HelpfulGardener.com

Hello all,
I'm about to undertake my first landscape DIY project. We have a grass area that is ruined and pretty much all weeds. By weeds I mean super mega weeds with stocks 1-1.5" think. Our plan is to till the area rake out all the weeds and garbage and then put down wood chips. There will be a play structure put in also. I have a few questions.

I will need to put down about 3" of wood chips. Should I compact the loose tilled soil to get my required depth or remove the 3" completely?

Will Landscape plastic sheets be necessary to combat future weeds?

Thanks for any help.

It depends on how much excercise you need. I would just use Roundup and then put down a woven weed barrier then mulch on top. Of course the ground underneath would be hard but then after tilling and continous use it would become hard.

I don't see the need to really compact the soil. Just stomp it a bit. It will get compacted by people walking on it anyways in the near futur.

Geotextile does help. But, don't get the laminated kind. Get the felt kind. It is better.

If you leave the soil in the area, it will naturally compact itself down with traffic and rain. Also, you will not have the room to put your 3 inches of wood chips in the area. I suggest you remove the loose soil, put your 3 inches of wood chips in the area and all should be okay. You will probably have to put an inch of wood chips in the area to maintain your 3 inches of wood chips every year.