Lucille

Burlap works fine the way you're envisioning it.

But I wouldn't want to spend the money on it! I've found that corrugated cardboard laid down (between my raised beds for instance) prevents weeds from growing in the aisles, and if you put straw or wood mulch on top of the cardboard, it doesn't offend aesthetically. I don't even have to cover the cardboard since my garden area isn't visible from the road. By the end of the summer the cardboard is bleached and stiff, but the weeds haven't grown through it. If you put soil on top of the cardboard and it's occasionally moistened, the cardboard will, however, disintegrate in a few months. Many people use it as an "underlayment" for the soil in their raised beds, putting the soil on top of the wet cardboard a month or so in advance of planting and then digging holes through it to set out deep-rooted plants like tomatoes or melons. Shorter-rooted plants like lettuce or strawberries do fine in even 6 inches of soil without digging through the cardboard. By the time they want to stretch their legs, the cardboard is on its way to disintegration. Earthworms LOVE corrugated cardboard and busily chew away on it, breaking it down.

Anyway, corrugated cardboard is my mulch underlayment of choice. Free, biodegradable, and attractive to earthworms -- build it and they will come...

I know a guy who uses old carpeting turned upside down all around his pumpkin patch in his garden. The water goes through but the weeds don't come up, and the back of the carpet is brown so it doesn't look half bad plus it keeps his pumpkins off the ground.

Cardboard is good, I've used it. But the burlap bags are ornamental, so much so that in the back yard I may not put any wood mulch on top.

This year, I'm trying to make the veggie garden attractive as well as functional, and the burlap might help with that.
I am hoping they will be fragrant with a coffee bean scent as well.
Wish I could get some of those coco bean hulls, I'd love the smell of chocolate out in the pumpkin patch.

A vegetable garden heavily mulched with straw or hay is quite attractive - not to mention far more beneficial for the soil as it improves tilth, water retention, and nutrients. Even shredded fall leaves can be an attractive and quite beneficial as a mulch. Plus you don't have the hassle of removal as season's end as you would with burlap.

There have been numerous discussions about this (as well as the use of burlap) over on the Soil, Compost & Mulch forum here at GW that you might want to review.

A couple of years back, using burlap to cover and speed composting was quite the "in" thing.

Dave

I ordered the burlap and am making plans for the various areas, I'm looking forward to when it all 'comes together' and I can sit on the porch, drink coffee, and look at my close in beautiful veggie garden.