The fickle month of April has arrived

The month of fickle and sometimes tricky weather has now slipped in the front door. It can very well be a month with a small remnant of winter that could bring bits of April snow that can melt your heart and generate a bit of excitement, but certainly no “snowman” type of snow. April is the month of fresh April showers and we surely hope April will live up to its name and deliver an abundance of showers. Nothing is quite as refreshing as the aroma and gracefulness of an April shower. Their is a possibility of frost on any given day during the month. It is definitely not the time to plant any warm weather vegetables.

Cool weather vegetables should suffer no ill effects from April’s fickle weather, but you can be fooled if you sow the seed of warm weather vegetables. My Northampton County Grandma always said, “When you can sleep all night without a blanket on the bed, it will be a safe time to plant and set out the warm weather vegetable crops.” Ray Price, a country singer, sang a tune called, “April’s Fool.” The song was about a special girl who wore summer clothes in winter and winter clothes in summer. She was called cruel by some, but she kept on being, “April’s Fool.” The month of April can be like this sweet, unusual girl. It can be cold and frosty one day, flakes of snow the next, and warm the next, a shower later and then warm for a day.

Robins fill the lawn on April mornings

Robins are much more than a sign of spring. They are definitely with us in all four seasons of the year. We believe they have adapted themselves to our southern winters and seem to be no worse off in our environment. They certainly seem healthy, colorful, and well-fed. They find plenty of food because there are not that many ground freezes. All the robins are well nourished, and we see them bouncing all over the lawn searching for worms, grubs, and insects. The robins don’t seem to have any problem finding a food supply. Robins also have plenty of places to protect themselves from rare extremes of winter. They keep warmth and shelter under barns, sheds, under decks and porches, in the hollow trees, logs, and in piles of leaves. They have plenty of vitality and are active all winter. they are certainly a welcome addition to the winter landscape and introduce a lot of activity to all the seasons.

Don’t be fooled by so-called last frost date

The so-called last frost date is considered to be April 15, but please don’t be fooled by this deceptive date. Don’t be tricked into setting out warm weather plants such as tomatoes, peppers, seeds of green beans or corn. There is a danger of frost anytime during the month of April and even into the early days of May. Many garden centers, hardwares, and seed shops are already displaying pepper and tomato plants. If you do set out any, be sure to cover and protect them. Set out only the number you can protect.

Enjoying plenty of extra daylight

With the arrival of Daylight Savings Time last month and an extra minute of daylight each evening. This extra daylight opens up time to prepare the lawn, garden, flower gardens, flower pots and containers.

Planting a row of English garden peas

English peas are also called early June peas. They enjoy cool soil temperatures. They can be planted in early April and will produce a harvest in mid-June. a pound of peas will provide seed for a 50 foot row. You can choose from Green Arrow, Wando, and Alaska. They are easy to grow and need no plant food or fertilizers. Peas are nitrogen rich and add to the garden soil rather than subtract from it. If planted now, they will produce an early spring harvest and allow time for the planting of warm weather vegetables.

Thinking Christmas in April

The Christmas cactus has been spending all winter in the sunny living room. Now is the season to prepare them for their move to the deck for mid-spring, summer, and early autumn. Before moving them outside, trim them back, water lightly once a week and feed them each month with Flower-Tone organic flower food. Sometime around the middle of May, it will be time to move them outside to spend warm days in the sun.

A golden rule for all seasons in the garden

There is always one rule for every season of the year in the garden. The timely rule is sow dry and set wet. This is a sensible rule because seed should have soil with a dry texture when they are sown while plants can use a bit of moisture to avoid transplant shock. If soil is not moist, cover the base of the soil with a cup of water before you set out plants.

Soil in early spring can be too wet

In the early spring, be careful and don’t work soil in wet conditions. Perform a sample test on the soil by grabbing a handful. If the soil crumbles in your hands, it can usually be worked, if it balls up in your hands, it is too wet. Never work in wet soil because you will pat the soil down and make it hard and when it dries, it will be lumpy.

Making a blue Hawaiian fruit cake

This is a moist and unusual fruit cake that the whole family will enjoy and it is so simple to prepare. For the layer, you will need two cups of plain flour, two cups sugar, two eggs, two teaspoons baking powder, one can crushed pineapple (juice included), half cup chopped pecans. Mix all the ingredients and pour into a 13x9x2 inch baking pan that is greased and floured. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. for the icing, mix one eight-ounce box of cream cheese (softened), one stick light margarine, one teaspoon vanilla, one can Comstock blueberry pie filling, two cups of 10x powdered sugar. Beat all together and spread over the cooled cake.

Setting out cabbage and broccoli plants

These Cole family plants are available in hardwares, garden centers and seed shops as well as nurseries in six and nine packs. They will thrive in the cool garden soil of the April garden and produce a harvest before hot weather arrives. When you purchase Cole family plants, make sure the plants are healthy and dark green and well cared for at the place where you purchase them, Don’t buy plants that have outgrown their containers or legged out and damped off.

Dogwood buds foretell white dogwood blooms

The tiny buds on the dogwoods are filling the limbs and they are a sign of plenty of dogwood blooms in the next ten days. The buds actually began forming during the winter but were small and not noticeable, but now they are large enough to be seen and soon they will be in full bloom. From the appearance of the number of buds, this is going to be a spring of snow-white blooms.

The Judas trees are another spring flower

The Judas trees or red buds are now almost ready to burst into bloom. They usually bloom about ten days before the first blooms of the dogwoods. Their hot pink blooms dot the shoulders of U.S. Highway 52 with a display of pink soon to be mingled with the snow-white flowers of the wild dogwoods for an Easter display of pastel color. Some trees are beginning to bear their new leaves and they add an extra green background that highlights the floral offerings of the Judas trees and dogwoods as spring continues to awaken.

Wild onions: unusual green on the lawn

Everything seems to be greening up and the wild onions are sprouting on the lawn. They do have one thing in their favor and that is the fact that they are green. They will be with us until warm weather arrives. They have bulbs that are deep in the sod which makes them most difficult to get rid of. To help your lawn look better, use the weed trimmer and cut the onions down to ground level. This will not get rid of them but make the lawn look better and stunt their growth. after all, they will be gone when the weather gets warmer.

Hoe hoe hoedown

“Bear with me!” Two men were passing through the pasture when a bull started toward them. They dashed across the pasture until they came to a small tree. One man climbed into the tree, the other man jumped into a hole near the tree. The angry bull charged, barely missing the tree and the hole. Suddenly, the bull stopped, pawed the ground, and snorted. At this time, the man in the hole jumped up. The bull wheeled around and charged once more, flattening the man to the ground. “Why didn’t you stay in the hole?” the man in the tree said. “Get back in there!” The friend yelled back, “I can’t, there is a bear in the hole!”

“Costly accidents.” Quit a few accidents occur in the kitchen. Unfortunately, people have to eat them.

“Deep subject.” Willie: “Do you know how deep that river is?” Billie: “It can’t be too deep. It’s only up to the duck’s stomach!”

The almanac for April

April Fool’s Day was celebrated on Monday, April 1. April 1 was also known as Easter Monday. The new moon appears in the western horizon on the evening of Monday, April 8. A total eclipse of the sun will appear in parts of North America on April 8. Thomas Jefferson’s birthday is Saturday, April 13. The moon reaches its first quarter on April 15. Earth Day will be April 22. The moon will be full on April 23, and will be named “Full Pink Moon.” Other names for this moon are “Pascal Moon.” “Full Budding Moon.” and “Full Geese Egg Moon.” Arbor Day will be celebrated on April 26.