mulching with plastic feed sacks?

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Have any of you tried mulching with the woven white plastic feed sacks? I have a lot of these, and I need to mulch some dayliles in an area with a lot of quack grass, tansy, and raspberry canes. I started mulching with cardboard boxes, but thought that maybe the quack grass will come right through the cardboard. I don't want to use the feed sacks if they're going to break down quickly and leave lots of nasty plastic fibers in the soil. I was going to cover them with straw and bark, so the sun wouldn't break the plastic down. How long do you think they'd last before I have to remove them?

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2001

Answers

Hi Rebekah, my friend used them about five years ago and they are still working. We have been using the clear plastic ones that we get calf grower in, but only for a couple years now so I don't know how long they are going to last. I would think if you watched them and removed before you had "fiber" that they would work.

-- Anonymous, May 08, 2001

rebekah, I've never tried it but it sounds like a good idea, I'm gonna go get the ones we have piled up in the barn and use them today on my new garden bed. I'll try it! Thanks for the idea! Tren

-- Anonymous, May 09, 2001

Welcome to the forum, Rebekah.

I think the plastic feed sacks should last quite a long time so long as they are covered with some kind of mulch to protect them from UV rays.

-- Anonymous, May 11, 2001


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