Simply cover the weeds and they turn yellow and die. They produce more shoots and leaves; these yellow and die, get eaten by the soil life and slowly the surface becomes covered in worm casts. It helps to have a perimeter trench a foot or so deep and wide into which the cover hangs; this prevents weeds near the edge of it surviving from outlying roots. Plastic sheet on uneven ground pools rainwater and channels it to the lowest point, so it must be laid carefully with that in mind. You can reduce the problem, indeed utilise it, by laying plastic sheet over a raked level, or graded, loose mulch or soil, with depressions to guide the water to just where you want it. Or you can create depressions around plants and fit the plastic about them, then the water will be delivered to them. The paper or board layer is strong enough to stop many weeds pushing through but it eventually rots. Although it seems newspaper and corrugated cardboard are relatively clean and leave few problems once broken down, it’s safer to avoid using glossy, highly coloured cardboard or paper (such as magazines) as these have polluting ingredients.

Camping is only good fun if you have all the essentials you need for a comfortable and stress-free experience. One of those essentials is undoubtedly a camping ground sheet. A tent groundsheet is a must for preventing moisture from getting into your tent, so your belongings stay dry throughout your trip. They provide an additional layer between you and the ground and add another protective element to your tent. I no longer recommend this as the ground-cover fabrics do the same job. However, old wool and cotton carpets laid upside down did make a good job of killing off most weeds or keeping an area weed free. They rot and are not a permanent solution unless covered with a loose mulch such as bark. At Decathlon, we have ground sheets in different sizes and styles, so you’ll find one that suits your tent. Our breathable groundsheets insulate your tent from the ground, and get rid of water, sand, and dust, giving you a clean tent floor. They are lightweight, durable, waterproof and designed to limit abrasions from stones or the hard ground. Once you’ve used a camping ground sheet, you’ll wonder how you ever camped without one. However, the sheet can lift or blow about so it needs tying or weighting down carefully. I find giant pins made from bicycle spokes or cut out of wire coat hangers handy for pinning down such short-term coverings, but for wind resistance little beats holding it down with cast-iron guttering or scaffolding poles.The best time to cover ground is from late winter, then the weeds die in the flush of spring and are soon incorporated. Ground Cover material is perfect for a range of landscaping projects in the garden. The material is easy to lay and is designed to suppress weeds, but still allows moisture through. Whether you are looking at barking an area or putting shingle or gravel down, this is a great option to lay under the groundcover to reduce the need for maintenance. The slower but more effortless way of clearing ground is to kill the weeds by stopping them seeing any light. This can be with plastic sheet, groundcover fabric, cardboard and newspaper, old carpets, or what have you.

It works well as it also heats up the soil, increasing the rate of growth and breakdown of weeds and it keeps the moisture in all the way to the surface, also promoting growth and breakdown. This allows water and some air to pass through, but, unfortunately, some weeds will find the holes. If you use two layers the perforations do not align and so it works better, or it can be laid over newspaper or cardboard or a loose mulch if only weak weeds are present. Woven or felted ground-cover fabric