As the weather starts to feel a little bit better and spring is just around the corner, most of us are itching to get out in the garden, to hopefully enjoy a much greater time than last year. Many of you will be starting to venture out and get your gardens in shape for the sunnier times ahead. One of the niggliest of jobs is dealing with weeds. But I bet you didn’t know that you can get help with that from the most unexpected pieces of equipment.

Well we all know that the humble tarp is one of the most useful and versatile items you can have around the house – but did you know it can even help you with your gardening? …well, with your weeding to be exact!

An interesting article in the Bangor Daily News over in the US tells us all about the fascinating practice of ‘Tarping.’ Tarping essentially seems to be a method of covering soil with a tarp for 7 to 10 days, by which the germination of weed seedlings is prevented: “What we want to do is cause fatal germination of seedlings in that environment.” “When you’re tarping, you’re helping to deplete the seed bank, the store of weed seeds in your soil.” …explains the article.

This creates a stale seedbed for the weed seeds that are hiding beneath the surface but with minimal soil disturbance, meaning the soil is now good for subsequent planting. Black or Blue Tarps are used as these conduct heat better.

So there you have it. We bet you thought your mega-useful tarp was only good for covering, protecting, gathering and lifting things – but no it can actually help your garden stay blooming and beautiful by banishing weed infestation. For full details of how Tarping works see the Original Article at BDN.