Practice

Silage Tarp

Also known as: occultation tarp, black tarp, killing tarp

A heavy black-and-white polyethylene tarp (typically 5–6 mil, sized to cover one or more garden beds) laid over a bed to kill cover crops, weeds, or sod by depriving them of light and warming the soil. Standard infrastructure on no-till market gardens; popularized in the modern English-language literature by Jean-Martin Fortier. The technique itself (occultation) is older — a synthesis of the silage agriculture practice with no-till garden management.

A silage tarp is what kills a cover crop, weed flush, or section of lawn without tillage or herbicide. Spread the tarp, weigh it down, wait 3–8 weeks. The vegetation underneath dies from light deprivation, the resulting heat accelerates decomposition, and the bed comes out the other side seedbed-ready.

How it works

Several effects compound under a silage tarp:

No light — photosynthesis stops; plants exhaust their energy reserves trying to grow and die
Warming — black surface absorbs heat; soil temperature rises substantially (10–20°F above ambient in sun)
Soil moisture retention — the tarp prevents evaporation; soil under the tarp stays evenly moist
Biology activated — worms, microbes, and other decomposers thrive in the warm-moist-dark environment; cover-crop residue breaks down quickly
Weed seed germination — many weed seeds germinate in the dark moist soil, then die for lack of light; the surface seed bank depletes

After 3–4 weeks in summer (or 6–8 in cooler conditions), the bed is clear, weed-seed-depleted, and ready to plant.

Use patterns

Cover-crop termination — flatten the cover crop, tarp for 3–6 weeks, plant into the residue
Lawn or sod conversion — tarp existing lawn for 8–10 weeks (or full season); ground comes up clean
Weed flush before planting — tarp a bed 2–3 weeks before planting to kill germinated weed seedlings
Between successions — tarp a finished bed briefly while it waits for the next crop
Soil prep for direct-seeded small-seed crops (carrots, lettuce) — clean seedbed makes germination dramatically easier

Practical notes

Color matters: tarps are typically black on one side, white on the other. Black side up to absorb heat and kill weeds. (White side up reduces heat — used in some specialized applications.)
Weight the edges — bricks, sandbags, T-posts, soil-filled woven bags. Wind will lift a tarp surprisingly easily.
Reuse for years — a good silage tarp lasts 5–10 seasons if rolled and stored dry.
Sizing — common sizes are 24×100 ft and 40×100 ft for market scale; home gardeners can buy smaller cuts.
Source: agricultural-supply stores carry silage tarps; the same material as the bunker covers used in dairy and beef operations.

Where it sits

The silage tarp is a market-garden tool that has crossed over into serious home garden practice. Anyone with more than a few beds and a no-till orientation will eventually use one. Jean-Martin Fortier’s writing established the standard protocols in English; the underlying technique has European agricultural roots going back decades.

Sources

Jean-Martin Fortier, The Market Gardener (New Society, 2014)
Connor Crickmore, Neversink Farm educational content
Various trial-data records from no-till small-farm operations

Rooted in life.

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