We use black plastic on all production beds which eliminates weeding. In addition, by keeping the plastic on from mid-May to after a killing frost it eliminates the vast majority of weed seeds from germinating.

We do have to weed our display gardens. We use mulch which eliminates most weeds and the plants grow well, lush and full which keeps weeds from getting established.

Plant debris? Not sure what you mean. After a killing frost we remove all annual plants from the production beds. We sometimes use a light layer of straw to stop erosion after removing plants.

In my personal beds I layer cardboard/newspaper, soil/compost, and then put a thick layer of mulch over the top. Pull the mulch back a little, plant, backfill with a little soil/compost and then cover over with mulch. I have had great success with it. Rarely do weeds pop up through the layers, but crabgrass sill creeps in. It's so easy to weed, though!

Thanks for the info, Tommyk and backyardgrown. I'm looking at not removing the stalks from the soil after a killing frost as it involves so much time pulling and hauling. I would rather it be incorporated back into the soil for tilth and organic matter but that involves tilling which I agree destroys some of the soil structure. Also we use cover crops so that needs to be tilled in. I would like to get away from all the tilling, though.