April 2: Seeds sprouted in flats!
(even planted the peas in the flats since I haven't been able to get in the garden to plant the early crops.)
Finally got into garden to work on April 8
Worked on the bed next to the asparagus. Pulled up old black plastic and huge stones. Lots of weeding. Dug up bed. Added old manure.
Planted wheat. On half closest to barn.
Very rainy April, some warm days, but cold nights, and some cold days too. The chilliest spring in 17 years. At least 4 inches of rain early April
Put up greenhouse, finally. Moved first 2 trays of plants into greenhouse. 2nd week of April.
(although moved them inside AC for 3 days during storm and cold 3rd week)
Another 4 inches of rain third week. Rain and freezing nights cracked the rain gauge!
Spinach still growing in cold frame! Some leaves died in the frost, but the roots were able to send up new leaves! Pick a few each time I'm in garden...
Made two “rulers.” One is 4 ft. and one 2 ft. Marked them off in inches so that I can try to have a neater looking garden this year.
Marked off the beds and paths in the veggie garden by writing on the railroad ties with a marker, including the names of the plants to be planted there. It will probably wash off soon, but at least I can read it now.
April 21: Moved all seedling trays back into greenhouse, including 3rd tray which finally began to sprout.
Pulled old broccoli stalks and herb stalks (lemon verbena, pineapple sage, borage, lemon balm).
Cut back lavender a little and thyme a lot.
Weeded entire vegetable and herb garden except asparagus and old strawberries. (Ouch!)
Dug and added manure to pea bed.
Sorrel and chives and tarragon growing, and garlic is up.
Lemon balm, Lovage, and bergamot emerging. And asparagus starting.
April 22: Added more manure to pea bed. Put up 8 pea teepees, planted sprouted peas and pea seeds I had soaked overnight.
1st teepee nearest barn: Oregon Sugar Snap pea sprouts
½ of 2nd teepee: Sugar Snap pea sprouts, then sugar snap pea seeds on all the rest
Also planted lettuce and spinach sprouts plus lots of lettuce seeds on outside margins of pea bed.
By first teepee, north side: Bibb lettuce sprouts
Then mesclun sprouts by 2nd teepee, then mesclun seeds, until Bibb seeds on last north trellis.
By first teepee, south side: Spinach sprouts, then Black seeded simpson, then green Oakleaf, then bibb seeds
Added manure to potato bed. Planted potatoes from Burgess (weird looking: covered with white--mold or powder?) plus some sprouted potatoes from my kitchen from last year’s harvest.
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| Newly planted potato bed |
Picked salad for supper, consisting of spinach and lettuce from the coldframe plus 1 tiny red onion that made it through the winter, 1 jerusalem artichoke I dug (although had to cut away most it), and the first two little stalks of asparagus! (And I found a carrot that wintered under but it didn’t taste good, so I threw it out.
Ordered from Burpee April 22:
Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Mung Bean sprouts, Celery, and stevia seeds
Plus garden trellis string fencing for peas and twine
New pair of nitrile gloves
April 25: Disaster in the greenhouse today. The wind was strong enough that one of the rods slipped out of it's socket and a whole shelf fell, dumping the seedlings on the ground. I had planted the peas and lettuce earlier in the week, and consolidated the other trays. Luckily, the one that fell, was full of pots that either didn't spout or weren't doing very well. I rescued what i could and we'll see if they grow! I got twine and bound the greenhouse poles tightly together, so hopefully nothing else will happen if it's windy!
April 26: The garden is beginning to look good! Started weeding and pulling the old leaves from around the strawberries.
Raked the onion bed smooth and got it planted.
Two rows of onions that I found in the compost--sprouted bulbs about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter---no idea why or where they came from...certainly not our kitchen...I think a volunteer must have added them to the compost? but they looked fine, so I planted them in 2 rows next to the garlic, with also a few sprouts that had come up in the garden, evidently some we missed harvesting last fall.
Then made a 2 foot path with my new "ruler" and the last 4 feet of the garden planted in 5 rows of onion sets. Starting from the south, I planted a row of white, then red, then yellow, then 2 mixed rows. In the furthest NW corner, I planted some tiny bulbs I had harvested at the end of last summer. 4Her Emma helped me cover them up. And then we weeded the raspberries, and cut back the old canes that had borne fruit last year.
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