Friday Update: April 17th

Today was a mix of the front yard and the back:

In the front yard, I weeded the front bed with the Japanese maple.  Then I put down two bags of mulch.  The entire front bed will take about 5 bags but my style is to get a good start on it and then use my progress to estimate how many more to get.  This keeps me from buying too many, but it means that I can't get the job done all at once.

Also in the front yard I put down weed and feed mixed with Milorganite organic fertilizer.  Because milorganite is pelletized and very dry, it makes a very good dispensing medium for other materials that have a tendency to clump.  As an organic fertilizer, it is almost impossible to over-apply.

In the Back yard.  I mulched the upper bed with grass clippings, finally.  I had been waiting to mulch it until most of the squares had come up.  I was hesitant to bury my tiny radish seedlings and make it much harder for them to reach the sunlight.  Now that most things are well established in the upper bed, it is much easier to mulch around them. 

The mulch will hold in the moisture, and in celebration I watered both the upper and lower beds.

I uncovered the middle bed and got it ready for planting.  I'm going to start with three strawberry plants on the uphill side of the bed.  The taller ground cherries will be going behind them so they don't block the sun. 

I'm working on two resolutions this summer.  One is to not leave projects half-done.  Like the mulch in the front bed; rather than waiting one or two weeks to finish mulching, instead, just go ahead and buy the mulch and put it out.  Then it will be finished and I can move on to other things.   It seems that I have a psychological issue with finishing things.  I feel more comfortable with things "mostly-done" and I'm not sure why.

The other resolution is to leave the yard in a clean state. I need to get in the habit of putting things away, putting tools away, putting materials away.  Don't leave trash out in the yard.  Don't leave hand tools or even power tools out overnight.  Don't leave waste wood or old concrete blocks lying around the job site after they have been used.  Instead, put them away by the shed so they won't end up broken or in the way.