I like mulches that break down so they feed the soil. Newspaper with shredded leaves on top works for me and looks good too. If perm-a-mulch is a ring that goes around the tree and you like the way it looks, I can't see it will do harm and it will probably surpress weeds. Also, I believe they let water pass through, which is very important. But I would never use synthetic loose mulch that will eventually mix with the soil and never break down (and you will never get rid of it!). I am not a fan of landscape fabric either. It allows for water and nutrients to pass through but doesn't let organic matter incorporate into the soil, which is very important. I have seen your pictures on other posts and know you have a lot of weeds. But newspaper will take care of most weeds (creeping grasses are tough) and constantly improving the soil with organic mulches is a great thing.

Thank you very much for the comment. Can you tell me why the landscape fabric doesn't let organic matter incorporate into the soil, but newspaper does?

I like the newspaper idea. I also heard many people use cardboard instead. We will soon have a good amount of cardboard. Have you used cardboard? Does it work, as well? How many layers do you use, just one?

Thanks again!

Pinar

The newspaper breaks down. Worms and other things eat the paper and the mulch and the broken down material gets into the soil. The down side is that you have to replace the paper/cardboard but eventually just mulch laid on top will probably be enough to control most weeds. This decomposing is what makes healthy soil-it is what nature does.

I use 4 or 5 sheets of wet paper and it tears nicely to fit around plants. One layer ofcCardboard works great too especially for large areas. You are just trying to create a barrier so that seedlings can't get to light and will die before they ever find a space to poke through.

I forgot to tell you that I pull weeds, lay down paper/cardboard, then put the pulled weeds on top (to contribute to the mulch, and lastly put a more decorative mulch like shredded leaves on the very top. This causes me less work than hauling the weeds away and help to put the nutrients back that the weeds "robbed" from the soil. I break off the seed heads from any weeds and throw those in the garbage. Perennial weeds will probably grow back from the roots but the barrier will most likely exhaust them. Any that poke through again get more newspaper and mulch.

Stroll through your garden everyday to enjoy it and see what needs attention. Catching things early can save a lot of time in the long run. Most important for weed control is to not let them go to seed anymore. You (and I!)have lots of exsisting seeds that are just waiting to grow. And every time we disturb the soil it allows some of them to start sprouting. The answer-cover the soil so they can't make it.

Thank you for all the information. Do you ever use roundup and/or a preemergent like corn gluten meal? We tried the latter after extensive pulling under the mulch and it seemed to have worked quite well, so I will most likely repeat that. Do you find that roundup is necessary or can you stop the weeds just with newspaper?

Thank you!
Pinar

I have not found the need to use roundup. I have used corn gluten meal on my lawn at crabgrass time but I can't really say if it worked as a preemergent. It is a good nitrogen fertilizer but is expensive. It sure wouldn't hurt to try it again especially if you want to fertilize that area. Most weeds can be stopped with newspaper and mulch on top to hold it down. Try it-You'll like it!

This is a recycled rubber product and as more research is done they are finding that this stuff is not good. This recycled rubber does not add anything of value to soil and like the scrap tires of old can leak heavy metals, lead, zinc, cadmium among others, into your soil.
Weed growth can be easily controlled, inexpensively, with newspaper or cardboard, and shredded leaves, wood chips (often free from your local tree cutters), or as a last resort purchased mulches. You may be interested in this article aout artificial turf which is the same thing.

Here is a link that might be useful: About Artificial Turf

Newspapers have worked well for me for only one growing season, and seem to need to be redone each year.

It has often made me wonder, how much lead based ink in the newspaper print is being leached out into the soil from using so many newspapers, and also how that lead in the soil will, over a long term, affect the environment.

Some reports indicate that vinegar works well to elimiate invasive bermuda grass. I have never tried vinegar, but the bermuda was so invasive last summer, that I am beginning to feel desperated enough to try the vinegar this year.

Can anyone describe the details on using vinegar against the invading bermuda grass? Also, when the vinegar kills the top growth of the bermuda, does it also result in the subsurface roots, which supported that top growth, to die?

Plus, will vinegar in anyway harm the shrubs and flowers, if overcast vinegar spray hits them?

Vinegar is a broad spectrum plant killer and will kill any plant growth it touches. Vinegar only kills off the top growth of plants, not the roots. However, repeat applications, to kill off that top growth, will result in the roots dying eventually.
Newspapers today only use soya based inks, because of economics. Soya based inks are much less than the petroleum based inks of old. Many of the ad inserts however will be printed with the petroleum based, metallic, inks because those inks catch your eye better than would the duller, soya based inks. If you look closely at that ad inserts you will see over the actual ad a slightly shiny covering and that is varnish to help protect the ink, and grab your eye.

People who are not concerned about poisoning the planet they live on will find no problem with using this material. However, those of us that do not want to live on a dead planet will not use this material and will try to discourage any one else from doing so. Used tires, shredded, present a larger environmental hazard than do the whole tires that when found stored in humongous piles require a large dollar expenditure to check the soil under that pile of tires for contamination by the numerous heavy metals and removal of the soil, most often paid for by you and me.

Katrina1, no natural mulch lasts forever. They gradually break down and the microbes and soil creatures either eat them or drag pieces into their underground burrows.

Just keep adding more stuff as the season progresses. You'll be suppressing the weeds, keeping the soil moist (alleviating the stresses of alternating wet and dry soil), and feeding the soil and the beneficial microorganisms in it.

Sue