Hi Proudgm,

My advice is to put down newspaper before mulch - I did that this summer & noticed a HUGE difference in the grass being able to work it's way up. I will never put just mulch again - I may top it up every other year, but every couple of years, I will definitely start again with newspaper, then top with mulch.

I did both options you asked about - I just put the (wet) newspaper then mulch around my already established plants, but there were big bare sections too. So, I layed down the newspaper & mulch, the pushed aside the mulch, cut through the paper (easy when it's wet), then planted. If the whole garden is bare, I would put all the mulch down then plant the seedlings in. It's much easier then already established plants/seedlings.

As for how deep, I had access to lots of chipped up trees, so I made it 3 or 4 inches or more. I use fallen logs out of our woods to edge the beds, so I tried to top it up to the top. I felt the deeper, the longer my weed prevention would be.

Best of luck!
Gail