Doesn't that look delicious? Forcing rhubarb results in an earlier, tastier, more tender crop. The container used to force this rhubarb probably should have been taller - note that the tops are curled over. Sure is a pretty color though.

Rhubarb is a perenial plant which grows back from the root crowns every spring.  The large leaves contain high levels of oxalic acid and are poisonous, but the celery like stems are wonderfully tart and tangy.  Children like to eat them fresh right out of the garden, but nearly everyone likes it used as a fruit in sweet deserts – pies, crumbles, or just stewed with sugar.  My Mom (a marvelous cook of course – thanks Mom!) used to make it into a pie with strawberries.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  Don’t worry too much about those poisonous leaves – they apparently taste so nasty that there is not much danger of anyone eating them anyway.

Here in TN I can barely grow rhubarb – although last year was so cool and rainy that it did pretty well.  It really does much better farther north where the weather is normally cooler and wetter.  When I was a kid we lived in Indiana for a few years, and the back yard of the old house we lived in had a marvelous big bed of rhubarb that just took care of itself.

In good conditions rhubarb will pretty much take care of itself. They do like rich soil with lots of organic material and high fertility, and even moisture though.

Forcing rhubarb as in the first picture above is something that I had never heard of until recently, and I’ve never tried it yet – but I will.  Apparently forcing rhubarb is a widespread practice in England – I ran across it on a UK gardening blog that I subscribe to.  I’m afraid that the English are much more sophisticated gardeners on average than most Americans are – they seem to use many techniques that we don’t.  We should try to do better I suppose.

Anyway, from what I can glean forcing rhubarb is very simple to accomplish – as soon as growth is seen  (maybe even before)  cover the crown of a well established plant with a large, rather tall container such as a bucket or trash can.  Optionally insulate around the “forcer” with straw or some other mulch to warm the micro-climate and encourage growth.  In about 8 weeks you should have an early crop of tender juicy tangy rhubarb.

• Don’t try to do this until you have a well established healthy plant to work with – certainly not the first year!
• Don’t force the same plant two years in a row as the process stresses the plant by putting most of the energy into growing the forced stems instead of keeping the rest of the plant strong.

The Garden in April is full of potential - and mud.

Here in middle Tennessee (zone 6b) April is high time to plant the main season garden. Our likely last frost date is about April 15 and by the end of the month even the most conservative gardeners are planting out tomatoes and peppers.

Spring weather can be very frustrating for gardeners – often going from too cold to too wet – be prepared with seeds, bedding plants and other supplies so that you can  jump on it when the opportunity arises.   By the time the weather is reliably dry for garden work it may be well on its way to becoming too dry – seize the day.

If you haven’t already planted  peas, brassicas, lettuce or other cool season crops or you want to do a succession planting you have a window of opportunity early in the month to do so, but the longer you wait the less likely success becomes because hot weather will arrive before many of those can mature.  However you are more likely to be successful if you set out plants instead of trying to propagate from seed.  Potatoes can be planted any time, but earlier is better for this cool season crop as well.

Once the last frost date has passed most things can be planted with a few notable exceptions.

Sweet corn and beans both require warm soil (70 degrees F more or less) for reliable germination.  Too much rain can also cause poor germination rates, because seed can rot.  It’s probably best to wait until the end of April  for these crops.

Phenology For April

• “Plant corn when the oak leaves are the size of a squirrels ear, or when apple blossoms start to fall.” Consider that a squirrels ear is about 3/4 inch more or less – This old saying is probably a great guideline for field, dent, and heirloom varieties, but you might want to wait a little longer before planting hybrid sweet corn.
• “Set out tomatoes when dogwood winter has passed, or when wild day lilies start to bloom.” Dogwood Winter is a cold front which often passes while dogwoods are in bloom or may actually trigger them to bloom. This year – 2009 -  dogwood winter was April 6 – 7 and featured overnight lows around 30 F daytime highs around 40  and a rain/snow mix all day on the 6th.
  
• “Plant peppers and eggplant outside when bearded iris is in bloom.” This one probably applies to all manor of cucurbita,  cucumbers, melons, and squash.
• Watch out for “Blackberry Winter” – A cold front associated with the flowering of wild blackberrys – often the last wide spread frost of the year occurs during blackberry winter.

Strawberries will be flowering soon (or already) and – along with other tender plants – will need to be protected from frost once you see blooms.  When berries start to ripen later in the season they will need protection from birds and other berry eatin’ varmints.  Plan ahead to have horticultural fleece, wire mesh or floating row covers ready to deploy if you plan on getting any fruit.  Those same materials can also be used later to protect young squash plants from egg laying vine borer moths.

