I want to save squash seeds this year. I plan to cover the flowers with mesh sacks but also want to isolate the plants, while giving the vines room to roam. I have never used black plastic mulch before. Black plastic mulch supposedly kills weeds, reduces water requirement, warms soil, and increases yield.
This area was not accessible to mowing, so a few months ago I put down black plastic to kill the grass and weeds. I decided to leave it there, and plant some of the squash seedlings there.
In this area, I planted Illinois Squash, a Cucurbita mixta variety, and Fordham Zucchini, a Cucurbita pepo variety. The Zucchini is a bushy type. It should not be difficult to select a few blossoms to isolate for saving seeds.
The grass and weeds were almost entirely eradicated already. The soil was moist under the plastic sheets, which have been in place for several months.
There are more squash seedlings to plant elsewhere. Most of those locations are also already under plastic. I hope this method is successful. It does indeed feel like less work, better weed management, and better water management, already. Not very attractive, but that's OK.
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