SAVE YOURSELF WORK IN THE SPRING!

This is maybe the most useful tip of all! If you're planning to start a veg patch in the Spring, or are taking over an over-run garden, you can save yourself days of hard work simply by covering some of the ground over, killing off most of the stuff underneath. You'll still have to dig it over and weed it a bit, but it won't be anything like the work of digging it over from scratch in the Spring.

Mulching: i.e. covering new or bare ground over to reduce weeds. Can also be used to feed plants and improve the soil.

You can use covers like the one in the photo and take the whole thing up again, or you can use cardboard and let it rot away there, or a bit of both. Decent quality cover is better, that woven plastic stuff is a nightmare when it breaks down. Either way you'll have to weight it down.