When I first took on the allotment in March, I was
bewildered by the amount of black plastic sheeting skulking all damp and morose
about the land. The previous owner had evidently been much attached to it. So much so that I was unearthing fragments of
it for some time, together with orange bailing twine, which I was able to pull
from the earth like strange orange earth worms.
I had no idea why anyone would want such a quantity of black
plastic, especially as it seemed to be in such a poor condition, full of tears
and holes and caked with mud. In the end
I disposed of it in recycling. Now the weeds have really started to bolt I have realised too late the true value of what I threw away.
There were
two large beds I had yet to excavate, and the only realistic line of defence
against weeds was total suffocation by black plastic. I had kept several pieces, which were killing
the nettles and couche grass in the compost heap, but I needed more. Much more.
There was no other way forward but to go on a scrounging mission.
There is a communal area in the allotments where people put
things they don’t need, and I was delighted to discover a large piece of
plastic just the size I needed to cover the remaining bed. I dragged back my prize like a cavewoman
dragging back dead prey.
I kept the plastic in place with the old heavy logs I’d
found on my allotment, perhaps their original function. I also found large flints worked well. So I’ve learnt the hard way the true value of
black plastic sheeting, and will never treat it with disrespect again.
Ultimately I intend to experiment with green manure and
mulches to both feed and inhibit weed growth, but for emergency situations in
the spring there is no substitute for black plastic.
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