April heralds a bright beginning to the gardening season in Portland. Spring officially arrived on March 20th, although March weather always proves to be unpredictable. In March there is still a chance of frost and temperatures remain cool. When soil and air temperatures are cold and wet, seeds are slow to germinate, small transplants are slow to grow, and potato tubers are at risk for rotting. Reviewing our 14-day forecast, my prediction is we are done with frost for this spring.
Weather in April becomes much more favorable for planting cool season vegetable and herb crops. If you did not plant anything in March you are not too late and you have not missed out. The exception is asparagus. Ideally asparagus is planted from crowns during February and March. If you missed that window, you can still give it a shot in April.
I have not planted anything yet this year. As many of you know, we unexpectedly moved the first week in February and have been working at preparing our temporary garden space for planting this year.
The last weekend in March, our friends Erin & Jon, who own a pick-up truck, helped us load up and spread a half yard of White Lightening compost. This is my favorite bulk compost product for growing vegetables and is available at Dean’s Innovations in SE Portland.
We filled up the one raised bed we moved with us as well as about 15 containers we intend to grow vegetables in this spring and summer. The next day I came down with a cold that had me in bed for one week. That delayed our planting another week. This weekend is a substantial rainstorm that will push out planting even farther. Happily, after we filled the raised bed and containers we covered them with tarps so they will be nice and dry when we are ready to plant.
Weather, health, and life in general will always pose barriers to a gardening plan. Its ok and we can go with the flow. Why fight it? Instead I got into acceptance and read some great gardening books I picked up from the library.
Remember in April we are still planting cool-season crops. We are waiting on all warm-season crops until after May 15.This includes: basil, beans, celery, corn, cucumbers, eggplants, melons, peppers, pumpkins, summer squash, tomatoes, tomatillos, winter squash, and zucchini.
To learn more about in-depth about growing these warm-season vegetable crops please join me for Warm Season Vegetable Crops on Saturday May 4th from 9-11am at Portland Community College. Advanced registration is required.
By mid-April soil temperatures have usually warmed up enough to begin planting seeds for root crops: beets, carrots, parsnips, radishes, rutabaga, and turnips. Be sure to follow the seed depth instructions on the packet. Planting seeds too deeply is a mistake I frequently used to make. Seed beds need to stay evenly moist to ensure proper germination. If it is not raining this can mean misting the soil 2 times a day. Be patient, carrot seeds can take 3 weeks to germinate!
April is an excellent month for planting salad greens from seeds: arugula, baby lettuce, baby spinach, cress, endive, escarole, dandelion, mache, mesclun mix, and purslane. I plant many varieties of these quick-growing delicate greens in shallow window box and bowl shaped plastic containers.
If you have not grown and eaten mache, sometimes called “corn salad,” it is my all-time favorite salad green and I excitedly look forward to it every spring. The small, oval-shaped leaves are buttery, soft, and mild tasting.
There are many pre-packaged mesclun mix seed packets to choose from or you can custom blend your own by mixing a selection of your favorite individual greens varieties. Many large-leaved salad greens, like chard, collards, and kale can be grown as baby greens by harvesting them when they are very small.
In mid-April you can begin direct seeding both sunflowers and runner beans in the garden. Runner-type beans are the only kind of bean you can plant this early in spring. The remainder of pole and bush beans require warmer temperatures and are planted in mid-May. Runner beans are also the only type of bean that will tolerate a partial-shade location. They are quick-growing vigorous vines that can provide a thick ornamental screen. There are red and peach flowering varieties, both beautiful and attract hummingbirds. Runner bean pods are thicker and flatter than most standard “green bean” varieties so they are best harvested when pods are young and small for fresh eating or when fat and mature for shelling dried beans.
This month begin planting perennial artichokes from starts. Continue planting potatoes from certified seed potatoes, and onions from sets or bunches.
Here’s what to plant in April with the preferred planting method-seeds vs. starts:
Asian greens-seeds or starts
Beets-seeds
Broccoli/Broccolini/Raab/Rapini-starts
Brussels sprouts-starts (plant now for a fall harvest)
Cauliflower-starts
Carrots-seeds
Collards-seeds or starts
Florence Fennel-seeds or starts
Kale-seeds or starts
Kohlrabi-seeds
Leeks-starts
Lettuce-seeds or starts
Mesclun Mix-seeds
Mustard greens-seeds or starts
Parsnip-seeds (plant now for a fall harvest)
Peas-seeds or starts (don’t like heat so get them planted by the end of April)
Radicchio-seeds or starts
Radishes-seeds
Salad greens-seeds
Scallions-seeds or starts
Spinach-seeds or starts
Swiss Chard-seeds or starts
Turnip-seed
To learn more in-depth about growing these cool season vegetable crops please join me for Cool Season Vegetable Crops on Saturday March 13th from 9-11am at Portland Community College. Advanced registration required.
In April annual flowers, sometimes called “bedding plants” become available at nurseries. Remember to interplant your vegetables with annual flowers and herbs to attract beneficial bugs. Some of my favorites include: alyssum, calendula, chamomile, cosmos, dill, nasturtium, snapdragons, sunflowers, and zinnias. You can also easily plant all of these annuals from seed directly into the garden in April.
April and May are the busiest months in the garden. Remember to make your garden plan and take it with you shopping at the nursery. Pace yourself, stay hydrated, and remember to take time to stretch. I hope to see you in an upcoming gardening class.
Happy Gardening!
Jolie