Solarizing the back yard

A few weeks ago I put down a double sheet of clear painter's plastic on part of the back yard that looked especially weedy, with pesky storkbill's growing in great density. The idea behind this was to "burn" the weeds and to re-seed with Bermuda, the dominant grass in the yard. I watered that part of the lawn to create greater humidity underneath the plastic, then held everything down with large rocks to keep the plastic from blowing.

Instead, the grass underneath the plastic grew intensely green and lush! I pulled the plastic aside and saw a nice green patch of Bermuda. Now the green patch stands out from the otherwise still dormant Bermuda grass.

But this gave me another idea: I simply moved the double plastic to another patch of the yard. Hopefully this will green the back yard earlier than monsoonal rains could.