Tips of the Day: Mulching without cardboard isn't Mulching at all/When to start Hoeing

Tip #1: Sooo, a quick tip on the "learning opportunity" I recieved this week. Thanks to Bianca, one of the dedicated teachers at Lakeshore Collegiate, we were able to get a LOT of beautiful pine mulch donated to us at our site. Being so excited to be surrounded by the scent of pine all through the garden, I thought to myself "Hey, I can probably just mulch REALLY thick, and won't need to lay down cardboard first!"

WRONG:


In fact, all I was doing was creating protection from the cold nights for my very thankful ARMY OF DANDILIONS. They just keep coming!

So yesterday, I salvaged a bunch of cardboard from my local Shoppers Drugmart around the corner, and will have to lay down cardboard on all the paths I've already mulched. SAVE YOURSELF THE SAME FATE FRIEND! GET YO' CARDBOARD DOWNNNNN!

Tip #2: You may ask yourself "when is the best time to hoe my beds?" and to that I will answer " NOW! DO IT NOW! FOR THE LOVE OF PIE!" "Now" meaning a few weeks after you've already created your beds, and the first teeny tiny signs of weed life have started to spring up out of it (pictured below). Hoeing lightly along the top of the soil and exposing the teeny tiny roots of these soon-to-be monster weeds will save you
HOURS OF TIME!