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 best time to cover ground is from late winter, then the weeds die in the flush of spring and are soon incorporated.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 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. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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.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.