July 2025
Gardens are supposed to bring joy and a sense of renewal, but when they look like a battlefield — where the war was lost - they break our hearts! If your garden seems to constantly suffer from diseases that produce sickly looking plants and/or insects that eat their way through everything you try to grow, you might want to consider 'solarizing' your soil and starting anew.
This is an organic process whereby the sun's rays kill off the nasty bugs and deadly spores that are ruining your garden. It's also a good way to clear out weeds and grass when you are trying to establish a new garden area.
All you need are the sun's rays (generally abundant in July!), some black plastic, and a few landscape staples or rocks, and you're on your way.
Thoroughly water down the garden area you want to rid of weeds, or nasty bugs, or disease spores ( and who doesn't want to get rid of all of these???). Cover it with black plastic (at least 6 mil thick), hold it down with either the rocks or the staples, and leave it for 6 weeks.
Once you've uncovered the new garden area, the soil should be amended with a healthy, mature compost. Now you are ready for planting!
Note: Do not throw the black plastic in the rubbish bin! Roll it up carefully and store it for a million other uses in the garden.
