Time is quickly flying by as we depart the last full week of March. Though the weather is tossing up a few last wintry mixes, by the middle of April, things should start settling down nicely as the summer garden season literally begins to warm up. There's an awful lot to do right now and you should take advantage of warmer days to start your spring cleanup.

There are leaves that are caught up in shrubbery, pots that never were emptied of their summer plantings, dried annuals that were left in place to bloom until the very first hard frost knocked them down, there are dried perennial stalks that need to be cut down and broken tree and shrub limbs that need to be cut off.

As I work on each section of the yard during the cleanup, more than 300 pounds of organic fertilizer will get worked into the soil around every growing plant in the yard. This initial feeding will help shoot up and green up the new growth for the season.

ASPARAGUS BEDS

One of the most prized possessions in a home garden is a mature bed of asparagus. I say prized because it is a true accomplishment to be able to walk into your own backyard in April and harvest bundles of delicious and tender asparagus stalks.

The work to prepare a bed for an initial planting of asparagus is an enormous task and patience must be at an all-time high if one is to ever succeed. It takes years after placing roots in the ground before the first crop of fresh asparagus can actually be

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harvested. It really takes much longer than that, however, for the roots to thicken up and to start producing bumper crops of fresh asparagus.

That's probably why I was so eager to visit such a planting after a phone call from a fellow gardener who asked me to come visit his daughter's new home. He told me the yard was just filled with all types of mature plantings, such as fruit trees, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, grapevines, rhubarb, herbs and a large bed of asparagus perhaps close to 25 years old.

Sure enough, the yard was a gardener's oasis. Whoever had lived there before had obviously dedicated an enormous amount of resources and care throughout the entire property. One of the things that money can't buy, however, is time. By the looks of the property, time has gracefully developed all of these fruits and berries, and especially the asparagus bed.

While I pointed out a few problems that needed to be addressed in their asparagus bed, I offered the same advice that I follow for my own asparagus bed. This is the time of year when a few rigorous hours of work is needed in the bed, but it is a task which I look rather forward to doing. Clearing away the scraggly remains of last year's asparagus fronds not only visually improves things, but it opens the way for the new spring crop to head on up. These feathery tall stalks provide a beautiful green backdrop for the garden during the summer months with a nice display of bright red seed berries that become prominent in the fall.

They also provide an important and vital food source for the asparagus roots deep beneath the soil and help build reserves for the following year's crop. By now, though, they have exhausted their usefulness and should be cut right down to ground level.

Weeds are perhaps the biggest annoyance in an asparagus bed, but are easily dealt with by using a thick layer of mulch. I like to maintain a deep six-inch layer of dark cedar mulch evenly spread over the bed throughout the year. The mulch not only keeps out competing weed growth, but it helps protect the roots from accidental swipes by a passing roto-tiller blade or spade.

Before applying this year's layer of mulch, there are three steps to perform which really amount to an entire year's worth of maintenance for these very self-sufficient perennial vegetable plants. The first thing I do is to spread a layer of greensand.

Greensand (yes, it is green in color!) is a wonderful soil amendment that provides a primary nutrient of potassium, some phosphorus and an abundance of trace minerals.

The second procedure is a dusting superphosphate. This is a fast-acting commercial fertilizer especially effective for root development because of its phosphorus content (the analysis is 0-20-0). Treating raw rock phosphate with sulfuric acid is why it releases its nutrients into the soil so quickly. Lastly, I apply a light scattering of rock salt. Yes, rock salt, just like you would use to melt ice on pavement. Salt has long been known to have an invigorating effect on established asparagus beds, as it helps reduce certain types of diseases like crown rot, while generally giving older plants a healthy boost in production. (Just be careful to keep the salt application confined to the asparagus bed and not in the regular garden soil.)

All of these ingredients will slowly leach into the soil, where they will perform wonders in building a truly fine asparagus bed.

I may perhaps come back in June and once again in September and side-dress the bed with some compost and a little 10-10-10 fertilizer, but in case I do forget, this one-time spring application of nutrients and weed suppression techniques should keep them pretty satisfied.

PLANT REJUVENATION

This is the time of year when many flowering indoor plants really start to show their stuff. The hybrid strains of Cape primroses should start coming into blossom in April, which is quite a delightful display of color that should last well into the summer.

It is also the time when I like to give a good thorough "once-over" of all the indoor plants. If you have not attended to pruning, repotting, and propagating chores, then now is the time to do it. If you douse the foliage with warm water, this not only cleans the leaves of dust, but also helps wash away any insects that might have made their winter home nestled in your palm.

It is also an excellent time to begin regular feedings of houseplants as the days become longer and plants begin their new season of growth. Some houseplants are so large that repotting would be extremely difficult.

If this is the case, I simply like to scrape away the top layer of soil (careful not to prod at the top layer of roots) and a bit along the sides of the pot. Remove this worn out soil and replace it with a fresh packing of potting soil with a bit of agricultural charcoal mixed in.

The charcoal helps keep the soil smelling sweet and prevents that nasty sourness that occurs from sitting water. Don't neglect these projects; there is a long summer ahead for these plants and your assistance will be greatly appreciated by them.

FROM THE MAILBOX

Q: I have a greenhouse and I'm looking for a vine that will blossom all year-long. I have a bright southern exposure and have set up a trellis for "something" to climb upon. What would you suggest? - K. Guerrero, Fairfield

A: That's a pretty tall order asking for a plant to stay in bloom year round without a resting period. If I had to suggest one such vine that just might fit your requirements it would be Mandevilla.

This vine has large pink flowers that resemble morning glory, yet they last for several days rather than just one. During the winter months, its flower production will slow down, but it's still one of few vines that will flower indoors year-round.

Have questions? Send them to Bing J. Carbone, 46 Winthrop Woods Road, Huntington CT 06484, or e-mail them to bjcgardens@aol.com.