April is not a bad time to plant strawberries as long as you have realistic expectations.  Strawberries set out in April will yield very little if any fruit this year, but by September they will each produce many daughter plants which can be transplanted at that time for a crop next year, and a great crop the next spring.  A six pack of plants started now in rich soil will be a nice little berry patch by next year if you play your cards right.

It’s Almost Slug Season – Joyous Joy.  Warming wet weather along with tender plants = slug paradise.  Watch for the tell tale holes in vegetation and take prompt swift measures – I favor jar lids full of beer for the slimy little lushes to drink their selves to death in.   Giving the kids each a flashlight and salt shaker could also be an effective – if less politically correct – form of slug based entertainment.  Mulch, rocks, boards and other rubbish provide hiding places so consider removing those things from problem areas if possible.  Also avoid over watering.

Get a Bird House! – While you are at the garden center consider stimulating the economy by buying a bird house.  But, don’t buy one of the cutesy gingerbread looking houses that are more for decoration than for the birds – instead get one which is specifically made for a particular bird – bluebirds and wrens are particularly receptive.  Birds might nest in an ornamental birdhouse, but the poor bird ergonomics can leave them vulnerable to nest predation.   If you put up a bird house now it might have occupants in just a few days.  Getting to see babies in the nest is a great treat for children – and adults.  Educate yourself a bit by Googling for the targeted species to learn about nest box location needs.

In April the greenhouse is full to over flowing.

In the GreenHouse

Late this month I will probably remove the plastic covering from my 50 Dollar greenhouse or at least remove the doors.  Right now it is completely full of salad greens of all kinds, container plants, tomatoes trying to get an early start, early broccoli and cauliflower that is just starting to form heads, and tons of chick weed.  However I don’t foresee a lot of use for it once the weather turns reliably warm, and the plastic will be more likely to serve another year if I don’t leave it in the hot sun all summer.  I consider the greenhouse to be a great success so far – well worth the effort and small cash outlay – and I have high hopes that as I learn more about how to manage it, that it (along with cold frames) will become a key part of sustainable year around food production for my family.

Each flower will soon be a sweet juicy strawberry.

When you visit the nursery or garden center in the Spring you will probably see potted strawberry plants for sale – some already with berries starting to form.  The thing is, Spring is too late to grow any strawberries. However, it’s the perfect time to grow strawberry plants – then you can get lots of fresh sweet strawberries out of your garden next spring.

Go ahead and buy a few of those plants this spring, and set them out 16″-24″ apart in a more or less permanent location in your garden.  If you can bring yourself to do it pluck off those berries as soon as possible – they won’t amount to much anyway – let the plants concentrate on growing.  Keep them weeded and watered, and fertilized this summer, and by fall you will have lots and lots of these…

One strawberry Mother will spread by runners to form many daughter plants. If not thinned in the fall, very few strawberries will form, but each of those daughter plants can be transplanted in September or October and will bear fruit the following spring.

In September, transplant those into your “real” strawberry patch.  You could easily get a dozen daughter plants from each of the originals that you purchased this spring.  Next spring you will be rewarded for your efforts.

A simple cloche made by cutting the bottom out of a milk jug may be all that's required to protect early garden plants from cold weather.

By April in zone 6 we’re experiencing some really nice Spring weather.  A few people (me) are already setting out tomatoes early in the month and covering them with milk jugs until they get going.  Some even started planting in March – potatoes, brassicas, and garden peas especially.

I’ve often heard the opinion that starting your garden “too” early is a waste – plants which are set out later will quickly catch up to those which have had to suffer through erratic spring weather.  I accept that this might be true, however I like to get an early start anyway for these reasons:

1. I just LIKE to get an early start.
2. The weather is fine and makes the work much more enjoyable.
3. It’s easier to harden off the plants during cool moist weather than it is once it starts to get hot.
4. You don’t have to be as vigilant about watering as you would later.
5. If you wait until later to plant everything all at once the job can be over whelming – so an early start allows you to spread out the work load.
6. If you get the opportunity to plant early in the season you might want to take it because wet weather (or life)  might prevent you from working in the garden when you need to later.
7. In my completely anecdotal and unscientific experience – Gardeners who start early have more overall success.

Starting early is a gamble, and you must remain vigilant and prepared in case of cold weather – frosts and overnight temps below freezing are a distinct possibility in April.  As a general rule your plants will survive those late frosts without a hitch if you cover them with anything – sheets, buckets, plastic, mulch, anything – so be prepared with sufficient materials to do so and watch the weather reports.

