"just plain ol' dirt. " ???

I would think some organic mulch would help cool the soil and reflect less heat back to the plant and keep your soil moisture under control as well as manage the weeds ... I don't like plastic for shade since it cathches wind ... a fabric or sun screen material is better.

That's how we keep tomatoes alive in the summer heat and we get lots of solar radiation. I would think the black plastic would be better before planting in order to heat the soil and kill weeds.

Good Day ...

Black plastic is what you use when you don't want anything to grow, really... it's excellent if what you want is the form of "xeriscaping" that's just a whole lot of gravel and not much else. It's useless for just about every other purpose I know of.

Now, mulch; that accomplishes something.

Patrick Alexander

Using layered newspapers around plants works too and doesn't do any damage to soil. Put mulch on top of it. Worked great for me.

Beca