Covering weeds?

[Gryfon]

If I covered weeds with either black bin sacks, carpet or cardboard...how long do I need to leave it down till they're dead?

Thanks!

[bubblewrap]

I don't go for that method even if the "tops" are dead the roots can live on. (cooch grass)
I dug the whole of my lottie (more than once) to make sure I rid it of the most persistant weeds.
I now only go over it now and again with a hoe to keep on top of them!

[Gryfon]

I can't actually dig though at the moment which is a right annoyance!

How about killing off the tops, then getting the other half to dig and then I should be able to get the children to help me getting the roots out!

[rustylady]

If you cover with black plastic, thick cardboard, or old carpet, anything which shuts out the light completely, it will kill off the top growth. Longer you can leave it the better. How bad is the plot at the moment, and what sort of weeds (annuals, couch grass, bindweed, docks or brambles). Even when the top growth is dead you will still need to dig out the roots of perennials, but if it's only soft annual stuff it may be workable fairly soon.

[Gryfon]

I've got various perennials, some annuals and my favourite joys of brambles and bindweed!

Thankfully I've managed to clear the small patch I've been working with of brambles and most of the bindweed so I think that most of the weeds on it are shallow root ones. It's the other parts of the garden I want to use where the brambles etc come into their own.

Saying that though I did cover a load of it before winter with carpet (been there so long I have grass growing on the carpet!). Will have to take a deep breath tomorrow I think and start lifting it and see what weird and wonderful things we can unearth.

[rustylady]

The only way to get rid of brambles is to cut the tops off and burn them, and dig the roots out. B****y hard work but worth it. I know - my lottie was shoulder high in brambles and docks when I took it over 18 months ago.