Even so, every once in a while a really freakish late cold front will blow through and kill a few things – but not very often.

A few things really should not be planted until the soil warms up – notably corn and beans* – these seeds are likely to rot in cool wet soil before they germinate.  However, you can get an early start even with those by planting them under a simple plastic tunnel to warm the soil and protect them from cold and too much rain.

So maybe my tomatoes won’t ripen any earlier, but I’ve never regretted getting an early start in my garden, and I have regretted a late one.

Happy Gardening!

* Fava Beans are different and can be planted much earlier – you should give them a try!

March is when things really start happening in the garden – even though some wintry weather is normal for this month you can’t help but notice the flowers appearing, the buds swelling, and the birds singing – nature knows that winter is almost over.  If you haven’t already placed your seed order you need to do it ASAP! If you save your own heirloom seeds you don’t have to worry about buying seeds – ever again.

March is the right time for planting many cool season plants, but unfortunately the unpredictable weather means that it might be hard on any given day to work in the garden.  So try to take advantage of any break in the weather to  prepare the ground as soon as possible.  Add  compost, manure, lime and other soil amendments at  planting time if you haven’t already.

Freeze hardy annual and perennial vegetables can be planted or set out any time in March:

• Potatoes *
• Onion and Shallot sets
• Peas**
• Fava Beans
• Spinach
• Asparagus
• Rhubarb
• Horseradish
• Jerusalem artichokes

Frost hardy vegetables can be seeded or set-out later in the month:

• Potatoes *
• celery
• Chard
• lettuce
• beets
• carrots
• Parsnips
• Turnips
• radishes
• Leeks
• dill
• cilantro
• Brassicas:
  • Cabbage
  • Cauliflower
  • Brussels Sprouts
  • Broccoli
  • Kale
  • Kohl Rabi

Just about any of these will get off to a quicker start if they are protected from the worst of the weather by a cloche, floating row cover, cold frame or plastic tunnel – but take care not to let them over heat on a warm sunny day.  If possible set your cloches, covers, or warming plastic mulch well in advance of planting to warm the soil a bit – pull any organic mulch back from the planting area until the soil is warmer.

Start Seeds Inside – It’s time  to get serious about starting those seeds for tomatoes, peppers, herbs, etc. Our frost free date in zone 6b is April 15 for gamblers, March 1 for sissies – 6-8 weeks away.  Start your seeds indoors under lights, in a greenhouse, a sunny window or on a sun porch – or even outside in a hot bed.   My success starting seeds has increased tremendously recently when I built a bottom heater for seed starting out of recycled rope lights. However you go about it most seeds will germinate better if kept very warm and will grow better with as much light as possible.

Planting and Pruning Fruit Trees, Vines, Canes, Bushes and Ornamentals – The garden centers have their best selections right now.  By March first the sooner you plant things like fruit trees the better as many of them have already (or soon will) break dormancy – not the end of the world, but also not ideal.  March is the last timely chance to plant bare-rooted trees, berries and canes.

Pruning – Take care of any pruning as soon as possible except on spring flowering ornamentals like azaleas – wait until after the show is over for those.  All types of roses can be pruned this month Severe pruning results in long stemmed flowers and more attractive rose bushes. This is also a good time to give all of your perennials a dose of compost or rotted manure.

Plan to cover fruit trees if frost threatens while they are in bloom! - this probably won’t be a problem until later, but be prepared!  Peaches and apples are most vulnerable during the bloom period, and are usually frost proof once fruit has set and the blooms have faded. A loose covering with a sheet may make the difference between having fruit or not.  If you have trees that are too big for you to fully cover, then cover the parts that you can reach!  The fruit will be concentrated lower down where it’s easier to reach if you do this.  It will also clearly show you how you need to prune.

Lawns – March is the month for sowing  or over seeding lawns. Get a soil test before adding lawn amendments and you will save money, and protect the environment by avoiding excessive fertilizer runoff.  Consider adding some small white clover seed to your lawn – it’s good for the soil, birds, bees, and wildlife.  To really save money and help the environment consider reducing or eliminating your area of lawn grass  – the less you have the less you have to mow, fertilize, and water.  I’m sure that you’ve heard – beautiful lawns are environmental disasters -  smaller is better.

*Potatoes aren’t really freeze hardy, but since they are buried they won’t be harmed by a light to moderate freeze until the tops emerge, and even then they will come back out if bit.  It’s safer to wait, but also worth the gamble to plant a few earlys.

**Don’t confuse garden peas/snap peas which are a cool season plant with field peas that require warm weather and soil, and are really more like beans.