several years.  I may chop that one down to a hand-held, too, for better control.

Another great garden helper I acquired this year is a small greenhouse.  It's about the size of a baker's rack, with four shelves that will accommodate up to 12 seedling trays.  A clear vinyl covering goes over the top, and can be zipped down, or opened for ventilation.  My store-bought tomato plants have loved it.  I'm testing one orchid in it that has been pushing its luck for years by not blooming.

By far, the best thing I did this year was to cover several garden beds with clear plastic to raise the soil temperature (after several hours' weeding to clear them first, of course).  My aim was to kill as many weed seeds as possible.  On one moderately sunny day, I recorded a soil temperature of 107' at a depth of two inches, a full 20 degrees higher than in the bed not covered.   Tomatoes went right in there.   I also made an effort to disturb the soil very little while planting, so I wouldn't stir up more weed seeds that may have survived the steam bath. 

Clear plastic works better for solarizing, because it lets in the sun's rays.  It does not, however, kill existing weeds to any degree.  Black plastic will do that, because it blocks the sun.  I think I may experiment this fall with soil coverings.  I want to try a layer of clear plastic, and a sun-blocking layer over it, such as black plastic, or even hay, which I can compost later.  I'll be interested to see if I can plant earlier and reduce my prep by keeping the rains off the beds after fall tilling and then exposing the clear plastic to warm the soil early in the spring.  With my new little greenhouse, I may just have my garden planted in April for once.

But what will I do for aerobic exercise without my weed-thrashing marathons?  Maybe I could actually stop and smell the flowers!  And get rid of this heating pad.