Weed membrane

[Skippy]

This might at first seem to be in the wrong section but read on. If anyone has ever wondered if membrane really keeps the weeds at bay then here's a quick how to on another forum. The poster to look for is called Steve the joiner and his second post explains just how it has worked on his garden. I'll let you read it and decide if you're going to follow his advice but somehow I doubt few if any will.

http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/forum ... 84331.html

[Brewtrog]

Well, I'm not too surprised that it works, might have to suggest it to my dad as weeds are growing through our slate

[Weedo]

weed membrane - no set and forget answer.

When a membrane, or similar barrier, is put down it usually does a great job of suppressing weeds (I use the word "suppress" deliberately) There are two sources of re-invasion, propagules of weeds under the membrane and propagules that arrive in the material you put above the membrane (same applies to pathways, cobbles bricks etc.) - any membrane will accumulate thin layer of soil on top just from dust and rain. The former are those species that have capacity to pierce the membrane such onion weeds, couch grass, elm seedlings etc. the latter are the general mob of trouble. Residual herbicides can be used where you want scorched earth (none are as toxic as creosote) and the best answer where plants are Ok is a dense planting of a perennial favourite.

[Flo]

There will still be weed seeds under the membrane that will grow as soon as you move it and let in the rain, sun,warmth. If you have left dandelion roots, dock roots, bindweed roots, mares tail roots - they will grow again.

It's easier in the long run to deal with the weeds as they appear. There's no easy way to garden. If you don't like weeding perhaps you shouldn't have a garden.

You get weeds even in tubs!

[Brewtrog]

I was more talking about the suggestion of creosoting the ground first

[Flo]

Ah so you would be using a chemical that has been banned in the UK even for preserving woodwork on your ground? Anyway it is now banned for residential use if you read through this link.

[Skippy]

Hope no ones got the wrong end of the stick here. The idea to soak the ground with creosote came from Steve the joiner in the link and I like others frankly cannot believe anybody would use such a product on their garden. Proper , traditional creosote is still available to those with the correct licences etc.

Edit
Interesting reading on the link flo . I notice the mention of harm to clothes when coming into contact with it . It was common practice at one time to mix old engine oil with creosote and my father was one who did just that and after 25 years or more touching his fences will still give a black mark on clothes or skin.

[Brewtrog]

Ah so you would be using a chemical that has been banned in the UK even for preserving woodwork on your ground? Anyway it is now banned for residential use if you read through this link.

As Skippy says, it was a suggestion on the link. I know I am daft, but not quite daft enough to poison my back garden (well, not intentionally )

[Flo]

Didn't mean to sound rude or insulting Brewtrog honest!

I'm just too used to dealing with people who take allotments on with strange ideas of what to do. Like the tale of the bloke who covered his allotment in sodium chlorate weedkiller and then wondered why he couldn't grow anything. It was some five years before the plot was useful again. I'm getting old and cynical I think as that is but one tale.

Nice to know that there are people around with sense and respect for their soil.

[Brewtrog]

No worries, it does seem that thinking is getting rarer by the year.

Nice to know that there are people around with sense

Though I certainly wouldn't say I had sense

[bonniethomas06]

That is shocking! Lordy...

I will be laying some good quality weed membrane to keep the worst down prior to gravel and then hoping santa brings me a flame weeder for Christmas for any that make it that far!

[diggernotdreamer]

I use weed membrane, the mypex sort is very good as long as you don't want to cut it, then it frays like a bastard, I have the blow torch handy and just wave it over the cut part to seal it, I also use the material like stuff that doesn't fray, not as strong as the mypex but useful for on top of beds. Weeds do get onto gravel as Weedo says, and I tend to use woodchips as a sacrificial medium in the veg garden as you always seems to drop soil and compost onto the paths no matter how careful you are, after a couple of years or so, they start breaking down and can be chucked onto the beds and new chips put down, tree surgeons working int he area are always happy to tip a load.

[Skippy]

I'm just too used to dealing with people who take allotments on with strange ideas of what to do. Like the tale of the bloke who covered his allotment in sodium chlorate weedkiller and then wondered why he couldn't grow anything. It was some five years before the plot was useful again. I'm getting old and cynical I think as that is but one tale.

Nice to know that there are people around with sense and respect for their soil.

Sodium chlorate is of course also banned nowadays . I don't really like using weedkiller if I can get away with it but sometimes on a customers insistence I'll end up doing paths or drives. I have noticed on other forums where people advise giving an area several doses of roundup or similar glyphosate to clear it of weeds prior to planting out. I'm also conscious of reports of the stuff lingering and turning up in food and even breast milk as noted in one European investigation despite all the manufactures claiming to the contrary and that it's perfectly safe to use.

[Weedo]

The four core actions of weed management - Focus on the risk (impact), not the plant then - Prevent, Eliminate, Manage the risk. The most effective in relation to return for effort is to prevent weeds from arriving, If you can't prevent weeds arriving on your patch the the next best is to eliminate the impact, but you can only really do this if there is no source of regular re-introduction. Unfortunately most effort has to go into the manage category, keeping the impact to a minimum without really making much change in recruitment. Manage is, at best, "cost neutral" and returns only as much as you put in.

I see huge amounts of money and effort going into trying to eliminate common and widespread weeds when sound management would actually decrease the nett impact more.

[Skippy]

Perhaps you should put the sound management techniques down , it sounds ideal for a sticky if the mods would agree.
On the subject of weed control , one thing that bugs me is gravel. I have one customer who insists in filling her boarders with the bloody stuff as she says it cuts down the maintenance. Personally I think it tends to make maintenance more difficult ( so it doesn't get done thus seemingly cutting it down) , it's terrible on tool edges and frankly dangerous with any sort of power tools. I have already shot a stone through one of her windows with the mower because it never stays just in the boarders but somehow manages to migrate everywhere.