Sheet Mulch 101

We have done several sheet mulching projects that have resulted in beautiful low water gardens. Below are some instructions for doing this on your own.
What you will need:
Cardboard - Urban Farmer sells 1000 square foot rolls of cardboard for about $100.
Mulch - This can be ordered and delivered in bulk from your local supplier.  We frequently work with American Soil and Stone or Acapulco Rock and Soil.
Hose access
Pruners or scissors or knife to cut cardboard
Containers or wheel barrels to carry mulch
Shovel & Broom.

First calculate cubic yards of mulch required.
If your area of coverage is 10'x10' and you want to put down 6" of mulch your cubic foot calculation is 10x10x.5=50.  Divide that number by 27 (there are 27 cubic feet in per cubic yard) 50/27=1.85 yards of mulch.

Roll cardboard out over area being sure to overlap seams

 

 Add mulch and water in and voila you've sheet mulched!

In the image below we have sheet mulched around a newly planted bed.

We used 1/4" clean fir bark for the path and Forest Floor mulch for the beds.  Both are American Soil products.