Weed Management – The Smart Way, Let Nature Do the Work for You!
Why Choose Our Weed Control Tarps?
100% Waterproof
ARK Weed Control Tarps are born waterproof. The raw materials used in their production are waterproof, ensuring that each layer of our tarps provides complete waterproof protection. Unlike other tarps, which often have only a thin, water-resistant coating applied after manufacturing, our tarps offer full waterproofing throughout.
XF Film - Swiss Patented Film
ARK Weed Control Tarps are made from XF Film. This specialized Swiss-patented film ensures exceptional strength, durability, and reliability. Our unique manufacturing process sets our tarps apart from anything else in the industry. You can learn more about the XF Film and our production process here.
UV Resistant - 3 Year Guarantee
ARK Weed Control Tarps offer excellent UV resistance and come with a 3-year UV guarantee. Designed for extended outdoor use, they will not peel, crack, or disintegrate under harsh sunlight, making them ideal for Australia's extreme weather conditions.
Better Weed Supression
ARK Weed Control Tarps are also used by commercial fumigation companies to prevent harmful gases from escaping. That’s how good our weed control tarp vapour barrier properties are. This helps our tarps create the warm moist environment perfect for weed germination and results in better weed suppression and control as opposed to common black tarps or plastic sheets.
Double Sided Colour
The Weed Control Tarps are Double sided in colour, black on one side and silver on the other side. Both sides are UV protected but we recommend using the tarp with the black side facing the sun. This absorbs the heat and creates the perfect environment under the tarp for weed supression. However, during the hotter months, you can choose to flip to the silver side up so as not to harm the soil microbial life with excess heat.
Strong & Reliable
During our manufacturing process, the layers of raw material are laminated in opposing directions, creating greater cross-directional strength. Unlike normal black plastic or tarps that are typically woven in a single direction, ARK Weed Control Tarps offer superior strength and better field performance. They can also easily be cut into smaller sizes without the material fraying or getting weak.
Choose from two thickness levels: 90 GSM / 100 Microns or 120 GSM / 130 Microns
Which Thickness Should I Choose?
| 90 GSM / 100 Microns | 120 GSM / 130 Microns | |
|---|---|---|
| Light Blocking | ||
| Waterproof | ||
| UV Resistance | ||
| Durability | ||
| Tear & Abrasion Resistance |
As it can be seen, both tarps perform exceptionally well agaisnt the external factors. Since it is thicker, the 120 GSM tarp has an edge on the 90 GSM tarp in terms of its light blocking ability, its durability and tear resistance.
Please note that generally speaking, the 120 GSM tarp will create a better occulation environment for weed supression. However, our thinner, 90 GSM tarp will also result in excellent weed control, but the time taken to kill the weeds may be a bit longer as compared to the 120 GSM tarp. This is simply because the thicker tarp does not allow for any sunlight to pass through to the seed beds.
How does our weed control tarp work?
One word – Occultation.
The word occultation actually comes from the verb “occult”—to cut off from view. When you employ occultation in your garden, you reduce the amount of sunlight hitting the soil.
When our weed control tarp is laid against the soil, warmth and moisture are trapped underneath. As the soil warms, more weed seeds come out of their dormancy. When they germinate, they sprout into what is a fairly suffocating environment, void of air movement. Ultimately, the weeds die under the tarp and are consumed by worms and other organisms who enjoy the darkness. Left on for three or four weeks (at least six in the winter), and the occultation should take care of many or most of the weed seeds within the top inch or so of soil, leaving you with an almost completely composted and beautiful stale seedbed!
Tips & Tricks
- Occultation cannot always kill perennial weeds, but it will generally weaken them, making removal with a shovel easier. Also consider that even though occultation will encourage earthworms and other organisms to consume plant matter, it will not rapidly break down large plant residue.
- Remove as much crop residue, such as large roots and stems, as possible before applying the tarps.
- In the heat of the summer, some take to flipping the tarps to their silver coloured side in hotter months so as not to harm the soil microbial life with excess heat.
- Anytime you are not using an area of your farm or garden and leaving it exposed, i.e. not covered by a tarp, you are essentially leaving it susceptible to the elements. So, the winter rain will come in and wash away the top soil and erode the soil and its nutritious values. Hence it is important to keep any unused/uncropped area to be covered by a waterproof tarp in order to maintain its soil structure.
- We don’t recommend using pegs to peg the tarp down or using staples of any sort because it doesn’t help in preserving the tarp and we would like our tarps to last you for multiple seasons.
Weed Management – The Smart Way, let nature do the work for you!
Successful vegetable growing is about successful weed control. If you do not keep the weeds in check, the vegetables will suffer, the farmer will suffer and the farm will follow.
You need the right tools to get the right outcome. ARK Weed Control Tarps, are UV-Stabilised with a 3-year UV guarantee, and are 100% waterproof for life. They have been tried and tested in gruelling outdoor conditions and have performed consistently and exceptionally well.
