I believe 160°F is the target temperature for pasteurization, so it sounds reasonable to think it will "kill the bad and save the good" microbes. I just covered a 3950sqft area. Can't wait to see the results
You can find many different mentions of the right temps to reach 131f seemed to be most common, I did see some recommendations of 140 - 160 so you are correct. 160 is VERY hard to reach. I applaud anyone who can reach that. I barely hit 130. I bet your garden will be amazing!!
I've been hacking away almost daily at the weeds in this patch at the front of the house. My hand/wrist is now so painful. I've come across this page trying to find an easier way to get rid and keep them at bay. I'll try this method..
@@ajwatson9974 I actually have a video on chemical free weed strategies coming soon. Maybe that will help. I have been there I promise you! This will be one of the strategies revisited in the video but there are a few that when used together seem to work well for me. Stay tuned.
I garden in 18 gallon totes. They got neglected this past summer. So now I'm Triple layering a tarp over 2 at a time. Will see what happens here in NE Florida after Milton goes by.
You can but there are a few considerations. 1. I am not sure leaving your ground covered that long is good for the microbes and organic matter in your soil which are good to have. Black Plastic is shown not to kill the good stuff and just kills Pathogens so it might be fine but I have not seen any studies on what happens to the soil when covered that long. But technically you could do it and in a cooler region you may need longer anyway. Any seeds in there that get moisture in the spring will still germinate but overtime you will reduce the volume. 2. I have not found tarps as good as plastic. The weave in tarps lets the sun through and they are not as hot. Plastic kills with heat, no moisture and no light. Hope that helps!
I am going to use the black plastic to eradicate "quick grass"...how thick of a plastic should I use? Apparently black tarps are hard to come by because they come black on one side and silver color on the other side..silver removes the heat which is exactly the opposite of what I'm trying to accomplish
I do not think thickness matters. I use the cheap and thin painters plastic and I have killed some thick nasty grass with it. As long as it doesn’t let in light and gets hot, thickness will have no value in my opinion. (Note that this is an opinion. I have not done a test on tarps vs plastic to be truly conclusive). I honestly think tarps would be less effective as they are almost woven, letting in small amounts of light. That plastic roll from Walmart is cheap and effective. Just won’t last as long as a tarp. Hope that helps!
I may give this a try. I have an area where I’ve been dumping the horse manure and I was thinking about turning it into another garden area next spring, but the weeds and grass are loving the manure and all this rain and I wasn’t sure I wanted to tackle that chore! Can you plant right after you remove the plastic? What section of Walmart has the plastic?
You shouldn't have any issues with planting right away. The only thing to watch is if your manure is really fresh it can burn plants. But I am assuming if it has weeds in it, it has been there for a while and the burn stage has passed. That should be a wicked garden for you! I order the black plastic online. Always double check it says Black, I ordered clear once by accident. Here is the link. www.walmart.com/ip/Husky-3-5-Mil-Black-Sheeting-10-x-25/20897761
@@JolleanSmith I've been using this same plastic for years. Sometimes between plants to make a walkway and sometimes in a place that has iris when I didn't have time to deal with weeds because of my work schedule. I ask myself what is the difference of using this plastic and a big rock. I don't advertise it though. People tell me it is not good. I've got bermuda grass growing in my Iris bed now. I'll have to dig them up and plan to use the black plastic to kill it out. From experience it will not happen in a year's time.
@@sharonfox5643 oh People why they have to mess with a good thing.... if you left it in the ground to break down I guess I could see that. The chemicals in the plastic will be in your soil and water run off. I don't leave mine in to break down that much. They get lifted after the weed kill is done. If the plastic rips when I move it, it is time to be replaced. That is the only thing I feel bad about as I hate creating waste. But from all the research I have done its not a bad thing to do. Now, I say that and someone will send me some University research that says otherwise. lol..... for now I don't see any issues but do lift it and toss it when it breaks down.
Hi Lar, yes that is the size. Here is the link just in case: www.walmart.com/ip/Husky-3-5-Mil-Black-Sheeting-10-x-25/20897761 Just make sure to get the black kind. I have accidentally bought the clear and although people say you can kill weeds with clear plastic, I have never had any luck. The Black plastic in high heat for me kills way faster. Happy gardening and thanks so much for watching.
@@JolleanSmith Thank you for the video, I was about to pull the trigger on the super expensive Silage tarps 10x25 for $41, I've got plenty of T-post to weight it down so I will try and save some money I know the Silage tarps are thicker and UV rated to last longer.
