How can I stop weeds and grass returning before laying bark chippings?

[flowerpot13]

I had all of my grass pulled out, planted shrubs and flowers and left the soil bare whilst I decided what to do with it which was a rookie mistake. There are so many weeds now and grass is growing through my neighbours side of the fence. I tried laying down cardboard but the grass has just tried even harder to come through. So now I need ideas on what to do so that I don't have to manually pull out grass and weeds again. I'm sure there must be a way. I do want to lay bark chippings down after all once its all gone. I don't want to use any kind of plastic or anything that looks like plastic natural only.

I would weed it all again & re do the cardboard followed by bark. Do it section by section if it's too much in one go.

I will say though that proper garden membrane is a much more long term solution. And it helps keep the soil damp so you don't need to water so much.

you can't

at least not for long as grass seeds will germinate on whatever you put down as ground cover.

At this point I'd probably bite the bullet and clear it properly one last time, roots and all, then lay down a thick layer of cardboard and cover it with 8–10 cm of bark mulch. However, it's not going to stop established grass on its own once it hasalready growing through.

Are biodegradable jute or coir matting an option if you want to avoid plastic? Also, if the grass keeps creeping in from your neighbours', a proper edging barrier along the fence line might help. You can also mock it up in gardening tools like this one or similar apps to see how the bark/borders and planting will look together before you start.

The main thing nobody's mentioned yet is that grass creeping in from the neighbour's side will keep coming regardless of what you put on top - cardboard, bark, whatever. The runners travel underground horizontally and pop up metres away. You need a physical vertical barrier buried along the fence line. Even just a strip of thick rubber or metal edging sunk 15-20cm deep will stop most of it.

For the rest, the key is mulching deeper than you think. Most people put down a pathetic 2-3cm of bark which does nothing. You want a solid 10-15cm layer. And make sure you're using proper bark chippings (the chunky stuff from a tree surgeon is ideal) not the fine shredded play bark which just rots down into soil within a season.

Also if you've got couch grass or bindweed in there, pulling isn't enough - every bit of white root left behind grows a new plant. Best technique is to fork the area over, pick out every root you see, then cover with thick cardboard (overlap edges by 30cm+) and that deep bark layer. The cardboard creates a light block and the bark keeps it weighted down and adds organic matter as it breaks down. Check back in 6 months and pull any bits that made it through - they'll be weak and come out easily.