It’s brutally hot right now, but why not use that to your advantage? Soil solarization uses the heat of the summer to steam the soil, killing disease spores, insect eggs, root knot nematodes, living weeds and weed seeds. It takes only four steps and it’s organic, too!

Soil solarization can be used wherever you can lay plastic on the ground. Before you put down plastic, shred or mow the existing vegetation and expose as much of the soil to direct sun contact as you can.

Next, lay down some form...