black plastic as weed controle

[nemo]

hello
I have just finished filling my raised beds with soil in our new poly tunnel . i am thinking of buying black plastic, to cover the soil in the raised beds with plastic to stop weeds growing.would it be a good job to just plant things through the plastic,only cutting the plastic to plants the plants.would this work or would the soil be effected from being covered.i will be planting sweetcorn tomatoes ,peppers melons etc.
would paper mulch from fruit hill farms www.fruithillfarm.com be better ,it is very expensive compared to plastic
what is your opinion
regards
nemo

[glallotments]

Must admit I'd be wary of planting through black plastic as being waterproof no water will get through to the soil below.

On the other hand if wet ground is covered I would guess it would be a good hiding place for slugs and maybe the ground underneath would become stale.

If you want something like this I would guess a porous membrane would be preferable.

[jane E]

I'd mulch with compost or manure or mushroom compost, leave it over winter and lightly fork in in the spring. It will improve the ground, stem the overwinter weeds and keep the ground friable until the spring.

[nemo]

i think i will shy away from the plastic i will try using broad sheet newspaper as a ground cover and planting through it.if i mulch it with compost i would need enough for 48 meters to cover the four beds.i might have enough for one bed so i will try mulching one bed with compost an compare the results.anything is better than hand weeding red shank and chickweed.
thanks for your re ploys
regards
nemo

[Mike Vogel]

It might be a good idea to use the black plastic in the SPRING to prevent weeds germinating where you want to sow carrots or something later on. My idea would be to use the lpastic in the spring, remove it before sowing and replace it with cardboard. Make slits in the cardboard and sow in the slits. Now you'll get carrots [with luck] growing through the slits in nice neat rows and any weed seedlings which pop up as well can be easily disposed of as their roots will be weak.

[richard p]

chickweed ceases to be a problem when you realise its very high in vitamin c and is very good in a cheese sandwich add a few dandelion leaves and its a free salad.
ive tried planting through a porous black plastic.. wouldnt do it again.. the best use for plastic is to cover empty beds to supress weed growth and remove before planting.