Cheapest source for black plastic

[muckdiva]

Where do other grapes get their black plastic mulch from? I've run out of the fabric stuff, and think I might give the plastic a go. Any ideas on the best stuff for the least cash?

[Seahorse]

I've struggled to find anything really affordable in garden/DIY places for the amount of space I wanted to cover, so I am having a go with wheelie bin liners (cutting off the bottom seam for a double skin piece).

Someone else may be able to say whether it's a good or bad idea though?

[Hans Mum]

try builders merchants for larger quantities its cheaper than g/c

[smallblueplanet]

I've struggled to find anything really affordable in garden/DIY places for the amount of space I wanted to cover, so I am having a go with wheelie bin liners (cutting off the bottom seam for a double skin piece).

Someone else may be able to say whether it's a good or bad idea though?

Did you read my thread on 'black plastic' on the 'undercover forum', particularly the bit about black vs clear plastic? Also some info on plastic mulches on the end of the 'Melons!' thread.

What are you using your black plastic for?

[muckdiva]

Hi SBP
I will check out that thread, thanks. I need the plastic to stop the weeds coming through on my paths, and maybe around the fruit bushes. (Unless there is a better way...?)

[smallblueplanet]

I would have thought you should really use weed-surpressing fabric such as mypex for your paths muckdiva. If you use plastic the water won't be able to drain thru it. If you put holes in it to drain water then weeds will probably grow thru too?

Try googling for weed surpressing fabric, we bought ours ages ago from Kays who sold it in long lengths, or maybe ask at a builders merchant, its used for lots of jobs nowadays.

[smallblueplanet]

I don't know the quantity you need but here's some on ebay for example:

Weed Control Fabric*Membrane*Landscaping Ground Cover on eBay, also, Landscaping Garden Materials, Garden Plants, Home Garden (end time 09-Feb-08 20:00:00 GMT)

This says its non-fraying. The stuff we got ages ago frays, we used it to cover some weedy ground over winter. One day in early spring I saw a blackbird going mad - ahh I thought its doing its courtship thing. I went to take a closer look and it couldn't fly off because it had been caught up in the frayed fabric, it was tangled around one of its legs! I managed to grab it quite quickly and freed it - but I'll not leave the stuff that frays on top of the ground again.

[SarzWix]

Or you could try LBS? They sell by the metre or roll & have a few different sorts
Garden Warehouse: Ground Cover and Membranes - mulch, weed control, phormisol

[muckdiva]

Thank you both, I will probably go for the membrane then, but watch out for the fraying.

[Phreddy]

Try cheap cardboard boxes cover with mulch or soil, it breaks down and gets dug in next year. Alternatively newspaper but I find that more difficult to use.
We have too much plastic around, move to bio-degradables

[muckdiva]

I agree Phreddy, but I haven't had much success with finding a regular source with enough of the stuff..... any ideas? I think lots of places send it for recycling and don't want to be bothered with rooting out boxes for the public....

[jacob marley]

if it is plastic you realy want agricultural merchants is the place you want to places that sell covering for silage camps if you are in north oxon there shold be one some where in Banbury posibly near the old cattle market jacob

[Phreddy]

...regular source with enough of the stuff..... any ideas?

Corner shops;
Sainsbury always had piles of boxes in a container at the shop. I used loads of trays for moving but these were a better quality. The 'Wines & spirits' dept had lots of cheap stuff.
Other S/markets.
Don't use high quality stuff like the boxes that toasters and irons come in. (Shiny printed surface is toxic)

[snake the squadie]

i am with seahorse on this one i use old/new bin liners and it works a treatas long as its held down enough. another option is to get old of some old tarpolins i had half my plot coved by these and they distroyed all living things underneath it

[Two_Sheds]

I'm with Phreddy: we don't need any more plastic on the earth. I've used proper weed-suppressant fabric, black plastic and tarpaulin. It all gets ripped by the wind and degraded by the sun unless you keep it completely covered by a mulch. It adds nothing to the soil, whereas cardboard does (if you don't like how it looks, cover it with a mulch of bark chips or just soil)

I'm moving house soon, and finding it really hard to locate boxes: the Supers all say they can't let me have it for Health & Safety (lazyitis more like). So now I go round the back and raid the bins. The cardboard is supposed to be separated for recycling, but the shop muppets usually contaminate it with cling-wrap and plastic. So I'm saving it from landfill. When i've moved, it will be used on the allotment as a mulch.