The oyster mushroom gets its name from its cap which, some say, resembles an oyster. The stem of the oyster mushrooms is perhaps more distinct; it unfurls something like one of those old-time paper lady's fans. The oyster mushroom has...

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April 2008 Monthly Archive

Growing Mint

Use mint fresh or dried to flavor vegetables—cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, eggplants, peas, potatoes, tomatoes, and zucchini. You can add fresh mint to cold and hot soups and beverages.

There are all types of mint to choose from: spearmint, peppermint, pineapple mint, orange bergamot, and apple mint to name a few. Mint has a striking aroma, a sweet warm flavor, and a cool aftertaste.

Growing your own mint is not difficult. You can sow mint in the garden or in a small container to sit in the kitchen window. If a neighbor or friend has mint, anytime after the last spring frost is a good time to take a stem cutting or division and get it started. From seed, mint is ready to use in about eight weeks.

Continue reading "Growing Mint" »

Harvest to Table's New Encyclopedia:
The Kitchen Garden Grower's Guide

A practical vegetable and herb garden encyclopedia

The Kitchen Garden Grower's Guide details the very essentials to gain small crop prowess and expertise. Detailed growing guides for 80 vegetables and herbs including:

Seed sowing, planting, and transplanting requirements.
Site and seasonal growing requirements.
Water, light, and nutrition requirements.
Detailed growing characteristics: height, root depth, bloom time, and days to harvest.
Best varieties for easy care and harvest.
Cropping and rotation suggestions.
Pest, disease, and environmental troubleshooting guide.
Container growing requirements and suggested varieties.
Propagation requirements.
Greenhouse and coldframe growing suggestions to extend the season.
Harvest and storage specifics.
Plant origin and history.
Identifying photograph of plant at harvest time.
Brief description of how edible part is used in the kitchen.
Common and botanical names for each plant listed alphabetically.
Plant names in Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese.
First and last frost dates and growing season days for every state and 250 cities.
Complete index and gardener's glossary of growing terms.

Baby Beets: Steamed, Baked, Pickled

Baby beets are beets harvested just as they have started to round out. Leave these beets until they mature and you can call them table beets.

Baby beets—just about the size of a ping-pong ball—have the most delicate taste and texture. Table beets—as big as your fist—still taste good, but don’t let them grow much larger as their flavor will be sacrificed to size.

Choose baby beets for the crudité platter or for pickling to use as a condiment or salad addition. Opt for table beets if you plan to grate the beets for relish or to add textural interest to a salad or salsa; they’ll be easier to handle.

When it comes to color golden or yellow beets are not as sweet and mild as red beets, but they won’t bleed onto your other ingredients, your work surface or hands.

You can capture the sweetness of baby beets by steaming or baking or pickling.

Steaming. Steam baby beats in a steamer rack over 1 to 2 inches of boiling water. Aromatize the water with orange peel, anise or fennel seeds, cardamom, cinnamon stick, tarragon, marjoram, or thyme. Cover and cook until fork tender about 10 minutes or less.

Baking. There are at least two ways to bake baby beets (baking beets will preserve their flavor and enhance their color):

• Wrap each individually in heavy-duty foil to minimize staining. Place on oven rack in 375ºF oven; bake until tender when pierced, about 40 minutes or less.

• Place several beets in a baking dish with a tight-fitting lid and 4 to 5 tablespoons of water. Place a double layer of foil over the dish before covering and then bake in a low oven for 2 to 3 hours or until tender.

Pickling. Cook the beets (a dozen or so baby beets) in boiling water for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until tender. Cool; rub off the skins. Combine 1 cup red wine, 1 cup vinegar, ½ cup sugar in a medium saucepan. Tie the following spices in a piece of cheesecloth: sliced shallots, cloves, cinnamon stick, anise seeds, and peppercorns. Place the spice bag in the saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the beets and bring to a boil. Cool, then chill in liquid.

Pictured above: baby golden beets.

Bok Choy

Bok choy is sometimes called Chinese cabbage. You may also find it by its Cantonese variation, pak choy, and you may also find it by the names white cabbage and Chinese chard.

As if the names were not confusing enough, if you look for bok choy at the farm market you may find the same plant in one of its many incarnations: seedling or “baby”, mature, and flowering. Bok choy does not look the same in its differing stages of growth.

To this, you can add various varieties of bok choy: Canton or dwarf bok choy, Shanghai or green-stemmed bok choy, Taiwan or Fengshan bok choy and additional variations known as choy sum, tatsoi, and yau choy.

Bok choy originated in China. “Choy" or “choi” is the romanized word for the Chinese character that means “vegetable.” “Bok” or “pak” means white. Sometimes the word “sum” is added, which means “heart.”

The best way to navigate the world of bok choy is to talk to the growers at the farm market and to try bok choy in as many of its incarnations as you can.

The bok choy most commonly found in markets is Canton or dwarf bok choy. It is short and squat with plump, pearly-white stalks that are tender, very juicy, and bland tasting. Dwarf bok choy’s leaves are dark green, somewhat curled, looking a bit like the leaves of chard. They have a cabbagey flavor.

“Baby” bok choy is used to describe both the dwarf Canton bok choy and other bok choys picked small and immature.

Either way expect bok choy cooked right to have a light, refreshing taste. Expect overcooked bok choy to be mushy and dull tasting.

To prepare mature bok choy, cut the head in half lengthwise or into quarters and wash it thoroughly under the faucet or soak and dunk it in water until the stalks are clean of any dirt or sand from the garden. Baby bok choy can be rinsed without cutting it in half.

Trim the base and discard blemished leaves. Separate the stalks as you would celery. Shred the leaves from the stalks. Tear the leaves into bite-size pieces. Cut the stalks lengthwise and then crosswise, again into bite-sized pieces.

You can stir-fry or steam the leaves and stems. The leaves will cook almost instantly. The stalks can simmer for about 5 minutes, or you can boil the stalks in salted water for a minute or two and then drain.

For the most delicate flavor, cook bok choy until just cooked and not a moment longer.

Pictured above: Canton bok choy

Russian Red Kale

Russian Red kale is thick, juicy and chewy. Match this kale with grilled sausages, pork or turkey. You can also match Russian Red with grains, roots, dried fruits and nuts.

Russian Red has silvery-green to blue-gray leaves that look like a cross between a turnip green and a highly lobed oak leaf. This kale doesn’t have the frills of the curly kales or the deep folded crinkles of Tuscan kale. Its flat and the lobes reach almost to the stem.

You’ll find Russian Red more magenta to ruby red about the veins, particularly in early spring. That’s what cold weather will do to this kale. When the weather moderates, you’ll find Russian Red more gray or green than red. Either way, after cooking this kale turns deep green.

