If you haven't already cover your bare soil or new garden areas with a layer or two of shredded organic matter up to 12". Let the earthworms do the tilling, so you can plant easily in spring. Since we've done this, we've reduced weeds to almost nothing and those that self-sow pull out easily with a pinch of my fingers in early spring. In my perennial vegetable & flower beds I'm thinking I spend about 5-10 min. every few weeks & toss to chickens. It gets me moving on nicer days & I get to see what's waking up in the garden.

Use whatever organic matter easily available to you whether coffee grounds, shredded paper, garden waste or partially composted manure. A blend of several types is best. In my area I also sprinkle with lime except where I'm going to be planting potatoes in spring.I like to top it all off with something nice & uniform. If you use wood chips make sure you pull them back when you plant in spring & don't mix into soil until they've aged at least a year.

Then all winter when I look out at the gardens they look lovely and I don't feel like I'm going to have a load of work to do in spring to pull weeds or dig. True rest indeed!

I posted pics & more details on the cottage garden forum since my gardens aren't quite potager looking yet.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cottage/msg1114161015962.html