Last year I bought a roll of 6 mil 20' x 100' "clear" plastic sheeting at Home Depot. It was a disaster. Instead of being clear, it was opaque (milky white).
I had read that to sterilize a section of lawn (without chemicals) cooking the ground under clear plastic works best.
Until well into the summer, the weeds thrived under it. Once the hot weather came, they began to die off. So did the plastic. Almost overnight, it began to become brittle and tear apart. This disintegration proceeded at a rapid pace and soon I had to pick up the pieces before they blew all over the neighborhood.

This year I found that looking for truly clear plastic is like chasing butterflies without a net. What I have found is that the word "clear" in the manufacture of plastic sheeting means not black. The closest I came was Greenhouse covering, which is more costly than what I wish to pay. Anyone out there that has done ground sterilization without chemicals - PLEASE CHIME IN!!!

 

I would have used black plastic if I was trying to kill something underneath it.

What are you trying to accomplish here and just what do you define as a chemical?

 

Clear plastic is OK if you're making a greenhouse but black plastic is what you need to kill what's underneath. It resists the UV better. The black absorbs the sunlight better and gets hotter and the black color prevents any plants underneath from getting sunlight.

 

Sorry about delayed response. I forgot to subscribe to my own thread and was unaware of responses.

RESPONSE TO: "What are you trying to accomplish here and just what do you define as a chemical?"

It is called Soil Solarization: Soil solarization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. In this application a chemical would be a "herbicide or related product.

Frost King has a Crystal Clear product that might be ideal for making a miniature greenhouse. I purchased a roll at Lowe's (Shop Frost King 54" x 12' x 5mil Crystal Clear Vinyl Sheet at Lowes.com) but at 4.5'x12' it would take about 26 rolls to make the 10' x 20' greenhouse I would want. I contacted Thermwell Products Co., Inc. ([email protected]) about getting larger rolls but have as yet received no response.

 

P.S.: There is also the issue of seaming the sheets together.

 

So, are you putting plastic down on the ground to kill grass & weeds or are you trying to build a greenhouse? Your first post says you want to sterilize the ground but you keep mentioning greenhouse products?

 

I know what soil solarization is but I still don't know what your end goal is.

 

One end goal is to create a roadside garden of former "weeds". I intend to select the ones that appeal to me and pot them while i rototill a 10' wide roadside "garden" and then lay down a cover of mulch which I will solarize.
Then I will lay down a cover of landscape fabric which I will cover with more mulch prior to replanting my former weeds.

 

Second goal is to create a 10' X 20' clear plastic greenhouse over a Max AP Canopy 10' x 20' - 6 Legs:ShelterLogic frame from which I have taken the valence to cover an 8 pole frame. The original 8 pole frame valence was reduced to trash when I made the mistake of leaving it up over a winter with lots of snow falls.