This Month in My Garden - April

The children with "monkey-faces" (violas)!

April -The month when spring calls loudly and it really becomes hard to stay indoors! The month when we relish the first luscious mouthful of spring vegetables - asparagus! I have to think of the pioneer families who, before the days of super markets, glass canning jars and deep freezers, have been subsisting on the wrinkled root crops from the cellar for the past few months. Can you imagine the joy in finding that first spear of asparagus and know that you have survived another hard winter!

Looking over the March garden list, most projects could be continued into April. Clearing out the flower beds, planting early seeds (peas, onions, potatoes) and vegetable plants (brocolli, cabbage, lettuce) continue this month if not already accomplished! I'm quite pleased with what we were able to do last month. (Mostly thanks to my dear husband!) I think this newsletter has been a good way to look ahead at what needs done and provide some accountability for myself!

These are the tasks I plan to do this month in my zone 6 garden. (But a newborn in our family could cause a halt in any of these plans, in which case, it will all wait until May!)

1. Finish cleaning up the perennial beds and top-dress with compost.
2. Divide any crowded perennials and replant in bare areas.
3. Plant beet, carrot and Swiss chard seeds in the garden.
4. Purchase some more floating row cover at a garden center in order to do a side by side comparison with the Mikroclima.
5. Set out broccoli plants in the garden and cover with row cover.
6. Uncover the strawberries from their winter mulch.
7. Plant the six blueberry plants we purchased earlier last month. We've been holding the plants in pots until the temperatures warmed.
8. Relish fresh asparagus! And maybe, the first fresh spinach salad!

Plants growing in the hoop house!