April 2021 Edible Garden Planner

Spinach in a self watering pot

Sunday, March 28, 2021

April showers bring May flowers, fruits, herbs and vegetables.  Now is the perfect time to get serious on getting your spring garden planted and sown!  In April, I will have seeds and plants going indoors and outdoors.

Crops to plant in April

Early April is a perfect time to plant cold season crops like Brussels sprouts, fava beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, collards, kale, lettuce, mustard, onions, parsley, parsnips, peas, potatoes, radishes, shallots, spinach, strawberries, Swiss chard and turnips.  Outdoor transplant calendar

See this post for what to plant in April as well as links on how to grow each veggie.  What to get going in the edible April garden

We can have fresh salads from the garden now.  The greens that overwintered are arugula, parsley, sprouting broccoli, cress, lettuce, chard, sorrel, Chinese cabbage Hilton, and cultivated dandelions.  The other greens and herbs that overwintered are celery, carrots, chives, leeks, tarragon, sage, thyme, and kale.  They are great adds to salads as well as cooked dishes.

The sprouting broccoli that overwintered in the garden and pots are quite a nice size.  I will get cabbage worms by the end of June which love cabbage and broccoli.  The options for keeping the worms away is to rotate the crops, harvest by mid-June or treat with BT at the first sign of the worms, which is an organic treatment.  Sprouting broccoli is one of my favorite edibles.  The leaves taste like broccoli and are sweet all through spring, summer and fall.  They are great in salads.  You also get little broccoli florets to eat on and off through the season.  Sprouting broccoli- a year round fav

We can still get frosts in April so you want to hold off on planting warm season crops outdoors like tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and squash until May unless you cover them or bring them indoors if frost does visit your garden.  Extend the season with protection for plants

I have usually transplanted lettuce and spinach plants outdoors by this time.  This year, the transplants are  slow coming into the garden centers.  My guess is that cold snap in February put the growers behind.  I will sow snow peas, lettuce and spinach seed in pots outdoors this week.   

To keep yourself in lettuce all season, do succession planting of new seeds or plants every 2-3 weeks.  Just plant the number you would normally eat in a 2-3 week period.  This will keep salads on the table continuously.  Do succession planting for any vegetable you want to extend the harvest for.  Keep the harvest going, do succession planting

If this is your first year in gardening, here are some pointers on what to choose what to grow and get your garden going What to plant for your first garden  Easy kitchen garden   If you don't have much space you can still grow a garden either in pots or in a garden spot as little as 6" by 6'. Veggies for small spaces

 Grow a Sicilian/Italian kitchen garden in as little as 6' x 6'

To get a jump on summer harvests, I will start a variety of edibles indoors on the kitchen counter in both my Aerogarden and peat pods.  For the large seedlings like cucumber, squash, and watermelon, I start these in 3" peat pots.  I have had great success in the Aerogarden in germination rates.  It is really close to 100% across all types of seeds.  Seed starting tips for beginners

Aerogarden on the right, peat pods on the left

The varieties I will start indoors: tomatoes, peppers, okra, pink celery, rosemary, basil, dill, asparagus, rhubarb, Chinese cabbage, Alpine strawberries, eggplants, New Zealand spinach, Malabar spinach, morning glory, cucumbers, zucchini, winter squash, bulbing fennel, watermelon, pole green beans and onions.

Fertilize

When you plant, make sure to fertilize and add mycorrhizae in each planting hole. Mycorrhizae are beneficial microbes that help your plant roots absorb nutrients from the soil.  I also add biochar and worm castings in each hole.  Using these amendments is when I had the most productive and disease free summer gardens.

I like to apply fertilizer, add a thick layer of compost and top with mulch before I begin planting.  Just mulch by itself breaks down and adds organic matter to the soil.  I use only organic fertilizers and amendments.  There is a great deal of research that shows chemical fertilizers negatively affect the soil food web.  Weed free, self fertilizing, till free garden beds

If you didn't do a soil test (you can use a kit from a garden store/big box store or have your local extensions office analyze it), use a balanced organic fertilizer like Espoma at the rate recommended.  You can make your own all natural, organic fertilizer, too, inexpensively.  Here is the link:  Make your own fertilizer, it's all natural and inexpensive  If you did not fertilize the entire garden bed before planting, be sure to add fertilizer to each planting hole per the directions on the package.  Crops will need that burst of energy for the quick growth that spring brings. 

If you want to have an in-depth soil analysis done to create a fertilizer specific to your soil, here is a blog on who to send your sample to and how to get a personal fertilizer recipe  The next step in garden production and your nutrition-soil minerals

If you are re-using pots from last year, here is a link to get your potting soil ready to nourish your new plants:  Re-energize your potting soil!  It is important to get your potting soil ready to support this season's growth and veggie production.  Be sure when you fertilize to mix it into the soil or apply before you put down a protective and organic layer of mulch.  This keeps the nitrogen from oxidizing and escaping into the air instead of staying in the ground to nourish your plant.  This year, I did all my pots.  I added 1 part compost to 2 parts potting soil, Azomite for minerals, and Espoma fertilizer.  My plants should have everything they need for a strong start to the growing season.

Composting is possible in small spaces or even indoors

Chives and lettuce in  mid-April garden

Frost date importance

The last frost date in our area is around April 10th.  This is important to know for are planting seeds and when to move plants into the garden.   Frost date look up  The seed packet tells you when to plant in relation to your last frost date.  You will get the best results following the packet instructions.  Planting early is not always a good strategy as different seeds need different soil temperatures before they will germinate.  Plant too early and they can rot before they have a chance to sprout.  When to plant your veggies

Pots will warm up quicker, but will also chill down faster.  You can put your pots in a sheltered, sunny spot to get a jump on spring.  Putting your pots on the south side of the house will provide the maximum warmth.  I lover planting greens in a large self watering pot that I can keep on the patio, making it handy for picking a fresh salad for dinner, and to move to a cooler spot in the hot days of summer.  

When growing veggies in containers, they will require more watering and more liquid fertilizer than if they were in the ground.  In the summer, you may have to water some water lovers every day unless you use self-watering pots.  For more on growing in pots.  Decorative container gardening for edibles  
With the self-watering pots, your watering duties will be greatly reduced.

Lettuce, greens, and herbs do fabulous this month.  It is the time to indulge in daily salads. and smoothies.  Cool temperatures and lots of moisture produce the sweetest greens of the season.  

Everything you need to know about growing lettuce  Grow your own smoothie and juice garden

This year, you may have more time or just want to be sure you can get fresh veggies.  Here is a garden that meets that need, even if you only have a small space, like a flower bed.  Small space survival edible garden