"Martin H. Eastburn" wrote in message
...
The 1-2" thickness of wood chips - chipped by myself - seems to
hold moisture by themselves and allow grass and weed to start.
They take hold or the mud does so we can run the tractor mower over
them without pulling them up. There are a few thin spots now and
the whole area needs more. But it seems like the tale of robbing
might be a bit over stated. stuff that comes up is green not yellow.

So give it a try but keep watch and add as needed.

And good luck down under with the massive fires.

Oh, I am. I am using a combination of mulch and a bottom layer of soaked old
newspaper for my rose beds.

So far so good. The roses are holding up reasonably well despite the lack of
water and the extreme heat conditions - one week of 40C... thats about
110F??

The newspaper is the thing that prevents the grass from coming up. Acts as a
mat. Its free too!

The only worry is that if there is a fire - having a mulch bed is a terrible
fire hazard. I just read about how mulched gardens guaranteed the
destruction of homes in the Canberra fire a few years back...

More concerned with some jackass flicking his cig butt into my garden and
causing a fire - while I am out.