@@rogerlikes I have been using these for years now. Some in the direct sun break down after a year. Some under cover are still good. I also have greenhouse tarp that I got given from a nursery redoing their greenhouse and I find it’s bad for growing weeds on top of it. For the price and effectiveness the black plastic works if you don’t mind replacing it.
You are correct! I do believe at some point solarization was used to describe all plastic kill methods but later occultation was separated into its own method. So there are still lots of references of solarization and I am old so bear with me 😂 but you are correct and one of these days I will redo this video to correct to proper terminology.
I have used black plastic in the past to terminate green manure crops and am now reusing the process today in a small section of my garden, laying the plastic about fifteen minutes before this comment! Have you tried this process for green manure and if so do you find it effective in improving your no dig soil?
I chop and drop my green manure. And we are still monitoring soil samples to measure impacts of green crops on the soil. I have one year measured and this year we will see how things have changed. But eliminating the crops with the black plastic I have not really needed to do. It is supposed to be just fine for it. Doesn’t kill the good stuff and is similar to composting. I have read some studies on it that were positive. Sorry I can’t offer a personal yay or nay vote.
Why do you keep saying solarization when you are using black plastic ? Solarization is when you use 4-6 mil clear plastic to kill weeds. Occultation is when you use black plastic to kill weeds .
Yes, thank you so much. I am old and at one time black plastic was considered solarization. I did learn later newer terminology was more accurate but unfortunately it was after I made this video. I do intend to refilm at some point. But thanks for sharing :)
@ML.0345 yea I was told to use white plastic but it never worked. Just made plants yellow. Black plastic kills all in high heat in about a week. So never made sense to me.
It is a very useful video and very important information about Black Plastic Mulch.
Thanks for posting! I didn't know Walmart sold this plastic. Just picked some up and our weedy area is covered!
It will make weeding soooooo much easier! So happy it was helpful.
Good informative video thanks for posting 🙏🕊
Thanks for watching!!
Thank you !!! Exactly what I was looking for.
Wonderful! Happy gardening and thanks for watching.
Thanks so much! I’m doing that right now! 😊
Awesome! Hope it helps. May take a bit longer in cooler months but other than that works like a charm!
I believe 160°F is the target temperature for pasteurization, so it sounds reasonable to think it will "kill the bad and save the good" microbes. I just covered a 3950sqft area. Can't wait to see the results
You can find many different mentions of the right temps to reach 131f seemed to be most common, I did see some recommendations of 140 - 160 so you are correct. 160 is VERY hard to reach. I applaud anyone who can reach that. I barely hit 130. I bet your garden will be amazing!!
Looking great out there!
It looks much better now, this was January. Now it’s full of plants and veggies. Thanks for watching and commenting Cassandra!
I've been hacking away almost daily at the weeds in this patch at the front of the house. My hand/wrist is now so painful. I've come across this page trying to find an easier way to get rid and keep them at bay. I'll try this method..
@@ajwatson9974 I actually have a video on chemical free weed strategies coming soon. Maybe that will help. I have been there I promise you! This will be one of the strategies revisited in the video but there are a few that when used together seem to work well for me. Stay tuned.
@@JolleanSmith Thank you for the response much appreciated..☺
@JolleanSmith I'm in the same boat. Thistle took over my entire yard 😫 I started pulling but gave up after spending hours and barely making a dent
@marissaduhn get some plastic and fry it! Way easier. Just takes a little patience.
I garden in 18 gallon totes. They got neglected this past summer. So now I'm Triple layering a tarp over 2 at a time. Will see what happens here in NE Florida after Milton goes by.
It is September 1st in western NY. Can I simply throw tarp over the grass and weeds until Spring?
You can but there are a few considerations. 1. I am not sure leaving your ground covered that long is good for the microbes and organic matter in your soil which are good to have. Black Plastic is shown not to kill the good stuff and just kills Pathogens so it might be fine but I have not seen any studies on what happens to the soil when covered that long. But technically you could do it and in a cooler region you may need longer anyway. Any seeds in there that get moisture in the spring will still germinate but overtime you will reduce the volume. 2. I have not found tarps as good as plastic. The weave in tarps lets the sun through and they are not as hot. Plastic kills with heat, no moisture and no light. Hope that helps!
I am going to use the black plastic to eradicate "quick grass"...how thick of a plastic should I use? Apparently black tarps are hard to come by because they come black on one side and silver color on the other side..silver removes the heat which is exactly the opposite of what I'm trying to accomplish
I do not think thickness matters. I use the cheap and thin painters plastic and I have killed some thick nasty grass with it. As long as it doesn’t let in light and gets hot, thickness will have no value in my opinion. (Note that this is an opinion. I have not done a test on tarps vs plastic to be truly conclusive).
