Mulch with wood chips. Any weeds that cannot be pulled, or smothered out will then have to be controlled with herbicide.

Or eliminated by fenced or tethered goats.

Hi bboy! thanks for responding.
What about cardboard? We have quite a few old boxes. Or what about black plastic? Or some combination? I'm a little concerned that that much wood chip mulch would deplete the N in the soil. And some of the area probably will be planted in edible landscape, so--for me--herbicide is out. Our neighbors do have 3 goats they said they'd lend us.

Also, since the ground is so pitted and uneven, do we need to truck in more topsoil?

There's quite a bit of info on creating "Lasagna" beds - starting off with a layer of cardboard and layering on all manner of green and brown materials (garden debris, leaves, grass clippings, used coffee grounds, kitchen waste such as fruit rinds, apple cores, etc. etc.) - to snuff many grasses and weeds and prepare an area for other uses or future planting. See the Composting Forum for many threads.

My understanding is that there would be some N depletion only if the woodchips were tilled into the soil.

It's a common misconception that wood chips deplete soil nitrogen - this only occurs if the chips are incorporated into the soil, not used as a mulch. And herbicides have minimal residual effect in the soil - their persistance only lasts a few weeks at most, making them perfectly safe to use in areas that will be planted with edibles in the future.

Bboy will disagree but cardboard (or layered newspapers) can be a very effective weed deterrent but they are typically used in conjunction with an organic mulch to cover them and maintain moisture/prevent blowing. Black plastic is not advised - it prevents moisture from penetrating which can destroy surface feeder roots from any of the nearby trees or other plantings, it alters the environment for the very necessary and beneficial soil organisms and it's really not all that effective in controlling weeds, especially persistant ones like blackberries.

Importing soil to fill in low spots is not a bad idea, however you need to be aware of the root systems of any neighboring trees and go lightly - too much added depth in the immediate area could deprive them of oxygen and kill them. I'd rake as best I could to level then spread the wood chips. Or alternately, bring on the goats - as long as they were safely tethered and limited to that area only. The issue with goats is that they will consume only the topgrowth, leaving the roots intact. While continual removal of the topgrowth will prevent photosynthesis and eventually kill off the weeds, it is not a fast process. Digging out completely or applying herbicide will produce much more rapid results.

The way I imagine it, you will have to do repeated and persistent removal of residual growth from the weeds you think (hope) you have removed, and in fact you want to do this because every new sprout alerts you to a piece of root you've missed. If you have cardboard down, the new shoots will creep around under the cardboard until they find a way up, so where you see them will not be where you need to dig. You will be constantly heaving up pieces of cardboard hunting for the origin of sprouts. Mulching with wood chips (chippings from a tree company are what I prefer to use if I can get them, they include greenery usually) allow the root sprouts to come straight up and allow you to easily hunt them down, but at the same time prevent new seeds from sprouting in the soil so you won't be working in a field of buttercups etc.

KarinL

Yep. The soil is a system, a community, and when you put down smothering layers it traps gases and creates other funkiness like roots growing across the top of the ground and slugs laying eggs everywhere - in between gnawing at the cardboard and newspaper.