Homeowner kills weeds with tarp; 'green' method reduces chemicals

Many homeowners wage rigorous chemical warfare on weeds throughout the year, applying regular doses of herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides.

They do it to eliminate grubs, crabgrass, wiregrass, spurge, chickweed, and clover.

Not Wendy Osborn.

The Severna Park wife, mother of three grown children, and longtime gardener, decided last year to invest in a radical approach. She went green, using passive solar power, plastic, and patience to rid her family's lawn of pesky weeds.

Surprising their neighbors in Chartwell, Mrs. Osborn and her husband, Mike, swathed their front lawn in an expanse of heavy-gauge black...