you need to make the layers thick. i would go for no less than 8 inches and i would put it down over the winter so the bottom of the mulch will compost and feed and build your soil for you.
I save news paper all winter and lay a thin layer down before tossing down the hay. No weeds. Takes a bit of time to do , but saves me tons of time later. I love my hay and try and save it every year . You won't have the same problem with the old hay. Love your gardening videos Renee. Thanks for sharing.
Ruth Stout recommended hay mulch. Some people use herbicides to kill weeds so be sure to ask first. I raise my own hay and do not spray it with anything. I love the hay mulch even if I do get a few surprises the next year. That's life, like a box of chocolates. ;-D
People generally use straw in their Halloween decor, so I'm betting that's what you have. That works too, but it might have more of a tendency to blow around than hay. On the up side, straw usually has less weed seeds to worry about than hay. However, one year I used straw and I had all these little clumps of wheat growing!
My kitchen garden is a 5 year old Ruth Stout method garden. The hay needs to be at least 8" deep. I usually pile it about a foot then the rain compacts it.
I use old round hay bales and put them down on the planting bed, always in the late summer/fall, empty my chicken manure on top all winter, come spring/summer I have a great planting area. Aisles I use wood chips...
