I think with all the combative language, we have missed an important part of this site: there are TREES there. So the effects of solarization will be substantially reduced. Solarization is mostly used to control soil diseases and nematodes that run rampant in parts of California, studies have shown it only effects about 2" of the soil in terms of sterlization of dormant seeds - it is not really what you need. Just scrape off whatever you can, get some black filter cloth - it blocks light but not water - and put it down, then starting building up some bew compost with whatever you can get your hands on - layer it onto the black cloth and try to get it about 12" deep. You can cut the cloth open in some areas to put in a larger addition, but be sure to remove the soil from the hole and dispose of it rather than mixing it into the compost. Your area will not be hot enough long enough to use solarization for weed removal and the lack of a heat containment below soil during solarization makes its efficiency just terrible related to the work and time required to do it.

I'll share what works for me, and you decide whether or not it is appropriate to your situation. I have had great success with composting in place / hybrid lasagna gardening to keep the grass and weeds out of my gardens. I have a few raised beds in my lawn and I keep a border which I think sounds similar to what you have or are wanting to do. I keep it simple and mix my freshly cut lawn clippings with used coffee grounds and a good amount of cross-cut shredded newspaper. I put this mixture down generously (in inches deep) over the area where I don't want any grass/weeds coming up and then I top it all off with loads of hay/straw (I don't know which is what, but it comes in a bale so I will call it "hay") to keep the sunlight out. My thought is that under the layer of hay, the fresh clippings, UCG and newspaper eventually heat up and kill or severely weaken the grass and weeds. The hay seems to prevent any additional germination by keeping out the sunlight. Add more hay as necessary to keep area covered. The sun does a nice job of bleaching the hay in place, so I think it is an attractive mulch that does a great job. I used to think this was my idea since I just took a chance on it out of frustration of battling (and losing to) the weeds and "lawn creep". But, it's not a new idea. Here are a couple of links that I discovered after the fact. Wish I had read these a long time ago... Ruth Stout And Permanent Hay Mulch Hay Makes a Great Mulch

I stopped by Harbor Freight. Picked up a propane flamer for $13. Looks like a walking cane. I toasted all the weeds in the cracks of my driveway and sidewalk. There were a few spots where I actually burned out the weeds, but in most areas, one pass with the flame and the little buggers turned bright green. I think another quick pass once every week or two will kill everything off. Dead. I did find out too late that the little probe that goes into the propane cylinder was not screwed in tightly when the flamer was assembled. It came out when I unscrewed the cylinder, and let some propane escape until I plucked it out of the valve. This weekend, I'm planning to singe many weeds on the face of the retaining wall that holds up my front yard. I think I'll just try to ol' Bernz-O-Matic with a flame spreader. Flame on.

Yuppers, I have to get after it. It may take me all summer to kill it out. I walked it a couple of days ago and that crapp is all over the hill, except one strip near the crest. Man! It bet it will cost a bundle to spray all that! Needs to be done on a nice hot sunny day. Because of the high amount of oils in Heath Aster, it creates a high fire danger, winter or summer, but especially in summer. You can throw a green branch of it on a burn pile and it explodes into flames that shoot up into the air! Right now, Oklahoma is in a serious drought with statewide fire bans. Lakes drying up. Stock ponds completely dry and winter wheat seeds just laying on top on dry, cracked ground. What few areas have gotten a bit of moisture from two small snowstorms, you can see winter wheat growing, but the plants are stunted and sparsely growing up out of the hard dry ground. Farmers are having to haul in water for their livestock. Wheat prices will surely go up and we will seE it in the supermarkets. May no be any prairie hay to mow this year nor wheat straw either, so prices on that will shoot up, too. Many just took their cattle to market and sold them. Conditions are bad right now here in Okie. The wildfires have burned hundreds of thousands of acres since November. There is one burning just southeast of me right now. I have my own water well that is not fed by groundwater. Ihave been able to water and keep my gardens going around the house, but not up on the meadow. Up there, with all the cedars (juniper trees) and heath asters, plus all the tall, dry prairie grasses, it is a tender box. A lot of dead wood from trees dying from the drought. I started mowing up there this fall in early November and my tractor got two flat tires so I couldn't finish it - No mun, no fun. The flats are actually punctures made by the Heath Asters. The H. aster's stem staubs are like sharp, armoured metal spikes, and when I was mowing they punctured the tractor tires! Just imagine what they could do to your feet? (Grrrrr! Eeee-vil plant!!) It just makes me want to kick it in its aster! BTW, What is GAK? (Good Arse Kicking)?? My goodeness! ~SweetAnnie4u