Workhorse Crops for April

 

This is the last month in my series of 14 Workhorse Crops (asparagus, beans, cabbage, carrots, chard, collards/kale, garlic, potatoes, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, watermelons, winter squash, zucchini/summer squash). These crops are reliable and productive under a range of weather conditions.

Here are links to the other 11 months:

• May
• June
• July
• August
• September
• October
• November
• December
• January
• February
• March

Spring is here. April is a busy month for sowing and transplanting! First the rest of the cool weather crops, then the first of the warm weather crops. Our average last frost (over the past 14 years) here in central Virginia is April 29. We reached 12 hours of daylight on the March 20 Equinox, and the days lengthen until the summer solstice.

In our hoophouse we are transplanting squash, cucumbers, and peppers in April. Those crops will occupy the centers of the beds, before taking over the whole width. By that time, we will have harvested any remaining winter salad crops, and the spinach we transplanted in early March. Our greenhouse and coldframe are packed with transplants.

Workhorse Crops to Plant in April

Beans

We sow our first green beans April 24, around our last frost date. We choose two reliable varieties, Provider and Bush Blue Lake. Or Contender. There are varieties that are more delectable and tender, like Jade, but those are less cold-tolerant, and so not good for the first planting. We soak the bean seed overnight before planting.

We sow 2 rows in a 4ft (1.2 m) wide bed, with the rows about 16” (40 cm) apart. Seeds about 3” (7 cm) apart, closer if they are leftover from last year. Bean seed does not germinate well if older than that.

We use inoculant to help the nitrogen-fixing bacteria get started. We probably have plenty in the soil by now, but early in the year, everyone is a bit slower to get moving!  We cover the beds with rowcover until the weather has settled warm.

We make 6 sowings of beans. Our sowing dates are 4/24, 5/8, 5/24, 6/8, 6/24 and 7/8. The intervals between plantings are 14, 16, 15, 16 and 14 days. This schedule has got a bit off-course and has a much earlier end date than necessary. A better set of dates would be 4/20, 5/11, 6/1, 6/22, 7/13 and 8/3, at intervals of 21 days. The rate of maturity of beans does not vary much with temperature.

Cabbage

We are not growing any storage cabbage this spring, due to those infamous staff shortages everyone is struggling with. If we had sown some in early February, we would be transplanting them April 1, and covering the bed with ProtekNet for as long as possible to keep the bugs off. If we used rowcover when we first transplanted them, we remove it in April to use elsewhere (broccoli). Cabbage to store for the summer can be a great way to have greens other than chard during hot weather.

Carrots

From April we switch to sowing one bed per month until August. We sow our fifth carrots April 10, and our sixth in May. The April sowing takes about 11 days to germinate, depending in on the soil temperature. Our standard practice is to flame weed carrots before the seedlings emerge. In April we have lots of weeding and thinning of carrots sown earlier.

Chard

We sow chard (and leaf beet, the type of chard closest to spinach) on March 24, and transplant on April 22, with two rows in a bed, close together down the middle, to leave the paths free for us. Chard will be our main summer leafy green after the brassicas have all bolted. We usually do a mix of a multicolor type for beauty, Fordhook Giant for reliability and productivity, and Perennial Spinach leaf beet as insurance. The leaves are smaller, making it slower to pick, but it does taste more like spinach than any of the other chards, and it is very resilient.

Sweet Corn

We sow our first sweet corn on April 26, being sure to choose varieties such ads Bodacious, with good cold-soil emergence. We also sow some Speedling flats on the same day, and float them in a n outdoor tank, as a care-free way of having some backups to transplant as replacements for casualties if a late frost strikes. Our harvest goal with our fist sowing is July 4-18. Our 6 sowings of sweet corn are scheduled to give us an even continuous supply, with a new planting coming on-stream every 15 days. We harvest three times a week

Potatoes

Potatoes can be planted here in April, but we prefer to divide our planting in two, half in march, half in June. Click the link for more about every stage of potato growing .