Don’t expect Russian Red to be tender when harvested young like other kales. From the get-go Russian Red leaves are chewy. Don’t even think about sinking your teeth into the stems.

Here’s how to prepare Russian Red: strip out the mature stems, no amount of cooking will soften them. Hold the lower leaf base up in one hand and pull the stem downward with the other. Simply strip away the leaf. Be sure to rinse the leaf pieces.

Blanch Russian Red in salted water, drain then sauté. Sauté this kale in olive or nut oil, butter, bacon, or pancetta. You can season with olives, garlic, chilli, cumin, caraway, fennel, anise, or toasted sesame oil. If you want a stronger flavor, braise Russian Red in stock. Cook until tender, but remember this kale is not going to melt in your mouth like curly kale.

The very smallest Russian Red leaves can be used as garnish or in salad. When you pick this kale up at the farm market, pick up a little extra. Once the stems are stripped away the highly lobed leaves offer less leaf surface than other kales.

Similar cultivars to Russian Red are Siberian, Ragged Jack, White Russian, Red Ursa, and Winter Red.

The botanical name for Russian Red is Brassica napus, Paularia Group.

Pictured above is Russian Red kale.

Spring Kale Steamed

Kale is usually cooked and rarely eaten raw because of its strong pungent flavor. Small amounts of raw, young kale can be added to salads to bring a spicy note. Steam kale and serve with butter, lemon juice, and chopped bacon.

Kale has large cabbage-like curled leaves, usually soft green but also shades of blue-green and variegated shadings from red to white and yellow to white. Curly-leafed kales form compact clusters of tightly curled leaves.

Kale can be prepared just as you would spinach. It should not be overcooked otherwise it will lose its hearty flavor and texture. Cook kale until it is just tender, usually 5 minutes or less. To moderate the strong flavor and fibrous texture of some kale, you can blanch kale for 5 minutes before cooking depending upon the toughness of the green.

Steaming kale. Place 1 to 2 inches of water in the bottom of a pot and bring to a rapid boil. Place the kale in the steamer basket. Turn the heat under the boiling water to medium. Place the kale in the steamer basket in the pot and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook with the lid on for 2-5 minutes.

Italians steam kale until tender, then add olive oil, a little garlic, breadcrumbs, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese in the last minute or two of cooking.

Kale is harvested autumn to mid-spring, 55 to 75 days after direct seeding. In mild-winter regions where there is no snow on the ground, kale can be grown in the garden through the winter for winter harvest. In snowy regions, kale is hardy enough to stay in the garden with the protection of row covers.

Kale leaves are the best eating when they are 8 to10 inches (20-25 cm) long. Individual outside leaves are best when young and tender. Inside leaves are generally tastier than outside leaves. The flavor of kale is actually enhanced when the plant is touched by frost.

Spring kale can be tender. The roots of harvested kale that is left in place will sprout new heads in one or two weeks. “Cut and come again” is the term for leaf vegetables that can be brought to harvest more than once. Spring kale is often the new growth of plants sown last autumn. New, tender growth can go directly into salads.

You are likely to find tall kale varieties at the farm market in spring; look for ‘Lacinato’, ‘Toscano’, and ‘Red Russian’. Compact kale with curly leaves include ‘Dwarf Blue Curled Vates’ and ‘Dwarf Siberian’. The frilly kale used for garnishes include ‘Winterbor’, with green leaves, and ‘Redbor’, with purple leaves.

Kale was grown by the Greeks and Romans. Kale arrived in northern Europe in the sixteenth century and from there traveled to North America.

A related plant to kale is Portuguese kale or Scotch kale, also known as curly kale. This is a short-lived perennial with a single or branched stem with broad, oblong leaves that have crispy margins. Portuguese kale leaves are used in soups and as vegetable dishes.

The botanical name for kale is Brassica oleracea var. acephala. The botanical name of Portuguese or curly kale is B. o. var. sabellica.

Pictured above is 'Lacinato' kale.

Flowering Arugula

Arugula is pungently peppery and well matched to milder salad greens and endive. Certainly, you can serve juvenile arugula on its own.

Arugula flowers bring the same peppery dash to a salad and some wonderful color as well. Arugula flowers are white pinwheels with burgundy center stripes and veins.

You can use arugula flowers as a salad or soup garnish. You can even mix them half and half with spring mesclun for a zesty side salad.

Arugula is sometimes called rocket, maybe because it grows from seed to maturity so quickly. It’s a cool-weather green. You can sow it in late summer, cut several leaves in the fall, and let the plant sit through the winter—even under the snow. In the spring, the plant will take off and bolt—or set flowers.

The arugula flowers you see at the farm market this spring got their start last fall.

Arugula leaves grow in a ground-hugging rosette. From seed, arugula leaves are ready for harvest in 40 days. Successively plant arugula every two weeks and you will be set for the season. It’s best to be done with your arugula when the summer heat arrives.

Arugula leaves are best still young. As they mature they grow more piquant and if left in the garden too long will become down right hot. As the plant matures it sends up a sparsely branched stem with insignificant leaves that culminate in the flower. The mature arugula with its flowers aloft stands from 24 to 36 inches (61-91 cm) tall.

Besides the leaves and flowers you can even snip up the stalk and add them to a salad as well.

You can match young arugula sowed this spring with last autumn’s arugula--now flowering--to garnish a classic Provençal mesclun salad of baby lettuce, endive, arugula, and chervil leaves.

The botanical name for arugula is Eruca sativa.

Apple Blossom Time

The apple is the most widely grown fruit. Apple trees grow everywhere except in the very hottest and very coldest regions of the world.

The apple is celebrated: the apple blossom is praised for its beauty and the fruit is lauded for its goodness.

Apples vary from crisp to soft, from juicy to dry, from acid or insipid to bitter, bland, or aromatic.

The “fruit” of knowledge which Adam and Eve ate in the Garden of Eden, some say, was an apple. The ancient Greeks often told of a tussle between the Olympian gods over a golden apple that ended in the destruction of Troy.

Apples can range in color from green to gold to yellow to scarlet orange to pink to dark red to purple. All apples carry the remains of the apple blossom at the fruit’s end opposite the stalk.

The apple tree can be trained as a smart-looking espalier or grow twisted and distorted in an orchard. The leaves can be soft and downy or smooth, but are never glossy or flashy like a pear. Apple blossoms can be pink- or red-tinged or simply snow white.

Some of the apple blossoms you see in spring will become fruit ready for picking in late summer or early fall.

If you haven’t got room for an apple tree, you can train an apple on wires against a fence or even grown an apple as column in a container. To begin growing apples, start with one that you really like to eat. After that, explore apple flavors and branch out. There are nearly 10,000 different kinds, or varieties, of apples grown in the world.

