Oh, Hello There!

Hi Friends,

I'm pretty sure I'm never going to be invited to join a Garden Club.  As much as I aspire to be the kind of lady who plays in her garden wearing a fabulous hat, I'm just not there yet.  Yesterday I was staring at my three beds and I got to wondering when I should uncover my strawberry plants.  So, I did what I always do;  I asked Amy, my go-to gardening expert.  Here's the e-mail I sent:

Hi Amy-girl!
Just wondering if I should uncover my strawberries yet?  They are still covered with wood chips, etc.

Love you!
Vicki

Here's what I got back:

Yes.  Mine are already up and looking good.  Just wondering why you chose wood chips?  I usually use leaves from the fall.  I know you have plenty of those. 

Uh-oh!  Pretty much every part of her answer made me panic.  Hers are already up?  I'm not supposed to use woodchips?   

I woke up this morning on a mission to clear out my strawberry bed.  Guess what:  Amy was right (as always).  After two hours (!) of carefully removing 50 pounds (no joke) of mulch and wood chips and grass clippings, I discovered all kinds of poor strawberry plants struggling to find some sunshine.  Needless to say, I felt terrible that I had been choking them out all this time.  I swear I could hear them sighing with relief every time I removed the soggy, heavy winter cover from on top of them. 

Nope.  Definitely not ready for the Garden Club yet. 

XO,

Vicki