April 10, 2018
Picked a handful of asparagus spears today, one of the best parts of a spring garden. Plant asparagus once, and harvest it for 20 years. If everything in the garden was as easy, we'd have nothing left to do except weeding. No one actually likes weeding but we do it to keep our veggies from having to compete with them for nutrients, water and sunlight. The worst weeds to have are the invasive ones with massive root systems, like Creeping Jenny, or the ones that reseed themselves underground like Nut Sedge..
I need to use a spade to remove Creeping Jenny because a hand weeder is too small and ineffective against the size of their root systems. It's a daunting task to keep it out of the planting beds and I wouldn't recommend planting it anywhere near your veggie garden. I work myself into a sweat just clearing a 1'x4' strip, and I can't use it for mulch anywhere because it will take root and spread..
April 11, 2018
I got to fish emulsion my crucifers today. They got transplanted 3 weeks ago with a half strength dose, so today I used full strength. Watering them with a watering can is always fun for me because it demonstrates the effectiveness of continual applications of organic mulch. The water doesn't puddle or run off, but flows strait down around the roots. I used to make motes around my plants to keep the water from running off. I still do but I have to move the watering can around the plant to get all the soil wet. It's a tribute to consistent mulching because my soil does'nt get rototilled..
It's red clay soil that has been aerated by the earthworms consuming the mulch. The single most effective gardening technique is to mulch. Often. Don't let your dirt see sunlight. Thin layers, many times a year, keep the earthworms close go the surface. Thick layers will kill weeds, but the soil needs air, so wet leaves that lay like shingles are best used in the pathways..