Apples come to market every season of the year. Add your favorites to this apple market calendar short list:

Fall. Delicious, McIntosh, Jonathan, Grimes Golden

Early Winter. Delicious, Jonathan, Cortland, Winesap, Rome Beauty, York Imperial, Golden Delicious, Stayman, Baldwin, Northern Spy

Late Winter and Spring. Winesap, Rome Beauty, Yellow Newtown, Delicious, Rhode Island Greening

Late Summer. Summer Pearmain, Anna, Gala, Gravenstein

Your Soil: Making the Kitchen Garden

The soil in your garden was created over thousands of years through the disintegration and decomposition of rock and organic matter. Temperature and rainfall, the life and death of plants, animals and bacteria and fungi, and the rocks that were there to begin with: all contributed to the soil you find in your garden today.

The principal components of soil are minerals, organic matter, air, and water. Soil minerals and organic matter make up the solid part of your soil. Air and water occupy the pore spaces between your soil’s solid particles. All of these provide nutrients, moisture, and anchorage for plants. Depending upon where you stand in your garden, these components are present in varying amounts.

The particles in your soil are many sizes and shapes. Coarse particles such as gravel and stones are not conducive to plant growth. Your garden can do without them. The soil particles that support plant growth are divided into three sizes: sand, silt, and clay. Sand particles are the largest of these three; the clay particles are the smallest.

The combination of sand, silt, and clay in your soil is called soil texture. Soil texture affects your soil’s fitness for growing plants, sometimes called tilth.

Clay soils are sticky and plastic when wet and hard and compact when dry. Sandy soils are gritty and do not form cohesive clumps. Silt falls in between; it is smooth when dry and silky or slippery when wet. A soil that is mostly sandy and coarse textured is called light. A soil that is mostly clay or fine textured is called heavy.

Light or loose soils have a low capacity for holding water and storing the nutrients plants need. The nutrients simply leach away. Heavy soils are heavy and dense. The movement and exchange of water and air which plants require for growth are inhibited in clay soil. Silt—which has larger particles than clay—has more surface exposure and a higher water-holding capacity than sandy soils but smaller pores and less air spaces.

Soil water is important for plant growth because it acts as the solvent in which plant mineral nutrients are dissolved to form the soil solution. The soil solution transports nutrients to plant roots where they are taken up to meet a plant’s nutritional need.

Soil air is important because it contains oxygen essential for root respiration—the intake of oxygen by plant roots and the release of carbon dioxide. When the air pores in the soil become waterlogged, plant roots cannot respire and plants become oxygen starved and can suffocate like any other living being.

What soil is best for your garden? What soil contains the right amount of air, water, solid particles, and nutrients to grow plants?

The answer: Add just 5 or 10 percent organic matter to a soil that has too much sand or too much clay and you will create loam. Loam is the best soil for growing plants. Loam includes organic matter without predominant proportions of silt, sand, clay, or stones. It is moisture retentive and easily worked, not too much sand or too much clay or too much silt. It is fertile and has tilth.

Here’s a way to judge your soils fitness for growing plants: If you drop a spadeful of moist soil on a hard surface and it breaks into ½-inch (1.3 cm) diameter crumbs, you can say your soil has good tilth and is ready for planting. But if the soil breaks into large clods, your soil contains too much clay and needs the addition of organic matter. If it holds no form at all when dropped, your soil is too sandy and needs the addition of organic matter.

Soil organic matter includes fungi, bacteria, earthworms, and plant and animal residues in various stages of decomposition. The decomposition of soil organic matter releases nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur that can be taken up by plant roots.

The organic matter in your soil that can decompose no further is called humus or mature compost. Humus is black or dark brown. It feeds soil micro-organisms and other creatures boosting soil life and the availability of nutrients to plants. It holds up to 80 percent of its weight in moisture increasing the availability of moisture to plants in dry times. It serves as a buffer between acidity and alkalinity. It improves soil aeration, and it holds the warmth of the sun in cool weather.

Organic matter turned to humus is just what your garden needs to grow healthy plants. Humus is the Latin word for soil.

Planting Strawberries

If the idea of serving your own fresh-picked strawberries next summer sounds good, spring is the time to get your strawberries growing.

Strawberries are a perennial plant which means once you’ve got them in the ground you will have them for a two or three years to come.

There are two types of strawberries: June-bearing strawberries produce one crop per year in late spring or early summer, and everbearing or day-neutral strawberries fruit over a long season with harvest peaking in early summer and continuing unevenly through autumn.

Site. Strawberries prefer full sun and temperatures between 60-80ºF (16-27ºC). They grow best in growth zones 3-10. You can grow strawberries in light shade.

Soil. Plant strawberries in well drained acidic soil. Plant on a mound 5-6 inches (13-15cm) tall if your soil drains poorly. You can also grow strawberries in a container. Choose a container at least 6 inches (15cm) deep.

Planting. If you live in a cold winter region, sow strawberry seeds indoors 8 weeks before setting out the plants in early spring. Transplant the seedlings outdoors after all danger of frost has passed. Strawberry seeds should be sown ⅛-¼ inch (3-6 mm) deep. You can also plant “offsets” which are strawberry runners that have rooted.

If you live in a cool or warm winter region, set out everbearing plants in spring for summer and autumn harvest, and set out June bearers in late summer or autumn for harvest the next spring.

If you are looking for a quicker way to harvest, plant bareroot crowns instead of seeds. Bareroot crowns are the roots and top growth of strawberry plants that were grown on last summer.

Plant seeds, seedlings, or crowns 12-14 inches (30-36 cm) apart. Crown leaves should be planted just above soil level; a buried crown will rot. To grow larger plants, plant on small hills and allow the strawberries to cover the hill. Strawberries grow 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) tall and about 12 inches (30 cm) wide.

Watering. Keep the soil moist, but not wet and don’t let the soil dry out.

Feeding. Strawberries like a moderate amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Nourish strawberries with compost tea every couple of weeks and avoid using a concentrated fertilizer. Heavy feeding will lead to excessive growth, soft rot and fruit rot.

Companions: You can plant strawberries with melons. Avoid following beets, corn, peas, peppers, and tomatoes, and don’t plant strawberries with cabbage family members.

Pests: Birds and mice like strawberries. Protect strawberries with floating row cover or netting.

Diseases: Strawberries are susceptible to botrytis fruit rot, leaf spot, and leaf scorch. Control disease with clean cultivation and plant in well-draining soil. Mulch under fruit with straw or other organic material to prevent fruit rot and to deter weeds.

Harvest. Pick strawberries when the fruit turns crimson and is soft and aromatic, from spring to autumn.

