I love your post Joseph. Thanks for sharing.
In my garden there are many wild, weedy things growing. They help attract pollinators, and give shelter for the toads and tiny lizards who live there I lay burlap bags from a local coffee roaster to help define paths and then cover with wood chips. This works pretty well for a while to keep the paths' weed' free. Some weeds are amazingly persistent. When it gets too out of control, I chop and drop.
When I've got enough kitchen scraps and cardboard or newspaper collected, I'll pick one of the weedy, uncultivated areas and lay that down with chips on top. For me, it's a much easier method than compost piles which I did for years. Occasionally something will poke through but it's most likely a plant growing from the kitchen scraps.
