About Ready...

hi, am starting a similar project to yourself by the sounds of it. i was going to use the black sheeting, my sister used that and so far no weeds, mind you i guess its not down that long, so only time will tell

Hi Irish! I figured I would start out "on the cheap" using the newspapers. I have a friend who does all of her gardening very financially conservative. She's the one who recommended the newspaper..I'll let you know once it's down and how long I go with no (or maybe very few?) weeds. HOWEVER....we have to get through this hot, humid spell before I can start any project outside and live to tell the tale! :)

weather wasnt too bad here today, few light showers which was actually perfect for doing the heavy work. hedges had to be cut down which is hot work in itself.

I know what you mean, Irish. When the weather is decent I can be in the garden for hours at a time and get so much accomplished...then the dreaded humidity...and I'm out of commission until it's gone, barely get the watering that needs to be done. But, my husband is a real peach about the watering when it's really bad knowing what a "weather-whimp" his wife is :) It sounds like your heavy rains may be subsiding somewhat?

yep , we had a couple of lovely sunny days here, so hopefully its officially summer lol

We used the black stuff. It's been down 3 years. Weeds do not grow through but we are not weed free. Some is covered with bark and some with gravel. It;s amazing how the weeds still grow on the top. I'd swear they prefer gravel to soil. Also they find the gaps where you cut it to put plants in etc.

Thank you for your reply Marguerite! Sounds like a "go" to me. Now, if I could just get rid of the humidity........:) I'd get to work!

I came across the idea of using newspaper in this way towards the end of last summer. I decided to try it over winter on my veg patch which is usually covered in docks by springtime; it worked fairly well although this coming autumn I shall overlap the sheets more to prevent any weeds finding their way through gaps.

Xela...read your comments on the paper in the garden to prevent weeds.....Well just this morning (at 5:30 (: I decided before more mulch went down in the yard today (a service doing this part) I'd better get out and do a small area I have in front of the shed (vybernums planted in an arc) This will be my "test patch" So...I raked up old mulch, pulled as many weeds as I could see at 5:30 am (LOL) (didn't really want to use weed killer if at all possible) and laid many layers of newspapers down, thoroughly soaked it all with the hose. Now, at some time today they'll be coming to finish the barking and I'll wait......and wait.....to see what happens the rest of the season. Like I told Marguerite, I will report success, little success or none! Thanks for the words of experience.