Two thicknesses to choose from
We offer our weed control tarps in two thicknesses:
- 90 GSM / 100 Microns
- 120 GSM / 130 Microns
Which thickness should I choose?
As it can be seen, both tarps perform exceptionally well agaisnt the external factors. The thicker 120 GSM tarp has an edge on the 90 GSM tarp in terms of its light blocking ability, its durability and tear resistance, since it is thicker.
Please note that generally speaking, the 120 GSM tarp will create a better occulation environment for weed supression. However, our thinner, 90 GSM tarp will also result in excellent weed control, but the time taken to kill the weeds may be a bit longer as compared to the 120 GSM tarp. This is simply because the thicker tarp does not allow for any sunlight to pass through to the seed beds.
Why should I use ARK Weed Control Tarps?
Better Weed Supression
Our Weed Control Tarps are black on one side and silver on the other. The black side absorbs the sunlight and creates the warm moist environment perfect for weed germination and results in better weed suppression and control as opposed to common black tarps or plastic sheets.
Tear & Puncture Resistant
What makes our tarps better than just common black plastic is that our tarps have better tear & puncture resistance, better UV resistance and are completely waterproof. In addition to this, they create the perfect vapour barrier, so when weed seeds germinate under our tarps, they sprout into what is a fairly suffocating environment, void of air movement. Ultimately, the weeds die under the tarp and are consumed by worms and other organisms who enjoy the darkness.
Long Lasting
ARK Weed Control Tarps, are UV-Stabilised with a 3-year UV guarantee, and are 100% waterproof for life. They have been tried and tested in gruelling outdoor conditions and have performed consistently and exceptionally well.
Some things to consider.
Occultation cannot always kill perennial weeds, but it will generally weaken them, making removal with a shovel easier. Also consider that even though occultation will encourage earthworms and other organisms to consume plant matter, it will not rapidly break down large plant residue.
Remove as much crop residue, such as large roots and stems, as possible before applying the tarps.
In the heat of the summer, some take to flipping the tarps to their silver coloured side in hotter months so as not to harm the soil microbial life with excess heat.
Anytime you are not using an area of your farm or garden and leaving it exposed, i.e. not covered by a tarp, you are essentially leaving it susceptible to the elements. So, the winter rain will come in and wash away the top soil and erode the soil and its nutritious values. Hence it is important to keep any unused/uncropped area to be covered by a waterproof tarp in order to maintain its soil structure.
You want to preserve the tarp because you want to keep using them every season and use them at different intervals. In that sense, it is very important to protect the tarp by placing sand bags/ grow bags filled with rocks and gravel on top so when a harsh wind blows the tarp doesn’t tear or blow away. We don’t recommend using pegs to peg the tarp down or using staples of any sort because it doesn’t help in preserving the tarp and we would like our tarps to last you for multiple seasons.
Check out our weed control tarp user blog for more details and tips!
| GSM | Thickness – Microns | Colour | Size (m) | Approx Weight (Kg) | Total Per Cover Incl GST |
| 90 | 97 | Black & Silver | 2 x 25 | 4.50 | $69.00 |
| 90 | 97 | Black & Silver | 4 x 25 | 9.00 | $135.00 |
| 90 | 97 | Black & Silver | 6 x 25 | 15.00 | $205.00 |
| 90 | 97 | Black & Silver | 8 x 25 | 20.00 | $269.00 |
| 90 | 97 | Black & Silver | 12 x 25 | 31.00 | $385.00 |
| 90 | 97 | Black & Silver | 15 x 25 | 33.75 | $480.00 |
| 90 | 97 | Black & Silver | 18 x 25 | 60.00 | $579.00 |
| 90 | 97 | Black & Silver | 6 x 15 | 8.10 | $120.00 |
| 90 | 97 | Black & Silver | 8 x 15 | 10.80 | $162.00 |
| 90 | 97 | Black & Silver | 12 x 50 | 62.00 | $769.00 |
| 90 | 97 | Black & Silver | 15 x 50 | 67.50 | $960.00 |
| 90 | 97 | Black & Silver | 18 x 50 | 110.00 | $1,150.00 |
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I haven’t opened the package or put them to use yet~ I expect them to perform as well as the tarps I previously purchased …………………………..
Speedy service and suitable product. Definitely recommend and will use again.
Haven’t yet ‘planted’ my weed mat, but delivery/description etc was spot on.
Excellent product and exactly at described. Well packaged and delivered quicker than I expected.
Great service. Fast and helpful personal responses to my queries. Delivery time was very quick. I’m really happy and would buy from ARK again. Thank you!
Pure excellence! Super order, service and quality tarp. Thank you ARK tarps.
The tarp is fantastic and exactly how it was described on the website. It was delivered very quickly and we are excited to try it in our certified organic farm.
Durable. Easy to work with. So happy, I bought a 2nd one!