April 04, 2009
April is the beginning of spring in most northern climates - the days are getting longer, the nights are warmer and the veggie seedlings are starting to grow. Gardeners are itching to get out and get their hands dirty and cannot wait for the first harvest of greens and radishes!
- Prepare your garden beds.
If the weather has been cooperating the last month some of you were able to get into your gardens to start tilling, if not you still have time to do your soil preparation in April. All garden beds need to be worked in some way by tilling them, mulching if you are doing a no dig garden or just breaking up the hard surface so you can plant seeds. Learn more about soil preparation.
- Amending and fertilizing.
It is important to feed your soil so that there are nutrients that your vegetable plants and access to grow well. I recommend only using organic amendments and fertilizers because I truly believe organic gardens are healthier to the gardener and the environment. Here is more information on
organic amendments
and
organic fertilizers.
- Sowing seeds
After all the hard work of digging is done, now you can start sowing the seeds. Some plants do better when you are directly seeded to your garden bed, whereas others need more attention and are best started indoors in flats. Learn more about seeding your vegetables.
- Planting by the moon cycles
Ancient gardeners noticed that when they planted seeds at certain times during the month they grew better than other times. Through trial and error they found out that the stages of the moon seemed to affect how their plants grew. Lunar gardening is based on the moon's gravitational effect on the flow of moisture in the soil and plants. Learn when the best times to plant are. - "
My 2009 Vegetable Garden Journal
"gives you the best days to plant each month. It is a simple to follow book that will help you stay organized and give you all the information you need to have a successful vegetable garden.
In the book you will find:
- A monthly calender with the best dates to plant by the moon cycles.
- Month at a glance to do list to guide you.
- Easy to follow planting, growing and harvesting information for 25 common vegetables.
- Tips on watering, fertilizing, mulching and pest management.
Ready to read more? click here.
- Need help with your garden layout?
Now you know what you would like to grow, where and how are you going to make it happen? The most common ways of planting vegetables are in row, raised beds or in containers. Order one of my vegetable garden plans books for great planning ideas for your own garden. - April to do list:
- Start planting lettuce, spinach, radishes and brassicas outdoors.
- Start tomato, cucumber, eggplant and pepper plants indoors.
- If there are weeds growing, start pulling them..
- Start a new compost pile.
- Start mulching to suppress weeds.
VEGETABLE OF THE MONTH Spinach
Here are my tips for growing great spinach:
- Spinach likes cool soil temperature.
- Soil needs an abundance of nitrogen.
- Seeds need to be thinned to one plant every 6 inches when direct seeded.
- Successive plant every few weeks to have an ongoing harvest.
- Keep well weeded.
- The young outer leaves can be harvested for salads several times before cutting the whole plant.
For more information on check out Spinach .
Now is the time to start planning your vegetable garden for this coming season. I have several helpful ebooks that will provide you with easy to follow tips to having a fabulous vegetable garden. Check them out.
Please contact me with your comments and suggestions.
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Welcome to the world of vegetable gardening!
Catherine