Leave clear solarizing plastic on beds?

17 years ago

A question if you've used clear plastic to control weeds and soil-borne pathogens in your garden.

This year I've decided to use 4-mil solarizing clear plastic to cover my beds. Anything that can be planted now, such as lettuce & some herbs, is going in containers. I can lay it out this week, so that should leave at least 3-4 weeks while it bakes the soil before I set out or sow the heat-lovers.

My question is this. Can I leave it in the beds and plant through it or in strips between it? This would involve melons, peppers & tomatoes, maybe beans. I plan to lay drip irrigation under the plastic anyway, since effective solarization requires moisture.

I'm hoping this will do something to discourage the bindweed I struggle with every year and to destroy some of the soil-ensconced funguses that have made merry with my tomatoes the last couple of years.

But will leaving it in place make the soil too hot? Should I plan to cover it when the temps rise with an organic mulch that will shade it? I have lots of leaves. What's been your experience, or what do you know about using it?

Here is a link that might be useful: Soil Solarization for the Control of Nematodes and Soilborne Diseases

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Comments (3)

wayne_5 zone 6a Central Indiana
17 years ago
I once tried clear plastic [2mil which lets the most light through]. It started breaking up from the heat after about 5 to 6 weeks. I would not solarize again. Too much season time is lost and clear plastic may let some weeds sprout under the plastic unless it is super hot.....could be too hot in Georgia for melons under the clear plastic.
As for deep rooted bindweed, I don't think that it gets that hot that deep.

As far as fungal spores go, again the killing heat depth does have limits.
I know I have been negative, but negative is all I can recall from the one experience. LOL
jwstell42
17 years ago
Personally I put black plastic down (just did it this weekend for my raised beds) and leave it on all beds with heat loving veges for the entire summer.

That being said... i'm zone 5 in upstate NY - I don't think i can "overheat" my beds even if I wanted to for melons, tomatoes etc...

You might want to ask around or find others in your zone to see if it works. I would think that it would get too hot in mid summer georgia to leave plastic on, but again, that's just me guessing, not from personal experience.
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anney
Original Author
17 years ago
Wayne

Yes, from all I've read, the thinner the clear plastic, the more effective it is at solarizing. And the quicker it deteriorates. Of course, the problem with solarizing is that to be really effective, it should be done when it's hottest, usually the time when heat-loving plants are just beginning to produce and you want the space for them.

I agree that solarizing won't destroy the root system of this dratted bindweed, but if I can just prevent it from sending out its vines among the vegetables and strangling my plants, that would be a plus. Thus, my wondering about whether I could leave it in place.

jwstell42

Melons in particular seem to do well if grown with black plastic, even in Georgia summers. They and a few other vegetables really thrive in this kind of heat. But clear plastic generates much more heat than black plastic, and this is my concern.

Unless somebody tells me they've tried it and it ruined their plants, I may put down the clear plastic to solarize the soil as much as possible, and with a 4 mil-thickness that may not be a lot for 4-5 weeks, and then plant through it, and finally cover the clear plastic with leaves so the soil remains at reasonable temperatures.