Deep mulch garden rules!!! Primary and secondary

Goal is 8 to 12" of moist, decaying materials to plant into.

Primary Rules:
1--smother layer, the first year or following years, if you over more perennial weeds.
2--material must be 18 to 24" inches deep at install to have 8 to 12" inches of depth after wetting.
3--top 3 to 6 inches much be course and airy to not have weed seeds germinate.

Additional info:
Any dead plant material will work.  Any livestock manure will work.  Livestock manure is not required. 

The order of the materials between the smother layer and the top 3 to 6 inches of course mulch--have no specific rules.  (Look at my Compost handout and give some thought to Carbon and Nitrogen).

If you have weeds germinating--Pull then and get course mulch on top of where they are germinating.  (See Mulch Mulch Mulch handout for more info.)

Oat, elm and maple seeds will germinate in a course layer--they will germinate on the sidewalk, almost.  There will only be a couple flushes of them.  Pull those and any others that germinate.  Get a course layer of mulch on top of them and cut their light. 

That is the basics.  Follow this and you should have a 95% weed free garden.

Happy Gardening

Roger