Here's My Great Green Idea!

My husband, myself and our children love gardening. We actually started a small garlic farm as a business, but we do alot of farming with our children for fun. We recycle boxes and newspaper and use them as mulch between all of the rows of veggies and garlic. You just lay them flat and cover with some cut grass or fallen leaves to keep the newpaper and boxes from blowing away. This prevents any weeds from coming up and keeps the soil nice and warm and moist. This allows us to water less and it attracts worms to the surface to help brake down and "work" the soil. The boxes and newspaper brake down and get mixed into the soil.
Sometimes we use the boxes and newspaper on the ground to help prepare a new area of our field for planting. All you do is if you want to get rid of the weeds / grass in an area- just cover them with old boxes and some grass clippings. The dirt underneith will get warm with the sun. The grass and weeds will die, the worms will work the soil and if you leave it covered long enough it will brake down and when you are ready to plant some plants you will not even have to rototill.
We also re-use our old plastic milk jugs as drip irrigation on some of our plants. You make small wholes in the bottom of the milk jug, fill them with water and you have instant inexpensive drip irrigation for your crops. It also makes watering go alot faster.
So not only are we teaching our children about growing their own veggies and how much fun it is, we are also teaching them that we can recycle things right in our own yard. Nothing goes to waste. The end result is a great weed free garden and fresh yummy veggies!