So much dirt, so little time...

I have a real job that would normally be 40 hours a week at this time of year sewing awnings commercially, but work is slow. Last week, I got almost 40, and when I have been laid off for a period of time, I forget some of my time management skills, or maybe just forget to use them. The week flew by, my house looks neglected (translation--wrecked!), and my to-do list is long.

Today, while there is light and wonderful sunshine, I'm going to begin cleaning out beds and laying out the area for the big new one at the end of the garage. There's a wonderful southern exposure all along that side of the house, unshaded.

I'm also going to check the asparagus bed and see what I might need to do to it. It's under a blanket of winter mulch right now. I densely planted asparagus roots last year, and by the end of the season, we had sturdy pencil-thick stems. My plan includes continuous mulching to keep down competing weeds, and blanket composting the bed, about which Ruth Stout has written in depth. I have used this method in the past, and support it wholeheartedly!

I tried the GrowVeg.com free trial to plan my garden spaces, and I love it. It's easy, illustrative, and gave me plant needs, planting dates, spacing distances, and the number of plants I could fit in the space I had in mind. I will be purchasing the subcription, because I can see myself using it to update my plots as I succession plant some things and to refer to next year. This is an awesome tool! It can be used to plan flower gardens too, but I wasn't doing that, so I didn't thoroughly investigate flower information in their data base. (I am not an affiliate of this product or website, and I'm not being paid in any way to say this.--BHD)

Outdoors, my irises and daffodils show serious determination about moving on to spring here in Zone 5. My daffodils took a hit last year as the village constructed new storm drains on our streets (we have a corner lot). A large dead tree bole, about 12 feet tall, left by electric company tree trimmers, had to be removed for the project. The guys running the dozers daily were careful about my daffodil bed after I explained what I was doing with that spot, but the guys doing the tree removal didn't the message. They laid the bole down on the bed, unknowing, since it was fall and the bulbs were dormant and nothing was visible topside. I came home from work and was aghast. I tactfully asked how long the tree bole would be left there, and they said until they were done digging out that section of pipe and could get the other machinery in to move it. They asked why and I told them, and they all looked at each other like their mom was about to tell them to pick a switch and bring it to her. They were very apologetic and most of the guys got very busy doing "stuff" while the foreman told me they would move the tree as soon as possible if I could show him where the flowers were...I was nice and told him not to worry about it, I was just being a mother hen about the daffs, but they were under the tree, but he couldn't have known that anything was planted there. Long story shortened, my daffodils poked their tips up right through the dirt this spring, thicker than last year. The tree bole had to weigh half a ton at least, but they appear to be unharmed.

My irises are indomitable as well. I grow them in several places, and follow usual care procedures, lifting and dividing the roots every two to three years when they get too thick. This is the year for that, once they are done flowering. So I will be expanding those beds too, in June.

Anyway, I'd better get to it, or it won't get done. I need some sunshine!