That's small enough to solarize. Put down a clear plastic sheet. Let it cook.

I grow my veggies completely organically. I don't solarize either because I worry that it will kill the good bacteria and other organisms in the soil. I have been successful with removing weeds and grass. Give it the newspaper treatment! I've done it multiple times. Layer down thick, over-lapping layers of newspaper. Wet the paper with a hose. Then cover it with a thin layer of mulch to hold the paper down and to make it look prettier. Cardboard would work as well. In the Spring, your garden will be ready to plant. The cold, wet winters and lack of sun will kill it for you. If there is a persistent clump, it will be really easy to pull out by hand.

Good luck!
Kim

Here is a link that might be useful: My Garden

You've got a problem for several years to go now. The grass/weeds you have now isn't the real problem since you have already got good suggestions how to handle that. A small percentage of seeds is all that has germinated. As conditions get right more of the seeds you put in will germinate. This will likely take several years.

I have also found that mulching with newspaper or cardboard helps tremendously. If you use transplants you could also use a product like preen. This prevents seeds from germinating (which is why you don't want to use it if you sow seed directly in the garden). They have an organic version if you grow organic.

I have been fighting the same problem. I have been in my house for four years and my garden space gets larger every year. The most newly tilled areas are the worst. This year I mulched half of my garden with last fall's leaves and half with very fine hardwood mulch. I am still pulling weeds, but not near to the extent that I did last year.

20 x 20 -- go buy yourself a nice piece of 6 mil black poly. Mow the weeds as short as your mower will go. Put down the poly, anchor it well all around the edges and also at spots in the center. Take your pitchfork and make some regularly spaced holes about six inches apart to allow the water to perk through. In less than 2 weeks, the weeds underneath will be totally dead. You can then plant anything you want right through the plastic.

I love plastic, makes it so much easier to maintain.

Many good suggestions already for dealing with the weeds.

Another suggestion would be to reduce the size of your fall garden so you can keep up with it & cover the other part as described with cardboard & mulch.

For the part you're planting, here's what I do to keep it easy--
-prep soil, plant transplants, & cover surrounding soil with dried grass clippings as 1/2" mulch. If I'm not able to plant that same day I use thick layers of damp newspaper or cardboard overlapping to prevent germination of weeds then remove when planting & use as mulch. Newspaper can be torn into smaller pieces easier to place around transplants. Cardboard is best as large areas in paths or fallow garden space.
-plant in wide rows or spacing as square foot gardening suggests then you know where your seedlings should be sprouting
-if direct sowing make sure you know what your seedlings look like so you can immediately pull the sprouting weeds
(if a small enough area can be done by hand pulling in 5 minutes every few days)
-add more mulch until you have a 2" or so layer & be sure it doesn't touch the stems

Also, designating permanent beds & paths in your garden area makes it easier to control weeds, too. You don't need wooden sides to make raised beds. Just pull the soil from your 'paths' onto the 'beds' with a bow rake. Use cardboard, newspaper, upside down carpet scraps, dried grass clippings, straw, etc. for the paths.

Hope that helps,
Corrine

20X20 isn't tiny, but it isn't too huge. Have you tried hand-weeding it? I realize that when you're standing there staring at it, it may seem impossible, but I hand-weeded a roughly 4X15 area of thoroughly weed-infested bed in about three hours recently, so in theory it should be possible to knock off the whole area in a couple of weekends.

Admittedly, the area that I weeded had been tilled not too long before, so the soil wasn't too heavy, but with a garden fork, a hand-held "claw", and a long-handled "claw", and some time on hands and knees, it may be perfectly doable. (By "claw", I suppose I mean a three-time or four-tine cultivator; for the hand tool prefer the kind with curved talons.) And you'll want the soil to be just the right level of moisture, not baked-dry and not muddy-wet.

Now, there will still be weeds lurking in the soil, as either seeds or root fragments. If they're mostly seeds, you might be able to keep up with them by hoeing or otherwise knocking them down regularly while they're still tiny seedlings. If they're roots, it's messier; there will probably be some hands-and-knees time for quite a while.

Wasabi- I can SO identify, with your situation. I use horse manure, too...and the weeds go wild! Sure, they're lush, full weeds, but they can be a handful.

What works for me, is to hand weed (after watering well) and just keep up with it. (As I'm typing this, I'm in muddy jeans, taking a break from doing just that!) I have a potager style bed, which makes it much easier. Grass paths between the beds, wide enough to mow easily and then edge the beds, themselves. Then, you have a place to sit, while pulling the weeds! LOL

The good news is...all those weeds mean you have very good soil. Once you get the weeds pulled (and you might want to try one section at a time) try planting alyssum in between the veggies, as a natural mulch. It will shade the weeds, attract beneficial insects, look pretty and has a nice fragrance :)

Couple years ago I went to IRT plastic film with upside down carpet rips between as paths, and I may never go back. It's great! very little weeding!

In fact some day when I run out of IRT film I may just put down all carpet with little holes to drop seeds in and never have to weed again.