 1,108
    I use groundcoversolutions which is I think best for permanent use, but you want something temporary, so carpet,  newspapers, cardboard are all good options. 
    If you get membrane, be careful it’s not pierced by existing woody type weeds, and then you would need to weigh it down well.  It is good stuff, will kill off weeds over time, but it does fray at the edges. If you can fold it under then weigh it down that is best. You’ll be able to reuse it when you take it up. 
  • NiniSNiniS Posts: 18
    a1154 said:
    I use groundcoversolutions which is I think best for permanent use, but you want something temporary, so carpet,  newspapers, cardboard are all good options. 
    If you get membrane, be careful it’s not pierced by existing woody type weeds, and then you would need to weigh it down well.  It is good stuff, will kill off weeds over time, but it does fray at the edges. If you can fold it under then weigh it down that is best. You’ll be able to reuse it when you take it up. 
    Thank you for that recommendation! That's the type of stuff I am looking for. I don't know yet if it will be permanent or not, as we haven't figured out yet what to do with this part of the garden (it's at the very back, kind of hidden from view and very shady under a big oak tree).

    So with a membrane I can leave it if I want and put things on top of it, or remove it and use somewhere else. :)
  • a1154a1154 Posts: 1,108
    Yes this stuff you can use under gravel, wood chips etc. Or you can weigh it down and move it later when you have decided. I have some bits I have used several times. It doesn’t seem to degrade in the sun, but as I say it can be pierced.  Try and get it wide enough, but if you can’t, do a reasonable overlap. 
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