There are no "dumb" or "silly" questions. We all learn by asking them. When you were 3 you asked tons of them, but probably like most of us were told at some time to "don't ask so many questions" most likely by someone that had no answers, and that is why many people think they should not ask questions. The only "dumb" question is the one not asked. Many of us have continuous mulches, the mulch material is there all the time and is renewed as needed. Soil should never be left bare, exposed to the ravages of the sun, wind, and rain, but should be covered with something all the time. If you do not have enough material to cover your soil that needs to be covered then the newspaper will help extend that material, so instead of say 5 inches of shredded leaves on your soil you could plunk down 4 or 5 sheets of newspaper (around the existing plants) and cover that with a couple of inches of the shredded leaves and get the same affect. When frost kills offf the top growth of most all of my planting beds that top growth stays where it grew so it will replenish the soil with the nutrients that plant removed during the growing season. I could cut them down, haul them to the compost pile, and then when the compost is finished haul that back, but it is much less work to just leave them.

Depending on if it will be dry most of the time & wet just a few weeks of the year or if it will be moist during the growing season... You might be able to direct some of that water to a channel & plant on the higher sides of it to prevent drowning plants during the high water times. What grows well for me in the shaded moist woodland: groundcovers: Ajuga reptans, Golden Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia), spotted dead nettle (Lamium maculatum) grass like foliage: Acorus (sweet flag), various Carex like 'Ice Dance', Iris (I. foetidissima, Japanese Iris), common orange daylily Hosta Astilbe Aruncus (goatsbeard) Japanese anemone - fall bloomer that tolerates part shade Tradescantia (spiderwort) Mimulus (monkeyflower) Try looking at this swale garden creation with pics (uses rock to help control water & fill space) http://herselfshoustongarden.com/2007/01/swale-garden.html Here is a link that might be useful: bog plants

Im well on my way! Im taking photos, and I will put together a scrapbook for everyone to see. I started with the cardboard, layered grass clippings, then ground pine needles, then shredded cardboard. I decided this wasnt enough volume, so I added some non ground pine needles. Then I added another layer of grass clippings. At this point I got on a huge sidetrack, because I decided I needed a frame around it, so I left to go to home depot to buy some wood. I plan to make this thing really deep. So far I only have GRASS, PINE NEEDLE, and shredded CARDBOARD... I will add any veggie scraps and coffe grinds etc as I go, but do I NEED to go to the store and purchase something to diversify these layers more? I still have room to add plenty of layers, so lemme know what you think. QUESTION 1: Should I COMPACT the layers or leave them loose? QUESTION 2: Is there some safe product I can use to treat and dye the wood so it will last longer and look nicer? (without poisoning me down the line) QUESTION 3: Should I add manure purchased from a store into the mix? QUESTION 4: Can I put soil on the top layer so it looks nice? Or should i put (wood) mulch on the top layer? QUESTION 5: Do i need to diversify my layers more?

Many people build beds of compost forgetting that this organic matter is the part of a soil that is digestable and it will "disapppear" as the Soil Food Web digests it. A good, healthy soil needs to be a mix of mostly the mineral portion 94 to 92 percent and 6 to 8 percent organic matter. "Top soil" is a meaningless term used to sell manhy people a pig in a poke. "Top soil" is simply the top 4 to 6 inches of soil from someplace that might be something worthwhile, or not. If what you have in mind that "topsoil" is loam, a specific soil type, then look for a source of soil that has something like that, about 45 percent sand, 25 percent clay, 25 percen silt, and about 5 percent organic matter.