It’s April -- Don’t Panic!

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April. A quarter of the year is GONE. We always think there is plenty of time in the winter to get things done, and then BAM!  Winter is over, by the calendar (if not in reality), so get moving!

Serious planting season (as if we were not serious before?!) is here, whether the ground and weather are ready, or, in the case of April 2018, NOT! Still cold, muddy, threats of storms, wind, snow, sleet…. I am so ready for a real spring. However, I know that it is perfectly possible to jump from cold late winter weather to hot early summer weather and skip the lovely moderate spring weather. We never know till we are in it!

My job is to be better than the weather and the weather forecasters and to make certain that we can plant and harvest regardless of what the weather is doing. This is why we have greenhouses and hoop houses!  If you want to harvest in April or May, you have to plant before then. April shows if we have done our planning properly. A late start to spring always make me feel as if I am behind.

At this point in mid April, the first rounds of seedlings have been planted in the cool house, the tomato house, or outside, or been transferred to the barn display areas for sale. We have had three plantings of lettuce harvested, and more has been planted for the next harvest. Snap peas have done great all winter and we are planning for cucumbers to follow as soon as the pea vines come out (not yet, not yet!). The next rounds of seedlings have been planted and are busy growing, ready to come out of their cozy home by the end of the month in time for prime planting time (we hope, fingers crossed).


This year we have added a lot of native perennial flowers to our mix for our customers. They are looking good and will be great demonstration plants for the the workshops on Encouraging Pollinators and Incorporating Native Plants into Your Garden Design.


And thousands of tomato plants are hard at work growing. We already have the first hundred in the ground. The rest are still happy in the warmth of the propagation house. Spring will come!

We are very excited when we spot perennials coming up in spite of the cold, see the outside mint showing green again, see the sorrel coming back to life, and the fruit trees blossom. We see the honey bees buzzing around when the sun comes out. We love all the signs of spring that the earth is coming back to life.

~ Ruth

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