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Location

Message

Date Posted

Midway City, California

Just finished removing weeds and am planning to cover the area with plastic to kill the new weeds that will come up. What color plastic will work best white or black? I figure the plastic will be down for about 30 days. Thanks John

4/14/2006 9:07:11 PM

Picton,ON ([email protected])

I would recomend clear plastic. My understanding is this will allow UV to penitrate the soil helping to kill the weed seeds!

4/14/2006 9:48:52 PM

[email protected]

Clear.

4/14/2006 11:57:17 PM

addison Il

where using clear plastic as it acts like a green house when closed and will fry all the weed seeds and also warm the soil.

4/15/2006 12:30:01 AM

Hamburg, NY

black

4/15/2006 7:17:26 AM

berkshire M.A.

Using clear plastic mulch will require the use of a herbicide, soil fumigant, or long term solarization to control weeds. The clear will warm the soil faster and keep the soil warmer threw the night,check out this site it has some good info.
http://plasticulture.cas.psu.edu/P-Mulch.html
Bill

4/15/2006 7:49:32 AM

Southern Sweden

Use black plastic if you want to kill the weeds, and clear plastic if you want to warm up the soil.

4/15/2006 7:53:04 AM

sevierville, Tn

I vote black. Had clear down and gave me a good crop of weeds. Of cource that may be because it was early spring and made it like a greenhouse. But I had a small piece of black down and no weeds were under it. Switched to all black last week.

4/15/2006 2:19:29 PM

Ga.

Black to warm,clear for long term solarization.

4/15/2006 4:19:09 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

Here is the trick...take a few old soda cans or bricks and place them under the clear. This will heat things up to the point of the weeds not surviving. Those of you that say black makes it hotter than clear. Please explain why I put a black shade cover over the top of my hoophouse to cool it in the summer...along with all the other greenhouses in america.

4/15/2006 6:40:33 PM

Minnesota([email protected])

I thought it was common thinking that black(or dark colors) absorbed more heat. And that white reflected heat. Clear would absorb as much heat based on the color of the soil, I would guess. Therefore black would seem to be the way to go. Anyone want to shoot this hypothesis down?

4/16/2006 12:44:56 AM

Cornwall UK.(50N 5W)300ft.

Yep,black polythene absorbs heat so you have warm polythene.
Clear lets heat through into the soil beneath so you get warm soil.
It doesn't get hot enough to kill weeds under clear at this time of the year here,it makes them germinate though then you can pull them up before planting instead of later on when they come up through the crop bit like the old stale seedbed technique.

4/16/2006 3:32:21 AM

Ga.

Our county extension agent says the clear lets the UV rays thru the clear plastic.. In central florida,they grow strawberries on black plastic,,2 reasons,,the black for heat and to keep the berries clean as the berries are planted during winter..

4/16/2006 8:26:31 AM

Montoursville, PA

Black..........provides enough heat, to germinate anything in the top inch, of soil. Prevents strong growth by elimination, of light. Any tender seedlings not dead upon removal are killed, by drying and sunburn.

4/17/2006 9:54:58 AM

Lake Elmo, Minnesota

Black. Clear acts like a greenhouse. Black allows zero light in and dramatically reduces the germination of weeds. Also, black increases soil temp nicely.

4/17/2006 10:49:00 AM

[email protected]

Hence my reason for liking clear. I WANT the seeds to germinate & get their butts cookled off in the heat. A dead weed is better than a viable weed seed in my book.

4/17/2006 6:20:18 PM

Sort of Sunny Sometimes, WA

Clear it is! What I want to know why the brick and the soda can?

4/17/2006 6:34:38 PM

Syracuse, NY

probably allows some circulation of the hot air created by the sun getting through better than if it were just laying on the soil unassisted, but i do not actually KNOW for sure-
probably a nice rainfall on top of the plastic would
nullify this effort? eric

4/18/2006 7:07:50 PM