Glen, The carpet works really well, soft on the knees when planting and weeding, holds moisture in, stops weeds, reduces compaction, and is moveable as you change plantings from year to year. The best part is it's free! Just stop by a job site and haul it home, all I'm doing is giving it a delay in route to the landfill.
Before we had a bad experience with a squash bug epidemic a few years ago, I'd roll out a small room size carpet and plant my cantaloupes through the carpet. No weeds and healthy rinds. It also gave you a defined out-
line to pull stray vines into.