June-bearing varieties. These produce one crop per year in late spring or early summer. Try ‘Allstar’, ‘Benton’, ‘Chandler’, ‘Earliglow’, ‘Guardian’, ‘Jewel’, ‘Lateglow’, ‘Robinson’, ‘Sequoia’, ‘Surecrop’, ‘Sparkle’, and ‘Winona’.

Everbearing varieties. These set fruit over a long season with harvest peaking in early summer and continuing unevenly through autumn. Try ‘Alexandria’, ‘Fort Laramie’, ‘Ogalla’, ‘Ozark Beauty’, ‘Quinault’, ‘Tristar’, and ‘Tribune’.

Steamed Brussels Sprouts

You don't have to get fancy to enjoy Brussels sprouts. Simply steam or sauté the sprouts and serve them with butter or lemon or sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, like you see here.

To steam Brussels sprouts, arrange the sprouts or pieces on a steamer rack. Bring 1 to 2 inches of water to a rapid boil. Place the rack in the pot and then turn the heat down to medium. Place the lid on tightly and steam until tender when pierced (5 minutes or more until tender crisp).

To butter sauté sprouts, cut the sprouts in half lengthwise. Pan fry using 2 tablespoons butter or margarine. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Add 3 to 5 tablespoons liquid; cover and cook until stem end is tender when pierced.

Steamed or butter sautéed, you can add the Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste and serve hot, or set aside in the refrigerator to reheat and serve later.

There are many ways to enjoy fresh spring Brussels sprouts:

• Serve sprouts folded into a cheese or béchamel sauce.

• Served sprouts au gratin or added to soups, stews, or stir-fries.

• Purée the sprouts with potatoes.

• Toss cooked and cooled Brussels sprouts with diced tomatoes and a vinaigrette and serve on a bed of greens.

• Mix cooked sprouts with cooked chestnuts and butter or with almonds and sour cream.

• Braise sprouts, onions, and mushrooms in bacon fat then top with grated cheese and crumbled bacon.

Brussels sprouts taste best when prepared soon after picking. The sprouts you get at the farm market today will stone in an airtight container in the refrigeratore for up to four days.

Spring Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts are a biennial grown as a cool-season annual. They survive winter snows to push their final harvest of miniature cabbage-like sprouts in spring.

Brussels sprouts have a nutty, cabbage-like flavor that makes a delicious hot side dish dressed with butter or meat-roasting juices.

Lightly steamed Brussels sprouts are perfect with a lemon-butter sauce, or you can simmer them with chopped celery until tender and then fold them into a cheese sauce.

If all of this sounds too rich, cooked and cooled Brussels sprouts can be halved or quartered and simply added to a tossed green salad.

Brussels sprouts can be divided into early, midseason, and late varieties. Early varieties are harvested in mid-fall; midseason varieties are harvested from mid-fall through mid-winter; and late varieties are harvested from mid-winter to early spring. Late or spring varieties yield the largest number of sprouts.

Choose: Select Brussels sprouts with small, firm, compact heads that are bright green.

Choose sprouts that are well formed and about 1 to 1½ inches (25-38 mm) in diameter, nearly the same size so that they will cook evenly. The smaller the sprouts the more tender they will be in the kitchen. Avoid Brussels sprouts that are puffy, wilted, or yellow.

Young leaves found growing between sprout head may be eaten as greens.

Store: Brussels sprouts will keep in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. The longer they are refrigerated the stronger their flavor. You can freeze Brussels sprouts (after blanching) for up to 4 months. Do not wash Brussels sprouts until you are ready to use them.

Prepare: To prepare Brussels sprouts for cooking, remove the stems and loose yellow leaves then wash the sprouts under running water or soak them for 15 minutes in lemon or vinegar water to get rid of hidden insects.

Cooking: Brussels sprouts are only eaten cooked. You can steam, butter sauté, boil, stir-fry, deep fry, and microwave Brussels sprouts. Before cooking, cut an X in each stem so that the sprouts cook evenly. A light cooking will preserve the sprout’s delicate taste. The smaller you cut Brussels sprouts the quicker they will cook. You can cut sprouts into quarters for quick cooking. Avoid overcooking Brussels sprouts; they will become soft and mushy and lose flavor if overcooked.

Cool Region Kitchen Garden Almanac for April

When the crocus and narcissus bloom, the soil is growing warm enough to begin working in the kitchen garden. And if you want a sure sign that winter in your area is past, look for the first leafing out of the birch trees and the bloom of the lilacs.

Don’t rush spring if you are in a region that is just seeing the last of the snow melt. It’s too early to be in the kitchen garden if the soil is partly frozen, muddy or wet. But changes will come quickly this month; April is the month of greatest change in the garden. Spring blossoms will arrive in the north and so will many song birds.

In the United States, the danger of frost is likely to continue this month in all or part of the states in the Northeast, Rocky Mountains and Plains regions, and some parts of the Pacific Northwest,. These regions include planting zones 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Here is a kitchen garden guide for cold and cool regions for the month of April:

Soil preparation. Prepare the soil for planting: cover your beds with black plastic for several sunny days, and then dig if the soil is not wet. You can also place cloches in position to warm up the soil. When the ground is workable, dig up root crops left in garden from last fall.

Turn compost pile when it thaws. Begin a new compost pile during the spring if you don’t already have one. Use leftover leaves, grass, and non-fatty kitchen scraps.

Fork over the kitchen garden, dig in cover crops, remove weeds, rake soil to a fine tilth and spread compost if the soil is dry enough to cultivate. Prepare celery and potato trenches by adding a layer of well-rotted manure or garden compost to the trench area.

Remove winter mulch from around fruit trees, vines, and perennial vegetables that are when they flower or begin to sprout new growth.

Greenhouse and coldframe in colder regions. If the weather remains chilly in your region, sow tender summer vegetables and herbs in the greenhouse or coldframe by the end of this month. Hardy and half-hardy vegetable starts should be ready for the coldframe now in less cold regions, having been sown last month. Start the seeds of summer vegetables that require 8 weeks or more indoors before transplanting out. Warm-weather summer crops include basil, eggplant, peppers, squash, and tomatoes.

Thin seedlings that have grown to size, pot them up, and place them in the coldframe or plant them out later this month.

Ventilate the greenhouse and coldframe when the outside temperature rises above 40ºF (4ºC). Close again before sundown. Ventilation should be increased on warm days as much as possible to prevent the buildup of diseases in the damp atmosphere. Check plants for signs of pests and disease, which often begin to multiply rapidly as the temperatures rise. Water seedlings and plants as needed.

