In article ,
"Suzanne D." wrote:

"Billy" wrote in message
news:wildbilly-9AF373.11035224052009@c-61-
"Mulching will get rid of most weeds, but Bermuda grass and its allies
and bindweed will come up through any mulch, sooner or later, except for
6 overlapping layers of cardboard, covered well beyond the grass border
by heavy black plastic, maintained for at least a year."

I've got a serious bindweed problem myself, but after a few years of
cardboard, the shoots that make it through are much smaller and more easily
removed. I think the cardboard just stresses it out after a while. Either
that or, since the ground is covered, the bindweed is no longer needed to
protect it.
Yeah, bindweed and Bermuda grass have chlorophyll and need sun light to
survive. If you live where it gets hot in the summer, black plastic
blocks out the sun as well as holds in the heat.

". . . since the ground is covered, the bindweed is no longer needed to
protect it."

Huh?

One thing I noticed, though, when I had thick tangles of bindweed in between
my raised wooden beds in my first year of gardening, is that they were FULL
of spiders. I'd step into a patch and a dozen spiders would start crawling
up my leg. And I had NO bug problems that year. So maybe it's worth having
around for some reasons!
--S.
--

- Billy
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being
is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the
moment of conception until death." - Rachel Carson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En2TzBE0lp4

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050688.html