The Compost Bin

Image via Wikipedia

When it comes to getting things done in the yard and garden this year, I am by some strange miracle doing really well for once. I always get a lot done but it’s usually not in the neatest or most organized fashion. You see every year I plan on doing a lot more stuff than I have time to actually get done. And that means that I wind up with lots of unfinished garden projects, unused seeds and usually a messy yard. But this year, I really got an early start and I’m making sure things get finished before I move on to something else. What a concept!

I have already started arugula, bok choy, swiss chard, spinach and simpson lettuce from seed in my basement and transplanted the young seedlings out under my makeshift hoop house. I’ve even removed the hoop house because the overnight lows have been in the 40ies lately. And I’ve direct sowed some peas, beets and carrots outside as well.

Another project that’s going pretty well in the yard is the spring cleanup. One of my compost bins is about the size of the office cube that I spend most of my life in and it’s filled about 5 feet high with leaves. My bordered beds are clear of debris and the mulch is fluffed. For once the daffodils in those beds don’t look like someone accidentally dropped some bulbs in a pile of leaves.

My ornamental grasses and perennials have been cut back and fed, my apple tree is pruned and I’ve trimmed the dead wood out of the dogwood and the ornamental cherry.

Even my impulse purchases of 18 bare root hostas and 8 purple cone flowers have already been taken care of. Not only did I plant them in the ground but I amended the planting holes with some fresh compost and some organic fertilizer.

Since I’m doing really well with spring chores so far this year, you’d think I sit back and enjoy some extra free time to relax, right? Well not exactly. I’ve actually decided to set even more goals and start planning more projects. I have an overgrown thorned blackberry plant that needs to be removed and replaced with a thornless variety. I can definitely split most of my giant hostas and daylilies. My annual mountain of mulch is being delivered soon too. That’s always a fun weekend that I spend with my wheel barrow. And my wife is making a list for me too.

Oh well, it wouldn’t be my house if there weren’t some unfinished projects out there.