Container gardens. If you garden in containers, prepare them now. Clean pots thoroughly. Treat wooden boxes, troughs, and tubs with preservative. Move large containers outdoors and fill them with potting mix mixed with compost.

Cold-tolerant vegetables can be planted into containers this month. Water container plants as needed and fertilize them with a water-soluble fertilizer such as compost tea or worm castings.

Sow vegetables outdoors. When the danger of heavy frost is past begin sowing cool-weather crops. You can first warm up the soil by covering it with polyethylene or cloches. Cover vegetables already in the garden with horticultural fleece or floating cloches if you expect a frost.

Start sowing vegetables without protection if you live in a mild area or your weather has warmed. If you are in doubt, check your soil with a soil thermometer to make sure the soil temperature has warmed to greater than 45ºF (7ºC). Few seeds will germinate if the soil temperature is colder. Delay planting outdoors if the soil is too cold.

Set out quick growing cool-weather transplants and sow leaf and flower vegetable seeds as soon as the danger of heavy frost is past. Cool-weather leaf and flower crops include: bok choy, broad beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, kale, lettuce, peas, and spinach. Cool-season root crops can also be planted out in the garden if the soil is not excessively wet. These include beets, carrots, kohlrabi, leeks, onion sets, parsnips, early potatoes, radishes, scallions, shallots, and turnips.

Plant peas, lettuce, spinach, and chard when the danger of frost has passed. Sow early peas in a sheltered spot. A week later, plant cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, celery, and endive. Plant potatoes as soon as the ground is workable. Cut the tubers into 3 or 4 pieces, each with several good “eyes”, and set them in trenches, about 3 inches deep and 2 to 3 feet apart. Seeds of beets, carrots, and parsley should be soaked for two hours in warm water before planting. Protect cabbage, lettuce and other vulnerable vegetables with cloches, hot caps, plastic tunnels, or inverted flower pots if the nights are expected to get cold.

At the end of the month if the danger of frosts is past, plant corn, beans, melon, cucumber, squash, parsley, pepper, tomato, and eggplant. Don’t set out tomato plants or warm season crops too soon.

Get asparagus crowns in the ground now. Remember these roots need to be planted in an area set aside for their growth over several seasons. Top asparagus crowns with well-rotted compost.

Herbs can be sown in the garden when frost has passed. Sow seeds of chervil, dill, fennel, parsley, pot marjoram, and sorrel. Perennial and biennial herbs can be lifted, divided, and replanted now. Look for any overgrown clumps of bergamot, chives, and fennel.

When day time temperatures average 65ºF (18ºC) or greater, warm-weather crops can be sown or transplanted out. Warm-weather crops include: basil, beans, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, melons, squash, and tomatoes.

Feed perennial vegetables with well-rotted compost and compost tea after they begin to grow. Keep the garden free of weeds. Apply summer mulch when the weather warms.

Water in dry regions regularly and deeply. Avoid wetting the plant foliage. Protect recently planted vegetables and herbs from drying winds.

Harvest cool-weather crops as soon as they are ready. Begin to harvest spears from two- and three-year-old asparagus plants this month.

Before slugs, snails, and pill bugs invade your leafy greens, head them off with beer traps.

Fruit trees and vines. Spray fruit trees for over-wintering pests with dormant spray oil when the temperature rises above 45ºF (7ºC) and before buds break. Spray peaches, nectarines, apples, pears, plums, and almonds with a copper-based fungicide. As long as the buds have not broken, apply a second spray to trees in about 14 days.

Plant new fruit trees, avocadoes and citrus fruit when the soil is workable. Mulch established fruit trees and bushes with garden compost or well-rotted manure.

Sprinkle sulphate of potash around the root-feeding area of apples, pears, and plums to encourage good fruiting later in the year.

Prune autumn-fruiting raspberries. Cut the canes that fruited last autumn back to ground level. Prune back the stems of newly planted and two-year-old gooseberries by about one-half. Plant currant bushes and raspberry canes, and water in thoroughly. Spray gooseberries and black currants for gooseberry mildew. Protect strawberry plants with cloches.

Fertilize strawberries, brambles, and grapevines with compost when the first blossoms show.

Train blackberries and logan berries onto support wires.

Yellow Potato Side Dish and Soup

Yellow potatoes like 'Yukon Gold' and 'Yellow Finn' are ideal for boiling and using in salads and gratins or adding raw to stews. They are moist with a dense flesh and low in starch which means they will hold their shape cooked.

You can boil yellow potatoes whole and unpeeled or cut and unpeeled or peeled and cut. Place them in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Add a pinch or two of salt and bring to a boil, then simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain boiled potatoes as soon as they are cooked just tender so they don't become soggy and unappetizing.

Here's an easy and tasty Boiled Yellow Potato Side Dish with blue cheese and fresh parsley (or you can substitute fresh chopped chives): Boil the potatoes until they are just tender, drain and cool or refrigerate. When ready to serve, cut the potatoes into halves or quarters and mix with mayonnaise, adding fresh crumbled blue cheese and fresh chopped parsley or chives to taste and salt and pepper to taste.

Here is a Spring Potato-Scallion Soup you can also make with yellow potatoes:

2 potatoes

2 scallions or small onions

2-3 tablespoons butter

2 medium-sized carrots

4 cups water

½ cup kale, beet or turnip greens, or other fresh greens in season

¼ cup thin egg noodles

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon basil (if available)

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

Directions

1 Cut potatoes into small cubes and thinly slice scallions or onions. Butter-steam both until golden brown.

2 Grate carrots. Bring water to a boil, add all ingredients and simmer until potatoes are tender.

Serves 4

'Yukon Gold' Yellow Potato

Yellow potatoes are well suited for boiling, steaming, mashing, roasting, grilling, and au gratin dishes. 'Yukon Gold' is a stand-out yellow potato with a buttery-tasting flesh that you will want to try mashed, steamed, in soups and chowders, or made into potato pancakes.

Because the 'Yukon Gold' brings its own buttery flavor to the table, you won't need to add butter or margarine to 'Yukon Gold' dishes. Yellow potatoes like 'Yukon Gold' also require less seasoning than white potatoes.

The 'Yukon Gold' is slightly flat and oval with a thin, golden yellow skin. It has shallow eyes and golden-yellow flesh. You know you have a 'Yukon Gold' in your hand if the shallow eyes are a rosy pink color.

The 'Yukon Gold' has a lower starch content than the Idaho or russet which makes it a good all-purpose potato. Feel free to use the 'Yukon Gold' or other yellow potatoes in recipes that call for white potatoes.

To steam the 'Yukon Gold' or other thin-skinned potatoes, arrange whole thin-skinned potatoes or ½-inch-thick slices on a steamer rack. Steam over 1 to 2 inches of boiling water until tender throughout when pierced (30 to 35 minutes for whole potatoes, 8 to 10 minutes for slices).

