End of Mulching and Dahlia Day

We have finished the last of the edging and mulching.

And now that we are done tracking mud and mulch in the house, we have also shampooed the carpets and mopped the floors.  In the garden I am adding as many items to the bottom of my To Do List as I am crossing off of the top.  Today I planted fifty of my dahlia tubers.  They were all awake and sprouting so it had to be done.  The weather forecast looks OK but if we have a late frost I will have to cover everything.  It is a good practice to place your support stakes at the time of planting, but instead I covered most of them with wire cloches to stop critters digging them up.  To counter the tempting smell of the fertilizer and fresh soil I sprinkled them all with Liquid Fence granules.

Most of my garden chores right now do not make much visual difference.  I bury seeds (and tubers) in the soil and move plants from small pots to larger pots.  I have nice dwarf tomatoes and hot peppers and coleus hardening off in the cold frame.

The indeterminate tomatoes are weeks behind and still under grow lights.

The groundhogs were right, this has been an early spring.  I feel like I am planting a week or two earlier than usual at this point, but I am still holding off planting any warm weather plants in the ground.