Weed membrane

[lottieguy]

Hi Ya, Good to hear the advice. I have found out by default that the more costly membrane is best as I have tried some cheaper stuff but it went to ribbons in a week. I have followed advice and invested in some more expensive stuff now. I was going to go no dig but the amount of compost you need is way out of my scope so will use the stuff I make and use the membrane. Thanks for all your tips and keep them coming thank you all

[Babru]

My new garden (2 years now) had really good quality weed membrane under slate chips (last owner wasn't fond of plants). It had been down for 14 years, but I have been able to reuse it under paths between new flower and fruit beds. In the past I've found the really cheap stuff to be a false economy, doesn't last, so what's the point of it!

[Thelma Sanders]

I have Yuzet weed membrane (some of which is 10 yrs old) with holes cut to suit the bed size and the crop that will go there. When I lift the membrane, I add compost/natural fertilizer use a 3 prong cultivator over the bed to work that in and then recover.

It's working ok for me - except on the very heavy clay at the top of the plot - that still needs loosening with the fork each year, covering with compost and cardboard before laying the membrane for the courgettes and squash/pumpkins that grow there. If I don't loosen it during the wet winter months, it is like concrete come summer
My back (and my wallet) won't let me move enough manure/compost to improve the soil in one hit (a la Charles Dowding) Hopefully in the long-term it will improve..

[ESBkevin]

Full on No dig (as per Charles Dowding) can be done with no membrane, but requires quite a lot of 'compost' so moving all that can be daunting if your mobility is reduced. The amount of weeding becomes very small and easy to pull.

[Baldy]

I inherited quite a lot of the stuff and use it along with cardboard as the main weed suppresant material for no-dig. I find it works quite well.
One tip would be to use heat to 'cut' it up. If you just use knife/scissors you will find it frays like nobody's business.

[lottieguy]

Hi Ya, Due to medical disability digging of my plot and kneeling is very limited. I am toying with the idea of a mostly no dig scenario and using weed membrane. Does anyone else use this at all? Any advice/tips would be most welcome. Cheers