For mashed ‘Yukon Gold’ potatoes (which some are the tastiest of all mashed potatoes): Cover the potatoes in an inch of water in a saucepan with ½ teaspoon of salt, bring to a boil, and then allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are skewered easily. Drain, reserving some of the cooking water, and dry the potatoes in the saucepan over medium heat until the potatoes are floury. Use a hand masher until the potatoes are creamy smooth then beat in unsalted, softened butter and milk or buttermilk, and some of the reserved cooking water if need be, until the texture is just the way you like it. Season these mashed potatoes to taste with salt and pepper.

Because its sugar content is slightly higher than a russet, the ‘Yukon Gold’ does not store as well. Keep yellow potatoes at 40-50ºF (4-10ºC), but not below 33ºF (1ºC). Keep potatoes in a paper bag in the refrigerator vegetable crisper away from onions. Yellow potatoes are best used within a week. If you keep potatoes in a cool, dark, well-ventilated area, they will keep longer.

The ‘Yukon Gold’ and other yellow potatoes are available from late summer through early spring. Other yellow flesh potato varieties include ‘German Butterball’, ‘Carola’, ‘Nicola’, ‘Alby’s Gold’, ‘Michigold’, ‘Donna’, ‘Delta Gold’, ‘Banana’, ‘Saginaw Gold’ and ‘Yellow Finn’. ‘Yellow Finn’ is a bit smaller and sweeter tasting than ‘Yukon Gold’. The ‘Yellow Finn’ is a very good substitute for the ‘Yukon Gold’.

Yellow fleshed potatoes are common in Europe and South America. ‘Yukon Gold’ was developed in Canada in 1980, a cross between North American white potato and a wild South American yellow-fleshed potato.

Raised Beds: Making the Kitchen Garden

Consider a raised bed if you live in an area where the soil is rocky or mostly sand or mostly clay. Adding organic matter to your soil is always a good idea and will always help make poor soil better. But sometimes a raised bed is the best solution.

You can choose the soil in your raised bed. You can purchase rich garden soil at the garden center or you can make your own by taking native soil from nearby and amending it with well-rotted manure and compost until it is rich and loamy.

The soil in a raised bed warms more quickly in spring—that’s good in short season and cool coastal regions. A raised bed also can be made tall enough to aid a back tired after years of bending. And the width of a raised bed will allow you to work your vegetable bed from different sides.

A bed width of no more than 4 feet (1.2 m) will allow easy access from each side. You don’t have to worry about soil compaction with a raised bed. All of your gardening is done from the edge. You can bring a chair, stool, or wheelchair to the edge of a raised bed. The more narrow the bed, the easier it is to reach into the bed without having to lean on the soil.

A raised bed can be as little as 8 inches (20 cm) deep for shallow rooted vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, and Asian greens. A raised bed 12 inches (30 cm) deep will work for root vegetables such as beets, carrots, and turnips and larger vegetables with deeper roots such as cabbage and Brussels sprouts. A bed 20 inches (50 cm) deep is best for fruiting vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplant, and beans. The roots of rooting vegetable reach deepest into the soil.

You can make a raised bed by simply placing a bottomless container or box in your garden and filling it with soil. You can also build a raised bed with lumber that has not been chemically treated, or you can place rocks in a square or rectangle and fill the area with good soil. You also simply mound the soil in your garden to create a raised planting area.

To edge a raised bed with wood, choose 2 by 6 or 2 by 8-inch lumber. Use two or three levels of boards held in place by stakes. Leave paths of 2-3 feet (60-90 cm) wide between the beds. Place newspaper covered by sand or shredded bark in the pathways to keep the weeds down.

With a raised bed you can concentrate your watering and plant care on the exact ground that will bring your food to the table. Raised beds cut down on soil compaction which can affect plant growth and productivity.

Not all vegetables are suited for raised bed gardening. Tall crops such as corn and sunchokes might be more easily managed in a level garden. But tall and vining crops can be grown in a raised bed where the trellis is placed on the north side of the bed allowing the tall crops to grow without shading the shorter crops.

Warm Region Kitchen Garden Almanac for April

April is a month of quick transition in the garden. Frost and possible extreme weather—such as snow—can still come in April, but so can unseasonably warm weather in many regions.

If the daffodils and tulips have bloomed and the lilacs are in bloom in your region, the time has come to sow directly in the kitchen garden. By the middle of the month you may be able to begin planting successive cool-weather crops, and by the end of April in the warmest regions you may be able to transplant out tomatoes, eggplant, and other warm-weather crops.

The timing of planting is important in the kitchen garden. Frost and cool weather can harm some crops, others thrive in cooler weather. If you are looking to get the most out of your kitchen garden, successive plantings of crops is a way to extend the season. Plant as early as possible and then replant every week to 10 days. You will have an unending harvest later. Fast growing crops are best for successive planting: lettuce, radishes, spinach, chard, peas, beets, and carrots in cool weather, and later string beans and sweet corn.

Here is a kitchen garden guide for warm regions—growing zones 7-11--for the month of April.

Vegetables: Continue to sow in cold frames or beneath cloches in areas where frost may still come. Use horticultural fleece or floating cloches for early corps already in the garden if you don’t have conventional cloches.

Direct sow cold-tolerant vegetables and herbs. Direct sow and begin successive sowings of tender warm-weather crops when the danger of frost is past. Before planting out, harden off young plants from winter sowings in the greenhouse or cold frame--broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, leeks, onions, lettuce, peas, and broad beans. Harden off plants by reducing the water supply or temperature.

When the danger of frost is past and the weather is mild—plant out pole and bush snap and lima beans, eggplants, pepper plants, casaba, celery, corn, okra, salsify, squash, cucumbers, cantaloupe, watermelons, Chinese cabbage, and black-eyed peas. Make successive sowing at 10-14 day intervals of beets, carrots, lettuce, turnips, runner beans, green beans, endive, radishes, and kohlrabi. By the end of the month, you can plant outdoor tomatoes, and tie them gently, but firmly, to stakes to secure them. Support peas with stick or netting. For sweet corn, several short rows in a rectangle will pollinate and be more successful than a few long rows.

Thin out overcrowded vegetable seedlings sown last month. Earth up potatoes as they grow. Cover seedlings and warm-weather crops with horticultural fleece if night frost is forecast.

Feed seedlings with manure or compost tea after planting. Soak compost or well-rotted manure in water. You can use the resulting “tea” as a liquid fertilizer. Celery should be fed about 3 weeks after plants are setout. Keep celery moist by regular irrigations. Black heart celery disease is caused by alternate drying and wetting of soil.

