For the last few years i've been playing with tarps as garden tools and have developed a system to try next year. Here is how a tarp can replace tillers and summer weeding: Each winter rake 75 percent of the mulch to one side of the garden. Combine the mulch with old plant tops and grass clippings. Cover this with a tarp and compost over the winter. Cover the raked garden area with a large tarp. Note: we get heavy winter rains so the tarp protects the soil nutriments and smothers winter/spring grass. In late string remove the tarp and let the soil warm up. Before the weeds get started plant seedlings. Use the nearby compost pile to mulch the newly planted plants. Keep compost area covered with a tarp. In mid summer use the compost area to plant fall crops and build compost pile in area where the summer crops were grown. This technique may not work in dry or warm climates but it seems to work here. Also, i find hate to weed and this technique does a good job of smothering the weeds. jeff
