How to kill a lot of weeds all at once

A roll of black polythene plastic (builder’s plastic) is an easy way to kill weeds sprouting in newly prepared beds:

• prepare the soil, and wait for rogue seedlings to pop up;

• cover with black plastic for two weeks, then remove;

• repeat if necessary.

You can buy rolls in the building section of hardware stores from 10m up to 50m long in various widths. It can be used for years, even decades if it’s stored safely out of the sun over summer.

It also warms the soil, helping to compost manure and other organic matter in or on top of a bed.