OK, gardeners, it’s time to get serious! April is when my growing season starts with carefully planted and protected cold weather crops. If you’ve been following me so far this year, you should have plenty of hardy little starts that are ready to go outside!
But first, we have some work to do in the garden. I let my soil sit through the winter and April is the month I get busy on the soil. Up to now, the chickens have been given free range over the boxes, which apparently make great dust baths! But as of now, they are relegated to the coop enclosure. Sorry Girls!
Last month I recommended warming your soil. The sun has been pretty cooperative the last few weeks, but if you put your hands in and the soil is cold to the touch, it’s too cold for the starts. I put large black plastic bags on my beds and leave them there for a day or two to warm up that soil.
This is also the time I amend my soil. All the compost I’ve been saving all winter now finds its way into the beds. Also, if you are going to add any fertilizer or additives like mulch, now is the time to do that. I don’t use fertilizer in my vegetable gardens, but if you do, please make sure it is organic. After all, you’re going to eat what comes out of here! Since I use a square foot gardening method, I have wires across the beds, so I just pour everything on and use a small garden fork to work it into each square. That may seem like a lot of work, but I love being in the garden, so it’s therapy for me!
Make sure that soil is broken up after the long winter. If the soil is wet DON’T WORK IT! It has to be dry and crumbly to work. This is also a great time to get your tools in good working order if you didn’t do it during the fall chores. I sharpen all my tools – there’s nothing worse than trying to work with a tool that is dull and once the season starts, I don’t have time for that. I check for proper operation of everything and if it needs to be replaced, I make a run to Lowes or Home Depot before getting started.
All this prep should take place 1 week before you actually start planting, so with these nice days and the fact that we are all under imposed house arrest, why not get busy with that!
If you have not yet purchased your seeds, you need to do that right away. About the only seeds I put in the garden at this time are radishes. Even the cold weather crops are starts. The cold temps at night are not conducive to seed germination. But you can start the others inside to put in the garden later in the month or in May.
OK! So what are we putting in the ground? Peas, lettuce, arugula, spinach, kale, swiss chard and bok choy can all go in the ground now. Also, all the brassica family crops can go in. No, that’s not a dinosaur, Brassica plants are all those wonderful things your children hate!! (unlike dinosaurs!) broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kohlrabi and collards all belong to this family. You MUST have a fabric ground cover to put over them if they are in the beds now. The night temps are still too cold to leave them totally unprotected, so get some ground cover at your local nursery. I you are blessed to have a greenhouse, many of these starts should be growing quite well by now and you can start your warm weather crops in the greenhouse if you like. Cold frames are also a great way to get an early start on you garden. Just make sure to vent them every day. The sun here will cook your plants right in the beds if you aren’t careful!
If you haven’t made a garden plan yet, I would encourage you to do that before you plant. Many sprouts look the same until they get going, so have a plan on grid paper to show what’s what in the garden. This is also helpful for crop rotation, so you don’t end up planting the same thing in the same place every year. All plants take different nutrients out of the soil, and even with amendments, it’s a good idea to never plant the same thing in the exact same place year after year.
Now is a great time to put in your container plants if you plan to have them. I have hanging baskets with lettuce in them and deck rail boxes with radishes and herbs like peppermint and basil. Just remember, that the container plants need to STAY MOIST! Things dry out so quickly here and those who fail at growing in containers usually are not watering enough. I also like containers, because when it gets cold at night, I can bring the plants inside.
You can also start root crops now. Potatoes, carrots, leeks, shallots, parsnips, turnips and onions! I personally don’t grow potatoes. They are fairly cheap in the stores and they take up a LOT of room in the garden. I have had success growing them in big half barrels, so you may want to give that a try. All these plants should go in around the 15’th of April.
In the herb bed, chives, parsley, thyme and sorrel can go in now. I checked my herb bed today and the parsley, chives and garlic are already up! I just love seeing those sprouts after the long, cold winter!
So that’s it gardeners! Let’s get down and get dirty and get those veggies in the ground! Too Bad money doesn’t REALLY grow on trees! Anyhow, until next time, keep ‘em green and growing.
Karen
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