unmulched

despite ( or, perhaps, to spite ) of this morning's "wintry mix" i went out to the community garden because today was the day i had planned to unmulch the asparagus and a little weather that wouldn't phase the plants wasn't going to stop me either...

so i pulled back the landscaping fabric i had holding down the straw i used as mulch ( and i bagged the straw to use as a mulch later in the season ) and saved the fabric to remove the landscaping staples for re-use...

then i dug the compost i had covered the crowns with last fall out from around them to make it easier for the new spears to break the surface of the soil since they are not the strongest of sprouts...

as i was digging out the crowns i ran into an earth worm ( always a heartening sight for a gardener ) which i photographed and then returned to an area well below the surface and the cold...

so the crowns are again open to the sun and the elements...i am two days earlier this year than last...and there were spears up within a week in 2017...we will be checking in again next weekend to see if the pattern holds...the plants move to the workings of a different clock than i do...we will wait and see.