To avoid using chemicals to control weeds and pests in gardens, lawns and fields, many hobby gardeners and large farms turn to the sun as a natural way to kill unwanted growth or visitors. The process ...

David Kuchta, Ph.D. has 10 years of experience in gardening and has read widely in environmental history and the energy transition. An environmental activist since the 1970s, he is also a historian, ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Soil solarization uses clear plastic sheeting and sunlight to heat soil, killing pests, weed seeds, and pathogens. It works best ...

As some summer crops are beginning to wind down, now is the time to consider what's next. There is still plenty of time to get that second planting of squash, beans and even tomatoes in the ground. If ...

Solar-powered pest control? That's part of what soil solarization is about. It's a fairly low-tech way of using the sun's energy to destroy pathogens and weeds in soil. But soil scientists say that's ...

Soil solarization, a process that uses solar radiation to rid the soil of pests, is most common in regions with high solar radiation and high temperatures during the summer season. An alternative to ...

Soil solarization is most effective in the hottest summer months that are just ahead of us. Soil solarization uses the heat from the sun’s rays to essentially bake the soil to a temperature of up to ...

After you remove the soil solarization plastic, plant a cover crop such as fava bean or leave the plastic on until spring. Or plant crops and use the plastic sheeting as mulch. Just cut small Xs in ...

Solarization also eliminates some soil diseases, including Verticillium wilt, Phytophthora root rot, Fusarium wilt, damping-off, crown gall, tomato canker, and potato scab, allowing healthy plants and ...

Soil solarization is a surprisingly simple organic gardening technique that uses heat generated by the sun to kill pests, pathogens, and weed seeds. All you need is some clear plastic sheeting and ...