Weed Suppressant

As our plot was so overgrown when we took it on, we decided to start by clearing the worst of the weeds and then laying down some kind of weed suppressant. We researched a few different options and spoke to other plotholders and friends who were experienced gardeners. While a lot of people seemed to favour old carpet in the past, this wasn't an option as the use of carpet is banned on our allotment. The reason for this is that chemicals can seep into the soil. We didn't have ready access to carpet anyway, so this wasn't too much os a disappointment! Cardboard was another option, and we still intend to lay down some very heavy cardboard in some parts of our plot, possibly the more heavily overgrown sections that we won't get to just yet.

We also considered black plastic sheeting. There was already some of this on our plot, albeit very ripped and cracked. While this is a popular option as it keeps light AND water off the ground, thereby killing weeds more quickly, we were put off by the fact that the ground would be very dry and hard to work. We always planned to uncover small sections of ground at a time, and map out and dig over our beds one by one.

As the vast majority of the central part of our plot was taken over by mare's tail, which we'd be breaking off at the ground, and various grasses, we opted for weed membrane, which we hoped would be able to cope with finishing off the grass while preventing the mare's tail from popping up again. We read lots of reviews online and checked out forums to find which one would suit our needs. We knew we'd be traipsing back and forth over it, and that it needed to be heavy duty. We also wanted something that would let water in but was thick enough to effectively block light.

We checked out a few fabrics in shops, but lots of them seemed pretty flimsy and let a lot of light through.

 Eventually, we decided on this Yuzet Heavy Duty Weed Control Fabric from Amazon. It gets great reviews, and seemed reasonably priced for a heavy duty weed membrane. It also came in 50m rolls, which was great as we knew we'd need a lot! While it's only really been a couple of months since we laid the first of our weed control fabric, we're really impressed so far. It's withstood all kinds of weather so far, and has remained firmly in place. There are absolutely no signs of wear and tear yet, except at the odd edge where we've snagged it while cutting, or have had to pull pegs out to move them.

Weed control fabric on Allotment 22

As you can see from the photo, it's got a bit of a sheen to it, and is a little more plasticky than lots of fabrics. I was concerned it might tear easily because of the texture, but this honestly hasn't been a problem. The guidelines down the length of the fabric will be helpful when we come to lay paths in future and the fabric is really easy to cut with regular scissors.

We started off holding it down with bricks, but this wasn't ideal as they're easy to trip over and kick out of position. We got these Yuzet 6" Weed Control Fabric Pegs, also from Amazon, and they've been great to use. We push them in as far as we can with our hands, then stand on them firmly to push them right into the ground. It's a lot easier when it's rained recently, that's for sure! The only problems we've had are when the pegs have hit stone or pebbles - all too common on our plot, sadly - and we have to pull them out to re-position them. When you do this, the hooks on the pegs can catch on the weed control fabric and fray it a little but it's not too much of an inconvenience.

All in all, we're impressed with this product so far and will certainly be buying it again when we run out of our current supplies.