My husband's last duty station when he was in the army was in Alice Springs, Australia. The gardening shows I watched while there had a very practical mind-set toward recycling that I brought back with me to use in my garden in Colorado. One of my favorite tips was to lay down several pages of newspaper before laying down wood mulch. I use around 5-7 sheets and overlap them a bit, only the main pages though, none of the glossy print ads. Lay it down and water it well so it conforms to the ground then put wood mulch over it. I water all my beds with drip lines so this method completely covers the 1/2 inch tubing and does a great job of retaining moisture. The combination of paper and wood mulch blocks out weeds much better and both break down at about the same rate. Every 4-5 years I re-cover the mulched areas in newspaper and new mulch.
