Did you ever try putting waste cardboard between rows and plants to stop weeds from growing? We did that this year and it made maintaining the garden a lot easier. I also collected large plastic jugs all year, cleaned them, collected rainwater and dehumidifier output and filled the jugs with it, and weighed the cardboard down with them. After a while, the rain will mush the cardboard down so you don’t need the jugs any more, so you can water the plants with the water in the jugs.
We put layers of newspaper, sale papers, catalogs, cereal boxes, etc and then cover with 4-6” of hay. No slipping, sliding, sinking in the muck this way. It breaks down by time to till/plow next year and adds organic material.
Also helps with the water bill during dry spells as it doesn’t dry out quite as fast.