Does anyone use weed matting under mulch in large areas, example.. ex lawn areas that have been replaced with mulch,
i don't myself but i've seen some weed infested mulched gardens lately, and i'll put my hand up, one of them was a garden i mulched

I find in the long term it creates more problems than its worth Slasher. Remember seeds germinate on or just below the surface of the soil so weed mat wont stop weeds from starting once a layer of decomposed matter builds up on top of the weed mat.

If you can use newspaper and keep re mulching every 6 months to a year with a good layer of mulch you will have more success keeping weeds at bay

I have found that the larger the mulch pieces the harder it is for weeds or other things to take root. And since it takes longer for it to break down, you don't have to worry about the seeds getting down into any compost below and setting in roots.

I have found that with a good heavy duty fiberous matt, if weeds do grow, it is a heck of a lot easier to pull them out or gently rake out since the rooks grown along the matt and not deep down into the soil all the way to China!

But, I swear, there are some roots that will punch holes in even the thickest fiber matts there are! But, keeping a good 4 inches or more of mulch down at all times, especially larger mulch peices really helps as long as you get to the weeds before the roots have a chance to reach the matt.