I have been solarizing for years. Mostly in the veggie garden though. First off, you can do it with cheap farm tarps. (get them at tractor supply, or Farm and Fleet stores) I get the kind that are black on one side and silver on the other, the largest of these is less then $50. I put the black side up. I hold them down by putting short cheap electric fence step in posts through the grommet holes. The idea is that the black tarp collects heat. It doesn't allow the moisture to escape so you have a worm moist area where the weed seeds try to germinate and die for lack of light. If light gets through, the weeds can grow under it, kind of like a terrarium. If you have enough time (like doing it early in the spring until late fall or the next spring) then you can just spread your compost on top of the soil, and the worms and insects will break it down and mix it into the soil for you. You won't have to till or work the soil at all before planting. Before I stole a bunch of my veggie garden for irises, I used to plant half of the garden, and solarize the other half, then switch every other year. It was amazing how few weeds you have to deal with then. I'm solarizing a new area right now to use as a veggie garden so I have more space to rotate crops to avoid blight. (Also as I keep making seedlings, I'm going to have to take up even more of the veggie garden space.) To get the most benefit from it, you need to let it solarize for several months at least. I'd recommend solarizing areas now that you want to plant next year. It's a great "No chemical" way to get a bed ready.
