gardengalrn, I also live in Kansas and I'm an RN. I used to fight weeds in our veggie gardens also. I mulched with little benefit no matter how thick I spread it. I then tried laying a layer of newspaper on the soil and covered that with mulch (I use grass clippings and shredded leaves). The first time I didnt use thick enough layers of newspaper. Weeds came back after several weeks. With thicker layers it was effective all summer. By the next spring the mulch and paper had decomposed and were tilled in, benefiting the soil :) This year I used newspaper in some areas, brown paper bags in others and cardboard in others. I can honestly say I had a weed free veggie garden :) Laying down the newspaper/cardboard is a bit time consuming but well worth it. I place the barrier right up to, but not touching the stems of plants. My neighbors give me the leaves they collect in the fall and in the spring I run over them with the mower...using the collection bag...this is spread over the newspaper/cardboard. I'm so happy I have found a way to enjoy my veggies garden and not be overwhelmed with weeds. As for Preen...I use that only in flower beds. I sprinkle it after I put a good layer of mulched leaves. It lasts about 3 months. You can successfully plant seeds in the area. There is a long list on the back of the box of seeds that are not effected by the product. I just checked my box and green peas are listed as not being effected by Preen. There are a number of other veggies that it is safe to use with as well as grasses, flowers, shrubs, trees, ornamental grasses, etc. Great product...I just choose not to use it on things I'm going to eat. With a little preparation you can spend your summer enjoying your garden instead of fighting the weeds :)

Dave, I think they they may be overused and are useful in a limited set of circumstances. A row of conifer screening happens to be one of those uses. Yes, the fabric (and I was only recommending a geotexile type, not a roll of impervious black plastic) will degrade. By the time it degrades completely, the conifers will have grown large enough that their shade will start to cut down on weed germination. In my observation, they undoubtedly increase soil moisture retention and reduce the need for watering. And in their first couple years, they do keep weeds down, which is the most crucial period for reducing weed competition as the plants are getting established. Later on, the few weeds that start growing in the mulch are easy to rake or pull out. I've had some in my landscape now for 5 years, all the plants around it have grown just fine, I've never had to water them in the past 3 droughty summers, and I expect in 5 years it will probably mostly degrade but by then it will be filled in with mature plants and there will be less light for weeds to grow. One size does not fit all and the article you posted has some good points, but I stand by my recommendation. BTW Ken's recommendation to not make a screen of a single plant type is good too.

Help... I've been treating the dozens of trumpet vine spouts that come up all over my yard as though they were weeds... It seems to be harming the mother vine ....and now I'm being sued for maliciously harming her plant. It's true, I'm using "remedy" which is a strong herbicide...and I apply it a few inches down into the soil..I try to confine the herbicide to the trumpet vine root by using plastic baggies... HELP! What do you all think?

For the 1 tbsp, as much as is convenient to get it down. I'm presuming Prodiamine granular? I use about ten gallons because I use a hose-end. One gallon would be more convenient in a backpack sprayer. I might lightly irrigate that in--ten, 15 minutes just to wash it off the leaves--but it's not necessary if you don't want to. If you're going to overseed in August, go very light on the Prodiamine if you use it at all! It'll suppress out grass seed just like crabgrass, and CG likes sprouting in August as well. Good CG suppression through summer is going to mean very poor grass sprout in August. Page 2 of the manual shows the bar chart for pounds per acre (roughly tbsp per thousand) for months of protection. 2 months (May to August) is off the bottom but...well, if we finagle a bit and estimate (which we really shouldn't do because we have no assurance that this remains linear off the listed scale), we'd come up with an estimate of about 0.33 lb/A or 0.33 tbsp/thousand application rate to achieve 2 months of protection. (The linear equation is actually 5.2T + 0.2 for those who are curious, with T being tablespoons used by my estimate, but I'm just eyeballing it so you may come up with different answers). Even so, some suppression of sprout is to be expected. Post that, the grass should be on its third or fourth mow before applying Prodiamine again; it can kill young grasses. By late September, it's marginal, but you should be OK...still, it may slip into October.