April, Time to Get Started

By Leslie Watkins

As the snow melts and the ground thaws, you may start thinking about the pleasures of having a kitchen garden outside your door. Thoughts of sun-ripened tomatoes and freshly picked basil may be hard to imagine after this past winter, but those days will come. Vegetable gardening success is a combination of cooperative weather, good soil conditions, keeping on top of bugs and weeds, and allowing Mother Nature to do what she does best. With that in mind, you can greatly increase your chances of having a beautiful and productive garden by planning ahead. If you have already learned this lesson, you probably spent some time over the winter making lists and mapping out your garden beds. And if you haven’t, there is still time.

Once the ground has had a chance to dry out a bit, it is time to get your beds prepared. The best place for a little garden is in a sunny spot, not too far from your door, in a place that drains well. Locate it near a water source, or close enough that the hose will reach. Remove the sod and improve the soil with well-rotted manure or compost, thoroughly mixed in. Cultivate to a depth of 12 to 18 inches. If that’s not possible, consider building a raised bed on top of the ground, filled with a mix of topsoil and compost. Don’t worry if your soil is not ideal. Over time it will improve as you learn more and become more experienced. The important thing is to get started. Thomas Jefferson said, “Tho’ an old man, I am but a young gardener.” Gardening is an art that grows with you.

Make a list of the vegetables you like best. In our gardening zone 4/5, April is a good month to start some seeds indoors. A sunny windowsill will work. Drill drainage holes in plastic containers from the recycling bin and fill them with a few inches of a good seed-starting soil mix. Some seeds germinate under the soil in darkness, while others need light to germinate. This information is usually printed on the seed packet or is easily found online. Gardening neighbors will gladly share tips with you, and they may even have some extra seeds saved from last year’s harvest to give you.

A short list of easy seeds to start in early April includes tomatoes, basil, melons, squash and cucumbers. After 4 to 6 weeks of careful tending, your seedlings will be ready to harden off, the gradual process of acclimating them to being outside. Put the seedlings outside in a shady spot during the day and bring them back in at night. After a week they should be ready for planting in the ground. However, make sure the temperatures are sufficiently warm and frost-free for sensitive plants like tomatoes and squash.

Once your soil is dry enough to be worked without compacting it, you can sow some seeds directly in the ground. Cool weather vegetables for direct sowing are spinach, peas, beets, Swiss chard, various brassicas (such as kale, collards and Chinese cabbage), onion sets and spring-planted garlic. In mid-May you can add lettuce, beans, carrots and radishes.

Pansies will tolerate cool nighttime temperatures and light frosts. Decorate your garden and yard with these cheerful flowers.

April Chore Checklist:
Prune away winter-damaged branches from trees and shrubs.
Remove debris from lawn and flowerbeds.
Gently rake away leaves from small spring bulbs.
Inspect for vole activity.
Turn and aerate your compost pile.
Take down bird feeders to discourage bears.
Cut some forsythia or apple branches to force indoors.
Build a raised bed for a kitchen garden.

And most important: look for signs of spring!