April started off wet. Within the first few days of the month, we had not only overflowed three 5-gallon buckets off the downspout on the chicken coop, they had also frozen solid. This was not what April weather was supposed to be like as we hastily worked the garden on the 2nd. I guess I had finally been harping on the poor Mr. enough (or maybe he was finally convinced the time was right) that he caved so we could plant our early spring crops. The neighbors in farms up-the-way on the crest, had their crops in for over a month now, and sadly we were only now considering working the garden up to plant. The following day, we got snow flurries before plunging into 20 degree temperatures in the overnight for a few days.
The working of the garden was a long and frustrating process. Although we had spent some of the winter and early spring repairing the David Bradley and cleaning up the implements, the clutch handle was still having trouble catching, and so not all of the implements could be utilized reasonably. Especially the plow. After only three passes with the plow, I called up for the landlord's tiller to work up the rest of the garden. Now lower on time, I hatched a scheme to attach the David Bradley's disc harrow to the back of the lawnmower and assist in discing the garden. I did get a few skeptical looks, not only from my husband, but also from passersby on the road, at the contraption I was driving.
The working of the garden was a long and frustrating process. Although we had spent some of the winter and early spring repairing the David Bradley and cleaning up the implements, the clutch handle was still having trouble catching, and so not all of the implements could be utilized reasonably. Especially the plow. After only three passes with the plow, I called up for the landlord's tiller to work up the rest of the garden. Now lower on time, I hatched a scheme to attach the David Bradley's disc harrow to the back of the lawnmower and assist in discing the garden. I did get a few skeptical looks, not only from my husband, but also from passersby on the road, at the contraption I was driving.
The old half of the main garden stayed worked, but unused as we finally started to harden off our spring transplants mid-month as the temperatures dipped towards freezing each night, and the newer half of the main garden started to sprout again. It seemed to be the beginning of a long battle that we will continue to fight throughout the year against the weeds of a brand new garden.
Finally, on the 15th, out came the 300-foot measuring tape (thanks to Santa Claus), and the garden got staked out with the earliest of our planting areas. A few sprays of the sprinkler that evening, led to soil being able to be worked come the following day. In went some of our early-season crops: celery, carrots, parsnips, cabbages, hull peas, cauliflower, broccoli, sugar beets, mangels and hulless oats. They were followed a few days later by the lettuce, kale, onions, shallots, garlic and cover crops.
So now, around a week later, common sense would have it, that we should be seeing some green in the ground other than those pesky weeds. We're not... at least not anything we can tell is actually a wanted plant so far, so for now the weeding has been held off until we get a few recognizable sprouts.
I'm not quite sure what the issue is this year with the spring garden. Well, I should say main issue. There's always "issues," especially when Purrball thinks that the newly planted blueberry bushes look like a nice place to nap. (Seriously cat... GET OUT OF MY BLUEBERRY POTS!) Our soil is the perfect temperature, and due to most of the rainstorms passing us by, it's plenty wet from the sprinkler. Perhaps my impatience in wanting the plants to sprout so we can weed and mulch the rows is another reasonable factor in all of this. I just don't want to spend hours upon hours on a daily basis this summer weeding rows in the beating down sun in nearly 100 degree temperatures. Is that too much to ask for a summer-hater?
In other garden news to close out the month, I'm happy to announce that the new roof is finally on our greenhouse! On the Mr.'s birthday, towards the end of the month, he voluntarily went to work making a new greenhouse roof so we could start moving plants that need hardened off inside, and free up some space for me to start other seeds on our overflowing seed starting shelves. In just an evening's work, up it went, and now with a borrowed belt sander, I can't wait to see the door finally sanded and on it, so we can get the thermometer up and put to use.
That just about sums up the very wet to bone dry April we had around here in the garden. I'm certainly hoping that the last few days of the month will bring us some more rain so we don't have to worry too much about all of our seeds and transplants (or run our sprinkler for hours on end each day). I hope your April has been a happy one in the garden!
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