My observations of a 3 weeks of using a clear plastic sheet of plastic to kill off vegetation.

1. The plastic was placed in the area of a storm shelter door and left for 3 days.  Much of the area was killed, but some was not, likely due to the edges of the plastic not being sealed against the ground very well, allowing fresh, cooler air to get it and killing the oven affect.

   

   area 1 – clear plastic in place

   

   area 1 – results of clear plastic after a few days

   
   
2. The plastic was moved to a second area that only receives full sun about half of the day.  The ground was flatter, and the edges were easier to seal with lumber.  This resulted in all the vegetation (grass mostly) being killed.
3. The plasti was moved to a third area next to the driveway.  This area is also shaded half the day, and the weather has been rainy and overcast.  I’ve left the plastic in place for over a week in this area.  The pictures below were taken 21 days after the plastic was moved from location 1.  You can clearly see where area 2 was killed, but already has a lot of growth returning after about 1 week.  The growth in area 1 is back to almost normal now.

   

   plastic still covering area 3, area 2 looks brown

   

   area 2, plastic has been removed for about 1 week

   

   bermuda grass growth in area 2 after 1 week

   
   

   

   area 1, plastic has been removed for 3 weeks

   
   

Notes / Comments:

• Sealing up the edges of the plastic is important.  Any air movement disrupts the process.
• Only the top bit of soil seems to be affected, plants with deeper roots will come back pretty quickly.