That will hold in the moisture, only problem is the mice burrow into it.
Diversified Food forest maker . Fill every niche and you'll have less weeds (the weeds are the crop too). Fruit, greens, wild harvest, and nuts as staple. Food processing and preservation are key to self self-sufficiency. Never eat a plant without posetive identification and/or consulting an expert.
I remember before the flying monkeys became such an invasive species. We had tiny ads then.