Newsletter April 2023

APRIL 2023

In this Issue...

Welcome New Growers and Gleaners
In the Garden this month…
Year-to-Date Harvest Numbers
On the Calendar - Upcoming Events
Recent Postings

Welcome New Growers and Gleaners!

Jill Allison, Lee Bebout, Kim Barry, Michelle Busch,

Diane Bourshak, Mauren Dale, Jim Goldman,

Jennifer Hopkins, Inger Johnston, Robin Kosin, Alison Krisner,

Marta Krisovich, Alison Leonard, Mary Rodgers,

Christine Schuper, Meagon Taylor, Jef Terry, Polly Thurston, Barbara Walkover, Elaine Wellman, Kathy Salmonson,

Renee Lehr, Marlowe Moser, Jake Moser, Michael Chase

In the Garden this Month

By Dianna Wiklund, FBG Garden Coordinator

Cool and dry — that is the forecast for April according to at least 3 sources. We are still running late on warming up our soil and germination is slow going. So running a few weeks later than normal is where many of us are at. Very frustrating as the skies clear up and it looks warm but is not. Continue using whatever covering methods you can. I am even putting cloches over my peas hoping to get them growing safely.

Bed preparation continues for most of us. Most of us have already turned under or cut down our cover crops if you haven't please do so now. Time to pull all your overwintering root veggies before they decide to start growing and using up their stored sugars. Many brassicas are starting to put on a fresh crop so whether you pull them now is up to you. If you have the space you can just keep harvesting what is being put out this spring.

Mulch: Time to remove from some of our overwintered plants like Artichokes and asparagus. Time to start adding around our new plantings. As it is likely to be a dryish spring we are going to need to conserve as much of our soil moisture as we can. I use soaker hoses and mulch over them to keep the water in the soil. Row covers can also help over drip irrigation.

Planting: Now is the time to sow beets, carrots, lettuce, spinach, peas,and new brassicas. You can also start transplanting any of these out recommend covering you already have started to reduce transplant shock. Water well. Later in April when the soil warms above 40 degrees you can finally put in potatoes. This is also a good time to plant strawberries and Asparagus. Also late this month you can start corn and beans for transplant. Corn does not like its roots disturbed so here is a place to use compostable containers; paper pots, uncut toilet paper tubes,etc… you want something deep so the roots don't poke out before the soil is warm enough to transplant into.

April is also the time I start my daily slug walks. I set out boards near my beds and go out each morning, turn over each board and collect the slugs and snails. I then feed them to my ducks so they never come back but there are other options to get rid of them. You really want them to be at least 60 feet away from your garden beds.

Fruit trees are starting to bloom now. We need to keep a watch for pollinators. If they don't show up and do their job we will have too. Remember some trees need to be cross pollinated, pears for example.

Happy Gardening!

Have questions/comments?

Dianna can be reached at:

FBGgardencoordinator@gmail.com

Year-to-Date Harvest - 507.3 pounds

The Grange garden with its hoop houses and lots of sun continues to be the highest contributor at this time of year with lots of nutritious greens. Leeks planted last year and even carrots are coming in from the gardens.

Upcoming Events

Click for full monthly calendar of opportunities - gardening, harvesting, gleaning…

(Located on the front page of FoodBankGrowers.org website.)