Watch for pests and signs of disease. Watch out for aphids on broad beans and root flies on cabbages, carrots, and onions. Pinch out the tips on broad beans to encourage good pod set and to deter attack from aphids. Remove rhubarb flowers as soon as they appear, before they rob the plants of food and energy. Water garden if weather is dry. Weed as needed. Turn compost pile.

Herbs: Plant out bay, hyssop, lavender, mint, rosemary, rue, and sage. Make further sowings of dill, fennel, parsley, and pot marjoram. Sow basil under glass. Propagate thyme by layering creeping stems and severing them when the roots have developed.

Fruit trees and berries: Tie new canes of blackberries and hybrid berries to support wires. Allow a maximum of eight canes per plant. Summer-prune gooseberries by cutting back side shoots to five leaves. Fasten grape stems to training wires.

Plant new strawberries. Remove flowers from newly planted strawberries to prevent fruiting in their first year. Pinch off runners on new strawberry plants. Put cloches over strawberries in frosty regions if you want an early corp. Allow access for bees. Cover berries with netting to keep away birds.

Thin citrus fruit, apples, and peaches. Thin heavy-cropping nectarines and peaches when fruit is ½ in (1-1.5 cm) in diameter. Protect open flowers from frost damage by draping muslin or horticultural fleece over trees at night. Mist open peach flowers with a fine spray to help the setting of fruit.

Prune fruit trees cutting out crossing branches. On fan-trained apples, cherries, peaches, and plums, remove branches growing towards or away from the wall.

Check for pests and diseases. Watch for signs of fire blight; prune affected branches and dispose of them. Watch for borers and caterpillars on trees. Hang coddling moth traps on apple trees. Spray against apple scab, mildew, and aphids.

Greenhouse and cold frame: Plant greenhouse tomato plants in large pots, or plant them in grow bags. Water and feed tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, never letting the soil dry out. Attach slings or nets to melons as they swell. Continue to remove side shoots from tomatoes. Use biological pest control for greenhouse pests such as greenhouse whiteflies and spider mites. Ventilate the greenhouse and cold frame on mild days.

Artichokes: Steamed and Stuffed

Artichokes are always eaten cooked. Once cooked, they can be served hot, warm or cold. Pull off each leaf; dunk it in the sauce; put it in your mouth and pull, scraping the tender flesh through your teeth. Cut the tender nut-flavored bottom into bite-sized pieces, dunk in sauce and eat. Serve with béchamel, butter, or hollandaise sauce.

Whole cleaned baby artichokes can be deep-fried to a golden brown.

Steaming is perhaps the best way to cook an artichoke. The flavor and nutrients will be retained.

Steaming an artichoke. Stand the artichoke in a stainless steel pot or steamer basket with 2 to 3 inches (5-7.5 cm) of salted water so that it does not completely water cook. Cover. Steam the choke until the stem end is tender--about 20 to 40 minutes. Remove the thistle-like choke and the small purple leaves. Tug on one of the leaves; if it comes off easily the artichoke is finished cooking. Stuffed artichokes are a favorite in Arabic cuisine. Stuff steamed artichokes with rice, ground meat, sausage, chicken, vegetables, cheese or combinations and bake until bubbling.

To stuff an artichoke, spread open the leaves and remove some of the center leaves; cut off some of the hard tips of the outer leaves. For an Italian-style stuffing, use seasoned breadcrumbs with anchovies, topped with tomato sauce.

Use baby artichokes in stews or marinated in olive oil, vinegar, and garlic as part of an antipasto.

Choosing an artichoke. Select artichokes that have crisp, tightly packed or closed leaves that are deep green in color. The leaves of a fresh artichoke will squeak when they are pressed together. An artichoke should be heavy for its size. Light feeling chokes have begun to dehydrate.

Avoid chokes that are tough, woody, or dry or that have leaves that have spread apart. If the cut end is black or the leaves have started to open, the choke is not fresh.

Size is not an indication of age when it comes to artichokes rather it is an indication of where on the plant the choke grew: the large chokes at the top and the smaller ones sprout from side stalks. The larger the artichoke, the larger the fleshy heart.

Brown streaks may a sign of age, but rather a “kiss of the frost.” Artichokes will be more intensely nutty-flavored after a frost.

Spinach Planting

Spinach is well suited for the spring and autumn gardens. It is a cool-weather green that can get its start in soil as chilly as 35ºF (2ºC). Sow spinach in the garden 4 to 6 weeks before the last spring frost date. It’s a fast crop and can be harvested in 35 to 50 days, so is well-suited for planting and harvest in the cool weather of early fall as well.

Spinach can be eaten raw or cooked. The dark green leaves of fresh spinach will add color to a lettuce salad. Spinach can be pan-steamed in the water it is rinsed with.

Site. Spinach grows well in full sun in cool regions or partial shade in warm regions. Spinach is hardy and will withstand moderate frost.

Soil. Spinach prefers moist, humus-rich, fertile soil, thoroughly worked with plenty of organic matter added. Light sandy soils with good drainage are best in regions of high rainfall.

Planting. Sow spinach seed ¼ inch (6 mm) deep and 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Thin successful plants to 4-6 inches (10-15 cm) apart. Clip small leaves in 3-5 weeks, depending on time of year and speed of growth.

Watering. Keep the soil moist, without wetting leaves, unless the plant will dry quickly before nightfall.

Feeding. Prepare the soil with plenty of organic matter. Apply fish emulsion or 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of blood meal mixed in 1 gallon (4.5 liters) of water every 3 or 4 weeks.

Companions. Plant spinach with beans, members of the cabbage family, celery, legumes, lettuce, onions, peas, radishes, and strawberries. Plant successive crops of spinach every 2-3 weeks in early spring until the temperatures rise above 65°F (18ºC) and the days lengthen.

Pests. Hand remove snail and slugs that attack spinach, and spray away aphids with a steady stream of water.

Diseases. Spinach is susceptible to some soil-borne diseases. Plant disease resistant varieties.

Harvest. Harvest spinach when leaves are 4-7 inches (10-18 cm) long on heads with 6-8 leaves; thin leaves from the outside to allow central growth bud to continue producing leaves.

Smooth-leaf varieties. Choose ‘Olympia’ which grows well in cool weather. ‘Nordic’ grows well in cold weather.

Semi-savoyed varieties. Try ‘Tyee’, ‘Space’, and ‘Melody’.

Savoyed varieties. Choose ‘Winter Bloomsdale’ for autumn and winter growing.

Warm weather spinach substitutes. Malabar spinach (Basella alba ‘Rubra’) is heat- and drought-tolerant. New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia expansa) is heat-tolerant.

