Yeah, mine comes from a foster home for shelter rabbits. I mostly just get manure and litter, without much else. There's a volunteer squash growing in the pile, though. I think the woman who fosters the rabbits occasionally tosses kitchen scraps on the pile, too. This year there are some pieces of plastic bag that are supposed to be compostable, but aren't really. The woman apologized for that, but I can't blame her -- I tried the same bags myself when my mother-in-law gave us some along with a fancy also-not-very-useful compost crock for our countertop. You live and learn, I guess. Mostly I pick the bags out, but they probably really will break down eventually.

I always put the cardboard/newspaper down as a first layer, because I am usually trying to smother some sod, weeds, Vinca groundcover, or invasive plants. I also mow down the area on the lowest setting of the lawn mower first, because this sets back the weeds and makes it easier to layer the paper. If I'm creating a garden bed, I will then layer organic materials on top of the cardboard, such as leaves, grass clippings, coffee grounds, etc. Usually top it with leaves because they look nice (IMO). If it's a garden path or under a bird bath, then I spread 1-2 inches of wood chips on the cardboard, which creates a wonderful path to walk on. In your situation, can you mow or weed-whack the weeds first? This would make planting and mulching easier. I don't think it matters which order you do the planting/mulching, whatever you think is easier. It would help to do these after a good soaking rain, which will give your plants the best start and help conserve the moisture in the soil. You don't need to get the cardboard or newspaper wet after layering, but it might help it to settle and start breaking down. Don't worry too much - however you layer or mulch your materials, they will break down eventually and enrich your garden. In light of your injury, whatever gardening you do is a plus - and will hopefully make you feel productive.

Newspaper is fine either shredded or used in multiple sheets overlapped in the lay out. Some pre-soak 4-5 sheets at a time, lay them out and then overlap them with the next 4-5 sheets. It's easier to get them wet before laying them down than after. Wood chip mulches don't generally belong in vegetable gardens as they can cause nitrogen binding issues. You'll find many discussions about this problem over on the Soil & Mulch forum. If you choose to use the cypress then as Bill suggested, it really needs to be raked aside and removed at seasons end, NOT tilled in. There are many really great veggie garden mulches available that not only keep down weeds but also improve the soil at the same time and any one of them is far better than any wood chip mulch - straw, hay, compost, leaf mold, chopped fall leaves, grass clippings, etc. Consider using your newspaper topped with one of them instead and save the cedar mulch for its purpose - decorative mulching in a flower bed. Dave

kimmsr, thanks for taking the time to reply. The soil is very compacted but honestly not wet. There's no water source (lake, creek, pond, etc..) nearby, and as far as I'm aware hasn't been watered regularly in 3 or more years. I planted a few trees in the area and have kept them watered, but not the whole area because I was planning on re-seeding later anyway. It is on a slight slope and since the water seems to run off fairly easily I put them on a drip hose and watered deeply for several hours a couple of times a week. After watering, the ground around the trees did not appear to be wet; on the contrary it was so hard and compacted I had a difficult time in places even getting a shovel in it to dig up the weeds. I would love to be able to identify and stop the conditions which favor the growth of this stuff. Not sure if it matters, but the variety of nutsedge growing is purple. It's very warm in the summers here in north Texas... I can't do much about that unfortunately. The soil is compacted (not sure if that's a contributing factor or not), but I do plan on areating to give the grass roots a better chance of grabbing hold of something. And as I said, the soil is not wet. Is there anything else I need to be aware of? Thanks again!