I honestly think tarps would be less effective as they are almost woven, letting in small amounts of light. That plastic roll from Walmart is cheap and effective. Just won’t last as long as a tarp. Hope that helps!
Nice video, thanks
Thanks Bill!
I may give this a try. I have an area where I’ve been dumping the horse manure and I was thinking about turning it into another garden area next spring, but the weeds and grass are loving the manure and all this rain and I wasn’t sure I wanted to tackle that chore! Can you plant right after you remove the plastic? What section of Walmart has the plastic?
You shouldn't have any issues with planting right away. The only thing to watch is if your manure is really fresh it can burn plants. But I am assuming if it has weeds in it, it has been there for a while and the burn stage has passed. That should be a wicked garden for you! I order the black plastic online. Always double check it says Black, I ordered clear once by accident. Here is the link. www.walmart.com/ip/Husky-3-5-Mil-Black-Sheeting-10-x-25/20897761
@@JolleanSmith I've been using this same plastic for years. Sometimes between plants to make a walkway and sometimes in a place that has iris when I didn't have time to deal with weeds because of my work schedule. I ask myself what is the difference of using this plastic and a big rock. I don't advertise it though. People tell me it is not good. I've got bermuda grass growing in my Iris bed now. I'll have to dig them up and plan to use the black plastic to kill it out. From experience it will not happen in a year's time.
@@sharonfox5643 oh People why they have to mess with a good thing.... if you left it in the ground to break down I guess I could see that. The chemicals in the plastic will be in your soil and water run off. I don't leave mine in to break down that much. They get lifted after the weed kill is done. If the plastic rips when I move it, it is time to be replaced. That is the only thing I feel bad about as I hate creating waste. But from all the research I have done its not a bad thing to do. Now, I say that and someone will send me some University research that says otherwise. lol..... for now I don't see any issues but do lift it and toss it when it breaks down.
@@JolleanSmith Always remove it when it's torn
Great video, are these the 10' x 25' from walmart?
Hi Lar, yes that is the size. Here is the link just in case: www.walmart.com/ip/Husky-3-5-Mil-Black-Sheeting-10-x-25/20897761
Just make sure to get the black kind. I have accidentally bought the clear and although people say you can kill weeds with clear plastic, I have never had any luck. The Black plastic in high heat for me kills way faster. Happy gardening and thanks so much for watching.
@@JolleanSmith Thanks so much
@@JolleanSmith Thank you for the video, I was about to pull the trigger on the super expensive Silage tarps 10x25 for $41, I've got plenty of T-post to weight it down so I will try and save some money I know the Silage tarps are thicker and UV rated to last longer.
@@rogerlikes I have been using these for years now. Some in the direct sun break down after a year. Some under cover are still good. I also have greenhouse tarp that I got given from a nursery redoing their greenhouse and I find it’s bad for growing weeds on top of it. For the price and effectiveness the black plastic works if you don’t mind replacing it.
@@JolleanSmiththanks
It's my understanding that "solarization" uses clear plastic, and occultation uses black plastic. Similar but different processes.
You are correct! I do believe at some point solarization was used to describe all plastic kill methods but later occultation was separated into its own method. So there are still lots of references of solarization and I am old so bear with me 😂 but you are correct and one of these days I will redo this video to correct to proper terminology.
Pretty much same thing. Great video don’t change a thing.
Thanks I sure appreciate it 😊
I have used black plastic in the past to terminate green manure crops and am now reusing the process today in a small section of my garden, laying the plastic about fifteen minutes before this comment! Have you tried this process for green manure and if so do you find it effective in improving your no dig soil?
I chop and drop my green manure. And we are still monitoring soil samples to measure impacts of green crops on the soil. I have one year measured and this year we will see how things have changed. But eliminating the crops with the black plastic I have not really needed to do. It is supposed to be just fine for it. Doesn’t kill the good stuff and is similar to composting. I have read some studies on it that were positive. Sorry I can’t offer a personal yay or nay vote.
@@JolleanSmith cheers. Thanks for quick reply. ✅
Why do you keep saying solarization when you are using black plastic ? Solarization is when you use 4-6 mil clear plastic to kill weeds. Occultation is when you use black plastic to kill weeds .
Yes, thank you so much. I am old and at one time black plastic was considered solarization. I did learn later newer terminology was more accurate but unfortunately it was after I made this video. I do intend to refilm at some point. But thanks for sharing :)
Potato, po-tah-toe. Everyone got the point.
Thanks 😊
White plastic would let some light in
@ML.0345 yea I was told to use white plastic but it never worked. Just made plants yellow. Black plastic kills all in high heat in about a week. So never made sense to me.