As I recall way back when Jon Rowley wrote about the Interbay composting method here, it was another way to compost and make a material that could be used as a mulch rather then a mulching method itself. The purpose of the burlap is to aid in moisture retention which seemed to aid in speeding up the digestion of the material to compost. As I recall the finished compost was moved from where it was digested to were the community gardeners had their plots.

I've done a few interbay mulch beds and it worked well. I removed the burlap before planting, though. I don't know how effective a weed block it would be, probably depends on how tight or how open a weave that burlap is. The weave can vary a lot.

I saved the burlap for future use. I used them a few times before my husband threw them away.

Karen

Today I noticed a blade of grass coming through in a bed with a single layer of burlap. I guess it would be better to hose-off, dry and store.

I think if you want to stick to the "interbay method" then leave them on until springtime at least. Supposedly the burlap protects earthworms. Every situation is different but you might want to leave some in place for a longer time. I could definitely see it helping to suppress weeds for a few years.

I've been looking around some for burlap locally without much success. Home Depot had some but it looked like a loose material.

What are you planting? If perennials, I'd definitely leave the burlap on. And mulch over it.

gicore, I will definitely leave the burlap down at least until planting. Try and find a coffee compony that roasts and grinds, not just a supplier. You also may try feed stores but many of their bags seem to be plastic nowdays. annpat, I will plant annuals, perrenials, and some vegetables. I am curious of why would you leave it down with perrenials only? I would assume it all would decompose by next year anyway.

I was thinking that it might not decompose by next year. I thought it might be a problem with direct seeding rows next year, although I do use a thick newspaper mulch on my direct seeding rows, which sometimes doesn't decompose.