I don’t put weed barrier down, weed killer or pesticides. The reason I started growing my own food was to avoid chemicals as much as possible.
For my raised beds, I put down several layers of newspaper, after turning the grass over and exposing the roots for a week or prior to the planting season. Then I put down 5 or 6 layers of newspaper-no color.
I plant everything pretty close together - no thinning. When the sprouts are up, I mulch with wood or shredded paper, or straw. The plants get a head start, and for the most part, I don’t have weeds, except for the one bed where I used hay for mulch without thinking about it - but even there, they don’t do well.
I haven’t used pesticides or herbicides, but this year I’ve had real problems with bugs and weeds. I was planning on turning over all the soil before the ground freezes and adding a balanced fertilizer (10-10-10) before winter.
In Spring, while the wife is getting the seedlings started, I was going to put herbicide and pesticide (natural) and fertilize again. I’ll try the newspaper trick. Thanks.