Getting the garden ready for May

The Garden Plot

Still plenty of April showers

April can bring all kinds of surprises and can even bring some snowflakes and frost anytime during the month. A snow during the month will generate excitement but the accumulation may not amount to much and may be only enough to melt your heart. As the month of April reaches its final week, we hope it will be filled with plenty of warm April showers that will cause people to carry their umbrellas to school and work.

Lazy man bed of Irish potatoes

Although most of the Irish potato crop is well on the way, an interesting lazy man bed of potatoes can still be set out before the first of May and still produce a later harvest at the end of July. Good results can be expected because you can "baby" up the 4×8 foot bed and use the water wand in shower mode to keep the bed moist and give it a boost. In a 4×8 foot bed, dig a furrow about five to eight inches deep. Apply a heavy layer of peat moss and set out whole potatoes about 10 to 12 inches apart and cover with another layer of peat moss. apply a layer of Plant-Tone organic vegetable food. Hill up soil on both sides of the furrow and tamp down with the hoe blade to make solid soil contact. Before the potatoes sprout, apply a layer of crushed leaves or hay and water once a week with a water wand in shower mode. Apply Alaska fish emulsion or Miracle-Gro plant food every 15 days.

Don't be fooled on last frost

Many weather gurus forecast April 15 as the date of the last frost. We think it may be the date of the last ground freeze, but this is April and more cold days and nights are possible. Frosts can certainly be expected. Don't allow those frosty mornings to catch you with tomato and pepper plants or warm weather vegetables planted in cold soil unless you want to replant them later one. Avoid the risk of frost danger by waiting for more stable weather in the warm days and nights of May. With the cost of tomato and pepper plants and the high risk of April frost, it's not worth the time and money involved plus the extra labor. Everything has the time to plant and grow, we just have to practice patience.

Dogwood Winter

The dogwood blossoms are winding their way down and the petals are falling on the forest floor and on lawns exposing the center of the flower, which will form into red berries several months away. As the petals fall, they reveal the leaves of green showing up. This is the season of Dogwood Winter, a period of cold days that will extend from now until early May. It will highlight cool days and nights, damp soil, and a few frosts.

Making a ground round burger casserole

This is a casserole that will make a family meal and all you need to complete a whole meal is a fresh crisp vegetable salad. For this casserole, you will need one ten-count can of Hungry Jack biscuits (pulled apart), one pound of ground round or ground chuck, one large diced onion, one diced bell pepper, one can Campbell's golden mushroom soup, one jar Ragu spaghetti sauce, one eight-ounce pack of finely shredded mozzarella cheese, one teaspoon Italian seasoning, and half cup catsup. Boil ground round or chuck with the diced onion and diced green peppers. Mash the ground beef along with the onions and peppers. Mix all the other ingredients except mozzarella cheese and the Hungry Jack biscuits in a 13x9x2 inch baking pan or dish sprayed with Pam baking spray. Bring all the ground beef ingredients to a boil and pour into sprayed dish. Sprinkle the finely shredded mozzarella cheese over the top of the ground beef mixture. Layer the Hungry Jack biscuits over the top of the casserole. Bake according to the directions on the can of Hungry Jack biscuits.

Plenty of dusty yellow pollen

The dusty fine layers of pollen cover the carport every day. To keep it down, keep the hose ready and also the leaf blower. Use the blower to blow it off the carport and the hose to rinse it off the driveway or blow it off the driveway. To get pollen from the vehicle, use a wet towel to wipe it from the car and windshield every morning. Repeat this every morning to keep pollen dust at a bare minimum. The pollen will be something we will have to cope with until well into May.

Crows visit the birdbath and are almost tame

Crows have a roost in the woods near U.S. 52. They enjoy a good food supply of roadkill from traffic from the highway. They have adapted to being around people quite well and we see them almost every day at the birdbath or sitting on the electric utility wires. They are definitely well-fed. Their population in the area seems to be growing and they are not all that elusive. Like the robins, they are active and healthy in all seasons.

Bumble bees are welcome to early spring scene

The pansies, Carolina Jasmine, and the first of the azaleas of early spring are attracting bumble bees to the front porch and the garden edge. Bumble bees are drawn to the colors of the pansies and azaleas and surely the Jasmine gives the bumble bees a double dose with their scent of perfume and golden glow of color. The clumsy body of the bumble when compared to their fragile wings baffles flight engineers who can't figure how they can fly. Only a miracle-working creator can give them the ability to fly and hover. The pansies have bloomed all winter and are now a welcome addition to the bumble bee diet. The colorful pansies will be replaced with summer annuals in May. They will be in bloom when set out so the bumble bees will have other flowers to replace them.

The honey bees at work

The honey bees in late April are exercising their wings and scouting for fresh nectar and we see them every day at the fragrant Carolina Jasmine bush enjoying sips of sweet nectar. In a few weeks, they will have the blackberry blooms and the wild honeysuckles to enhance their diet of nectar as well as the newly-planted annuals in containers and the hanging baskets.

Stock up on organic plant food

As we reach the final seven days of April, it's time to stock up on organic vegetable and flower foods for the planting of the warm weather vegetables, spring and summer annual flowers, tomato, pepper, and egg plants. As we reach the days of May, warmer temperatures will be arriving and soil temperatures for day and night will be rising. Stock up on organic plant, vegetable, and flower foods to get flowers and vegetables off to a great start. Use the Holly-Tone family of organic foods for flowers, vegetables, roses, azaleas, and tomatoes. They are fine textured and the soil will quickly respond to them. Their products include Holly-Tone evergreen food, Garden-Tone organic garden food, Plant-Tone organic vegetable food, Tomato-Tone organic tomato food, Rose-Tone organic rose food, Flower-Tone organic flower food, Alaska fish emulsion liquid organic plant food, Miracle-Gro vegetable food, Miracle-Gro liquid rose and azalea food, Dr. Earth tomato food, Dr. Earth vegetable food and Vigaro tomato food with added calcium.

Using mesh bags to control animal pests

You can use the three-pound mesh bags that onions come in and also oranges are packed in at super markets. They make great pest control devices during the late spring and summer garden. You can use them to control rabbits, groundhogs, and deer. All you need to do is take a bar of fragrant soap such as Dial and scrape it into chips large enough to fit into the mesh bag. Fill the bag and tie it near the green beans or other vegetables. Rabbits do not like the smell of soap. Maybe they connect the smell with humans. Later in the season, fill the bags with moth balls to repel the rabbits, deer, and groundhogs.

Hoe hoe hoedown

"Precious stone." A woman showed her best friend a huge diamond and then she explained, "My husband died last year, but just before he breathed his last breath, he told me to take money from the bank. My husband told me to buy a stone with the money. This is the stone I bought!"

"Poor performer." After the morning worship service, a small boy told the pastor, "When I grow up, I’m going to give you some money." "Well, thank you," the pastor replied, "But why?" The boy said, "Because my daddy said you are one of the poorest preachers we ever had."

"A binding agreement." "I’m moving out," the renter said, "But first, I’m getting one thousand cockroaches, because the rental agreement says I should leave the place just as I found it."