Summer Squash/Zucchini

We transplant our first outdoor summer squash and zucchini (as well as the ones we grow earlier in the hoophouse). We start them in the greenhouse March 27, in 6×12 Speedling flats. Those cells are bigger than the Winstrip 50 cells. We like Tender Gray 42d zucchini, a light-colored Middle Eastern variety, and Zephyr 54d yellow squash with distinctive green tips. We transplant them 4/21 with rowcover or ProtekNet to keep the striped cucumber beetles away. Other squash pests (Squash bugs, Squash Borers) are not such a problem for us. From the second sowing onwards, we direct sow outdoors, as the soil has warmed up by then. We often transplant or sow nasturtiums in among the squash (or the cucumbers) to deter cucumber beetles. We also enjoy the flowers.

Greenhouse sowings for later transplanting outside, and other greenhouse work

In April in the greenhouse, we sow our watermelons, and paste tomatoes if we’re growing those, and some non-workhorse crops, of course.

Watermelon

Watermelons need warm soil. We’re not growing any this year. Our method has been to sow them in Winstrip 50-cell trays in the greenhouse April 26, and transplant them into biodegradable plastic mulch (with drop tape under it) May 11. (We use 3’ (1 m) spacing with rows 66” (1.7 m) apart. We rowcover the transplants for 3 weeks, until flowering, and then remove the covers to allow pollination to happen.)

Winter Squash.

Winter squash is normally such a lovely, easy crop! Direct sow, water, thin, hoe, till between the rows until the vines run, then ignore them (apart from watering) until September. We have mostly grown Moschata types as they have the best resistance to squash bugs, and they store really well. Our favorites include Waltham butternut, Cha-cha Kabocha, Cheese Pumpkins, Jarrahdale squash and the giant Tahitian Butternut. We direct sow May 26, but if there are particular challenges with constant rain preventing us preparing the soil, we have transplanted, from cells sown in late April.

Potting Up

We pot up the peppers and eggplant for transplanting outdoors in May. Eggplant needs to be kept above 55°F (13°C), peppers above 50°F (10°C) and tomatoes above 45°F (7°C).

Sweet Potato Slips

Also, we continue cutting sweet potato slips. I covered growing sweet potato slips last week.

Workhorse Crops to Plant in the Hoophouse in April: Squash, Cucumbers, Peppers

We plant one bed each of these crops, measuring and digging holes 2’ (60 cm) apart down the center of the bed, and adding a shovelful of compost to each hole. We do not clear the winter crops from the beds before transplanting the new crops. We value the extra month of greens we can harvest this way. When the new crops are small, they don’t need the whole space, and I’ve even thought that the slight shade from the greens helps the new transplants settle in.

We grow a bush (non-vining) cucumber Spacemaster, and two early squashes, sometimes Golden Glory zucchini and Zephyr. The bell peppers are Lady Bell, Gilboa (orange) and Revolution, all fairly early, big, thick-fleshed  and tasty.

Hoophouse Tomatoes

In April we install the posts for tomatoes (hopefully we won’t need to use rowcover at nights any more, and start string-weaving. We use the Florida string-weaving (or basket-weaving) technique to support our plants. More about that task in future.

Workhorse Crops to Harvest in April

Asparagus

The asparagus harvest season usually begins for us in early April. Well prior to that date we root out early weeds.  Then we fertilize with fish meal and greensand or a complete fertilizer, or add a thick layer of rich compost (if we did not do this in the fall), spread over the whole bed.  Next, mulch to a depth of at least 4” (10 cm) for weed control, with wood chips, wood chip horse bedding, sawdust, straw or old hay (although hay may include weed seeds).

I recommend snapping asparagus spears at ground level – cutting them below the soil surface risks damaging emerging spears. Harvest in the early morning, as the spears are easier to snap before they warm up. Snapped asparagus is almost all tender and usable – the tough lower ends remain in the soil. If you expect a frosty night, harvest all spears, regardless of size, as they will otherwise freeze and be wasted. We have sometimes done a second (afternoon) harvest, if we’ve noticed a cold forecast. During the harvest season, ensure the asparagus gets 2” (5 cm) water each week.

At the beginning of the season, when the weather is cooler, spears can grow to 9-10” (22-25 cm) before ferning out, but in warmer weather, they will open out at a shorter height.  So, expect to harvest shorter spears in warmer weather. To keep life simple, we tell our crew to pick any spears 7” (17 cm) or taller. You may prefer to change the required length according to the temperature. Harvest anything of the right length, regardless of thickness. For pest management, we pick and later discard skinny, tough spears, and any that are ferning out. (Slender stems are not more tender than large ones, quite the contrary.) We harvest the entire patch every single day as a way of controlling asparagus beetles – no spears are left long enough to leaf out, and beetle eggs are removed (on the spears) and cannot hatch. The eggs are harmless, and can be washed off after harvest by spraying with water, or tub-washing.

