The Gardening Season Has Begun-The Garden is Rototilled and the Cold Frame is Set Up
The Trusty Gardener-It Feels Like Summer Even Though It’s April
Welcome back. It’s been quite a Spring so far. Up and down temperatures have been the theme so far. Last week we had 4 or 5 days around 80 degrees. Then snow flurries and cold for a few days early this week. Then back to nearly 80 the last few days. As I write this tonight, a cold front is passing through. We received an inch of rain so far this evening. By tomorrow heading into next week the temperatures will be around 50, which is below normal. At this point who knows what the new normal is?
Last week I wrote about taking advantage of the summer-like weather to get some chores done around the property:
Even though the temperatures have been warm, I still haven’t mowed the entire lawn yet. I have done some spot mowing. Prior to this evening, April has been very dry, with only 1.7 inches of rain up until tonight. Now the grass will start growing like crazy and it could be a challenge to keep up with mowing during the rest of April and May.
Rototilling the Garden
The unusually dry weather so far in April made the conditions prime for tilling the garden. Some years it is just too wet to rototill until May. This year it was a pleasure to work the garden soil, with absolutely no dirt sticking to my boots or the rototiller tines. Also, when the soil is too wet, you end up with clumpy ground which is hard to plant.
Before tilling is a good time to supplement the soil with organic matter such as compost, manure, etc. Normally, I add chopped leaves in the Fall to decompose over the Winter. Last Fall, instead of adding the leaves, I tried planting a cover crop which is known as “green manure”. The seed germinated well, however, I planted it too late as it died off before it had time to grow adequately to provide benefits. The following article from last Fall explains the benefits of cover crops and gives details of the seed mixture I chose:
All of the gardens are now tilled, which marks the official beginning of the gardening season. For those of you who follow my writing, you know that I have 3 gardens; the upper, lower, and auxiliary gardens (for lack of better names). I have been saying that I should cut down as I get older. Well….
The summer-like weather has made it tempting to plant the garden, however, here in central NY we know better We can have frost up until the end of May. Memorial Day is usually considered a safe time to plant. That said, cold-tolerant vegetables such as onions, peas, kale, and lettuce can be planted earlier. These can usually can handle a light frost.
Setting Up the Cold Frame
One way to get a jump start on the gardening season is to use a cold frame. Yesterday, I set mine up and planted some Kale, Sui Choi, and Pak Choi plants. I started these seeds using the Winter Sowing technique:
My cold frame consists of a wooden framed box (similar to a raised bed) that I built originally to protect the lettuce, kale, and other greens during the summer. When the weather warms I cover it with netting and even shade cloth when it gets hot. However, early in the season, I place some old windows on the frame with hinges for easy opening.
It’s amazing how well the windows work in creating greenhouse-like conditions even when it is quite cool. This gives the greens a great head start during late April through mid to late May.
Stay tuned for more updates, including transplanting the heirloom tomatoes and peppers.