Weeds

Weeds are starting to peek their annoying heads out of the ground.  It's too early to plant most tender annuals in the garden but it isn't too early to tackle some weeds.

Break out your hoe, trowel and hand shovel and get to work before the weeds reach 3 inches in height. Instead of using harsh chemicals that may compromise your ornamental plants, try manual weed removal instead.  A little exercise, a little Vitamin D for body from working in the sunshine.

Dig down enough to remove the roots and discard in a yard waste bag.  These little annoyances shouldn't be put into the compost pile.

Here's the fun part.  Hit Lowe's or Home Depot and purchase a few bags of mulch (or mulch for the whole garden if you're feeling spunky!) Grab a roll of old newspaper and place four to five sheets over the area containing the weeds.  Pile on a 3 to 4 inch layer of mulch.  The combined action of the two will smother the little dears to oblivion.  You'll get a head start of summer gardening and maybe, just maybe, you might be able to enjoy that lawn chair a little more than you did last summer.