April Garden Tasks in a Cold Climate

The beginning of April has brought with it some gorgeous weather here in Minnesota this year.  This time of year I find myself thinking back to the massive blizzard we had mid April in 2019 - almost 2 feet of snow and some pretty frigid temperatures.

Though this task list all depends on weather - and every year is different! - this is our general calendar for April.

1. In the first week of April, we move our cole crop seed starts out to the cold frames.

"Cole crops" are plants that like cooler temperatures.  Plant starts that apply are things like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, lettuces, etc.  Heat loving plants such as tomatoes and peppers as well as herbs need to stay inside until the temperatures are consistently 50 and above during the day and overnight.

Our broccoli seedlings moved to our cold frames this past week.

They are thriving with all the sun in recent days!

2. In early April we start to till and we also amend the soil with compost.

This year we have a couple of gardens that we are expanding, as well as a new garden plot.  In order to get the sod broken up properly, it will need a couple of passes with the tiller.  Early April is a good time to start to do this.  We also add compost - both compost from The Mulch Store and also some of our own compost - to the soil so that when we till it in, it will add nutrients back into the soil.

This doesn't look like much now, but we increased our main garden by about 15 feet to the west.

We will till again in the weeks ahead to continue to break up the sod.

3. In early-mid April, we direct sow our cole crop seeds.

Cole crops that can be started directly as seeds are things such as root vegetables - carrots, beets, radishes, and onions as well as potatoes.  Leafy greens such as Swiss chard, spinach, and leaf lettuces are also directly sown into the soil.  We plant in the garden when the soil is workable (not frozen).

4. In early-mid April, we plant our cole crop plants.

I tend to plant my seeds first so that they get a head start, especially since my plants will continue to grow strong in the cold frames.  Sometimes I plant my seeds and plants all in one day depending on the time I have available, but other years I get the seeds in the ground first and I get the plants in the ground a few days later.

5. We hold off on cleaning up our garden beds until the temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees (typically mid-late April).

It can be quite tempting to want to rake up garden beds, prune off old stems from last winter, and bag everything up or put it on the burn pile, however pollinators love to winter in old, dried out stems and garden beds.  If we clean out our flower beds too soon we risk disturbing the pollinators who will come out when the temperatures are consistently warmer.  They come out of hibernation when the temperatures are 50 degrees and over consistently.

Our tulips are coming up!  It is hard to resist cleaning up this bed, but the pollinators need a space to call home until they come out of hibernation when temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees.

One of the best parts about April is that we are coming off a winter of rest from strenuous outdoor work. I always feel ready to dive right into this new season!