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?

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), May 08, 2001

Answers

I did this one year for the same reason, lots of sacks! But I wasn't happy with the mess I had with them. I was a lot happier when I used newspapers. I put some dirt over them to keep them in place and they rotted well and didn't have to be cleaned up later.

-- Nancy (sonflower35@icqmail.com), May 09, 2001.

I did that in a small bed, and it wasn't too good. There's still plastic there! To smother nasty weeds I cover it with black plastic for a looonnnng time. I use a heavy mulch system in my garden starting with newspaper or paper feed sacks and building up from mulching on top of that. It works really well but takes a fair amount of time to start with. I'd rather spend that time than weed constantly, though. Good luck!

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), May 09, 2001.

I've used the newspapers... but was thinking of doing the same with the feed bags this year.

I think what I will do is to use the papers in sheets instead of shredding as I normally do, and lay the bags on top of that. Since we need to really protect the soil up here till after the middle of June, I might put straw or something on top of that as well. Or perhaps another layer of newspaper. Wonder what the work load will be to remove the bags (which may or may NOT be in fairly decent condition)??

I hate throwing anything away (just ask anybody who's ever met me!!) But, sometimes there is just no other way. Any other ideas as to what to do with these things?????

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), May 09, 2001.


Feedsacks: Sew together to make: teepees, shade cloth, coverings for the kids forts.... Also we use them for garbage pickup and to collect the garbage in the barn. Good luck and be imaginative, and then share your ideas with me! :o)

-- Nancy (sonflower35@icqmail.com), May 09, 2001.

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