Weed control with mypex

The crops planted so far this year are through a plastic maize mulch, which is biodegradable preventing disposal costs but has gaps between beds which can allow weed growth. It is also expensive and doesn't allow the ingress of rain or irrigation water although it does prevent the loss of water through evaporation.

Recently we have been experimenting with Mypex , a woven plastic sheet which is reusable and allows the penetration of water while preventing loss through evaporation. The main problems are that it can move so covering young plants and is more difficult to plant through.The make the planting holes we have cut the Mypex but this leads to the edge of the hole fraying and some materials being lost. Which could lead to a long term deterioration of the sheet.

Below you can see that we have burnt the planting holes using a small blow torch. This seals the edges preventing and further deterioration of the sheet but gives a less flexible space to plant through.


Another method of using sheet materials for weed control is to cover the cropping area for about 4 weeks prior to planting,the sheet is then removed prior to planting. This methods can give up to 4 weeks before weed seeds start to germinate.
For for sown crops a similar method is used except that the cover is re applied after sowing and left in place until germination, giving an extra week or two before seedlings are exposed to weed competition. Obviously the sown rows must be checked regularly and the sheet removed as soon as germination has started.

We will monitor the various sheets to see how they perform over the coming season.