it's called hardwood mulch and it's much better than those rubber thingy (is it recycled rubber?). At least hardwood mulch improves the soil for the tree. 5 feet circle at the depth of 3-4 inches with a couple inches of spacing between mulch and trunk.

in my world.. i think of it this way ...

if God had meant for me to use plastic or rubber in the garden.. he would have devised living plastic or rubber plants ...

stay natural ... buy some mulch.. lay it on properly .. and weeds will be reduced 90% .. and the ones that pop out will pull right out of the mulch ...

just dont start by laying down plastic garden cloth ...

good luck

ken

Don't forget the Roundup. Perennial weeds, ie. dandelions, turfgrasses that expand back into the ring, quackgrass, etc. will be very hard to pull out. A safe, nonselective herbicide is the best remedy for those.

+oM

yeah, I should just get out there and do the handi work. For some reason I found it much easier to get out before work when I started in the middle of the afternoon instead of this awful 0900 that makes me miss entire weeks.