Gardening Tips? Wink,Wink

As I mentioned this morning I'd throw out some gardening tips. Some work. Some don't. I read somewhere that if you put cd's in your strawberry patch they'd reflect and keep the birds away. It's never worked for me.. With my luck I probably have mice nibbling on the berries and maybe they're three blind mice? To keep deer out of the garden, I posted a calendar on a post and turned it to November. That didn't really help either.  To keep bugs away from me, I tie yesterdays socks around my neck. I've been told this doesn't work for everybody. Being lazy and not liking the task of weeding, I pull my rhubarb, throw away the stalks and lay the big leaves between the rows. No sun, no rain and it does seem to keep the weeds down. And of course the leaves disintegrate back into the ground. I take a little extra time to tear them to fit around the tomatoes. It'll keep the water from splashing up onto the leaves which can cause blight. Results are mixed on this one though.  You got any tips that work or don't?