Hello I heard chopped leaves and grass or mulch or hay and heavy black plastic? So far I have the chopped leaves and grass. What works best?
That might be a bit of an uphill battle. There are probably weed seeds in there right now that haven't germinated yet. Even if you were to cover the soil so that nothing blows into that area over the winter, whatever's in there now will still be there come spring. I'm in the habit of covering my raised beds with leaves every fall not for weed control, but to insulate the soil a little (which I've read) helps keep the microbes in the soil alive over the winter.
I find that by spring most of the maple leaves have disintegrated into crumbs, which I leave there to fully decompose. Oak leaves remain intact though so I pull them out before planting.
I don’t stress too much about weeds. Keeping them from getting an upper hand is about the best that can be done, or at least good enough for me. I put in a little time almost daily to control them in the spring and fall while the ground is moist and the weeds are easiest to pull. Once plants are established I am continually mulching with leaves, grass clippings and my compost, as well hoeing and pulling a weed or two here and there. I don’t like to ever see bare ground any time of year, including going into winter.
