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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sacrosanct" data-source="post: 9890156" data-attributes="member: 15700">I live in the Pacific Northwest, so our climate is much like yours, and we face many of the same challenges.  Gardening is probably my #2 hobby behind gaming, so I do sympathize and empathize. I don't know what kind of garden that you have. Growing up we just tilled a large section in the back, and did the same thing as you describe. Now I do much less tilling and more sustainable mulching. I still need to till areas for corn, but for most everything else I try to do mulching like in this photo. It requires a bit more initial set up and takes a bit longer to sow the seeds, but it keeps the weeds down and when it rains during winter, doesn't get destroyed or turned into a mud pit. It also reduces how much watering you need to do as there is less soil evaporation.  And I mean it reduces watering by A LOT. Probably by 75%. Depending on the mulch you use, you can also nearly eliminate any fertilizer use as well, as each year the bottom lair composts down a bit on its own.  All you have to do every early spring is add a fresh layer.I also find it helpful to grow things year round (winter crops), so I have something to enjoy while I'm doing all that work in early spring before the rest of the main garden is growing. [ATTACH=full]433926[/ATTACH]</blockquote>