SAVE TIME ON CHORES IN GARDEN.(Living)

Byline: Dan Vierria Sacramento Bee

Aching muscles and sore backs are as common in gardening season as slugs and mosquitoes. Do you really want to work that hard in the garden? I didn't think so. The body revolts when we feel obligated to spend most of a day (or weekend) attempting to catch up with planting, weeding, maintenance and projects. Good planning and a sharp edge on garden tools can help ease pain and suffering. Save you some time for other pursuits, too. Here are some helpful tips:

* Mulch rules. Spread it under shrubs, around ornamentals and vegetables. Layer it deeply. Worship the stuff. The payoff is less watering, fewer weeds and happier plants.

* Set aside a few minutes in the early mornings or evenings to search for and destroy weeds. Fewer weeds translates to fewer weed seeds, which means TSW (time spent weeding) will be dramatically reduced.

* Drip systems save time and water. Dragging hoses around is especially time consuming. Some enjoy hand-watering, but if you'd rather play nine holes, get drip irrigation.

* Garden during TV commercials. Let's say you don't want to miss the ball game or a movie on Lifetime Channel. Commercial blocks run three to four minutes or longer, plenty of time to deadhead a rose or move the hose.

* On weekends, break up gardening with generous rest periods. Take a trip to the nursery, watch TV, get on the Internet, grab a snack, walk the dog.

* Take advantage of weekday mornings and evenings to free up weekends. It's light enough to work outdoors until 9 p.m. If it doesn't get done, there's always tomorrow.