The botanical name of spinach is Spinacea oleracea.

Pictured above: Spinach enjoys its second week in the garden.

April Garden in the Southern Hemisphere

Days of warm, hazy sunshine with a fresh autumn tang. Leaves turning colors. The first frost on its way. Birds taking leave for the North. This is April in the southern hemisphere.

Apples and grapes may still be on the tree and vine at the start of April, but by month's end, much of the harvest will be complete. April is the month to bring in the last of the summer crops from the vegetable garden, and now is the time to plant cool-weather vegetables fo late winter harvest.

April was the second month of the year in early Roman times. Julius Caesar changed all that in 46 B.C. when he made April the fourth month. Pope Gregory XIII changed the Julian calendar in 1582. It turns out that Julius Caesar's calendar was 11 minutes and 14 seconds longer than the solar calendar. Pope Gregory's new calendar rectified Julius' mistake which had added 10 days to the year by the start of the 1600s.

Before the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, the New Year celebration began March 21 and ended April 1. Pope Gregory's new calendar moved New Year's Day to January 1. Those who persisted in celebrating the new year in April came to be known as April fools. In short order, playing absurd and harmless jokes became a practice on April 1, April Fools' Day.

Here is a list by region of vegetables and herbs to be planted in the Southern Hemisphere during April:

Temperate regions: Vegetables: artichoke suchers, broad beans, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cress, leeks, lettuce, mustard, onions, spring onions, peas, radish, shallots, spinach, strawberry runners, turnips. Herbs: angelica, caraway, chervil, chives, coriander, dill, lemon balm, marjoram, oregano, salad burnett thyme.

Tropical and sub-tropical northern regions: Vegetables: beans, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, Chinese cabbage, cress, endive, lettuce, marrow, mustard, onions, spring onions, parsnip, peas, potatoes, radish, rhubarb crown, rutabaga (Swede), shallots, silverbeet (Swiss chard), spinach, spring onion, strawberry runners, tomato, turnip. Herbs: angelica, borage, caraway, celeriac, chervil, chives, coriander, dill, lemon balm, marjoram, oregano, parsley, salad burnet, thyme.

Cooler southern regions: Vegetables: broad beans, cress, lettuce, onions, spring onions, radish, shallots, spinach, strawberry runners. Herbs: caraway, salad burnet.

April Harvest Schedule for the Southern Hemisphere:

Here is a roundup of vegetables and fruits ready for harvest during April in the Southern Hemisphere:

Vegetables: beans, capsicum, carrots, celeriac, chilies, Chinese cabbage, corn, cucumber, eggplant, kale, lettuce, melons, okra, peas, pumpkins, purslane, rutabaga (Swede), snow peas, spinach, summer squash, tomato, turnips, zucchini.

Fruits and nuts: almonds, apples, avocadoes, brambleberries, grapes, figs, hazelnuts/filberts, kumquat, lemons, melons, mulberries, nectarines, oranges, passionfruit, banana passionfruit, peaches, pears, pecans, plums, raspberries, strawberries, tamarilloes.

Pictured above: Rouge Vif d'Etampes pumpkin

April Garden in the Northern Hemisphere

April is truly the month of new beginnings in the northern hemisphere. This month you will notice more changes in the garden than any other month of the year. The ice and snow will disappear. The trees will set bud and the first flowers will appear in most parts of the northern regions of the earth.

April is named for Aprilis, the Latin word meaning to open. And so a new season in the garden gets underway everywhere. This month you will see returning birds and soon their young. The first butterflies and bees should be about before the month is over. Only very far to the north will ice and snow still have its grip on the garden by month's end.

The sweet pea and daisy are the special flowers for April, but April is also the month of lilacs, the true harbingers of spring. Almost everywhere in the northern hemisphere this month, gardeners can begin to sow their crops outdoors as soon as the lilacs begin to bloom.

April also is the traditional month in many countries for the celebration of tree planting. Planting trees has long been associated with various religious ceremonies and also as an activity to commemorate the birth of a child. In the United States, many states celebrate Arbor Day during April. When you sow out your first vegetable seeds this month, see if there is room for a new tree in your yard, neighborhood, or nearby park.

Here is a planting list for April in the northern hemisphere:

Cool northern regions—Zones 3-6. Vegetables: artichoke suckers, beans, beets, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cape gooseberry, capsicum, carrots, celery, chard (silverbeet), cress, cucumber, eggplant, endive, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, marrow, melons, okra, spring onion, parsnip, peas, potato tubers, radish, rhubarb crowns, rutabaga (Swedes), salsify, Swiss chard (silverbeet), spinach, squash, sweet corn, tomato, zucchini. Herbs: basil, boarage, caraway, celeriac, chamomile, chervil, chives, coriander, hyssop, lemon balm, oregano, parsley, salad burnet, thyme.

Temperate Regions—Zones 7-9. Vegetables: beans, beets (beetroot), cabbage, cape gooseberry, capsicum, carrots, celery, chard (silverbeet), chayote (choko), chicory, cress, cucumber, eggplant, endive, leeks, lettuce, melons, mustard, spring onions, parsnip, peas, pumpkin, radish, rhubarb crowns, salsify, squash, sweet corn, sweet potato, tomato, zucchini. Herbs: basil, borage, caraway, celeriac, chamomile, chervil, chicory, chilli, chives, coriander, dill, fennel, hyssop, lemon balm, oregano, parsley, salad burnet, thyme.

Subtropical and Tropical Regions—Zones 10-12. Vegetables: beans, beet (beetroot), cabbage, cape gooseberry, capsicum, carrots, celery, chayote (choko), Chinese cabbage, cress, cucumber, eggplant, fennel, lettuce, marrow, melons, mustard, okra, parsnip, peas, pumpkin, radish, rhubarb crowns, salsify, Swiss chard (silverbeet), spring onion, squash, strawberry runners, sweet corn, sweet potato, tomato, zucchini. Herbs: basil, borage, caraway, chamomile, celeriac, chervil, coriander, dill, hyssop, lemon balm, marjoram, oregano, salad burnet, thyme.

April harvest. Here is a list of vegetables and fruits ready for harvest in the northern hemisphere during April: Vegetables: artichokes, asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrot, celeriac, Chinese cabbage, lettuce, peas, Swiss chard, spinach. Fruits: avocado, cape gooseberries, lemons, limes, mandarins, mulberries, navel oranges, raspberries, strawberries, tangelos.

Pictured above: cherry blossoms.

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April 2008 Monthly Archive

Harvest to Table's New Encyclopedia: The Kitchen Garden Grower's Guide

A practical vegetable and herb garden encyclopedia

Harvest to Table's New Encyclopedia:
The Kitchen Garden Grower's Guide