We harvest into short buckets so that the spears will be standing on end when the bucket is upright. We add a small amount of water, to keep the spears fresh, and hurry the buckets to a cooler at 34-40°F (1-5°C).

First year after the planting year

Trials now show that asparagus yields more long-term if it is lightly harvested for 2-4 weeks in the first year after the planting year, in contrast to previous directions to wait 3 or 4 years. Stop harvesting after 4 weeks at the most, as soon as the thickness of most of the spears is less than the size of a pencil.

After the first (short) harvest season, let the spears grow tall and fern out. The photosynthesis of the ferns feeds the crowns and strengthens them for next year’s growth. Established asparagus is fairly drought-tolerant, but immature plantings need 1” (2.5 cm) of water each week. By the fall ferns will be 4-5’ (1.2-1.5 m) tall. Apply compost every year in the fall or winter.

Second year culture

In late February or March, we weed, spread compost (if we didn’t do it in the fall) and mulch to a depth of at least 3” (7.5 cm). We harvest for perhaps 5 or 6 weeks in the second year after the planting year. Stop picking when the thickness of most stems is less than a pencil. By the end of this second season the asparagus ferns will likely reach a height 6-8’ (1.8-2.4 m).

Third year and future years

Weed, spread compost, mulch, harvest and irrigate, weed, mulch. Pick asparagus for perhaps 6 weeks in the third production year, stopping when the spears are thin. By the fifth year you should reach a maximum harvest season of 8-9 weeks.

Chard – our hoophouse chard is growing at a good rate. This winter we started late, and so we have only been able to harvest the chard small, for salad mixes. In April we will get leaves large enough to cook.

Collards and Kale can be harvested all month (over-wintered plants) until they start bolting. The spring-planted ones outdoors are ready from mid-April.

Overwintered Carrots and Cabbage are a possibility some years, but not this one!

Garlic scallions are still available to harvest here. We dig the plants once the leaves have reached at least 7” (18 cm). Wash and trim, cook and enjoy! Some years we have made a big planting, and it has provided for us into May (when they will start to bulb).

Hoophouse Workhorse Harvests in April

Our Red and White Russian kales are now producing well. These are Siberian-type kales, that keep growing (a bit!) in cold weather. We harvest the outer leaves and stand them on end in a bucket in a little water. The wilt very easily, so we try to keep them in the shade and get them to the cooler promptly.

Workhorse Crops from Storage in April

In April we can eat cabbage carrots, garlic, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and winter squash from storage, while they last. We do still have potatoes, sweet potatoes and butternut squash. Also we have frozen summer goodies, and pickled things, sauerkraut, pickled beans, and canned goods like salsa.

Workhorse Crops Special Topic for April: Rowcover

Use rowcover to keep new transplants outdoors protected from cold until they are acclimated and /or the weather warms up. In the hoophouse in April we use rowcover on possible frosty nights, to protect our new tender crops.

Rowcover is lightweight, easy to use, and easy to store. Its biggest challenge is that you need to hold down the edges with bags of rocks or sand, plastic jugs of water, or metal or wooden stakes rolled in the edges, to stop it blowing open or even blowing away!

To protect against cold, you need thick rowcover. We think polypropylene rowcover lasts longer and is tougher than polyester (Reemay). We like Dupont Xavan 5131 (aka Typar). 1.25 oz/sq yd spunbonded polypropylene, with 75% light transmission, and about 6 F (3.3 C) degrees of frost protection. It can last for 6 years or more.

Thinner types are made to protect from insects – if you already have thin rowcover You can double it up for cold weather use. Thinner types are very fragile and are easily torn by inexperienced helpers.

Hoops keep rowcover from sticking to frozen leaves and reduce abrasion. For winter we made double wire hoops. 9- or 10-gauge wire inner hoops, 22 gauge outer hoops, every 6ft (2 m) down the length of the row.

See Workhorse Crops for March for info on Predicting Frost

For my next series of crops for the month, I’m planning to write about small fruits (berries and melons)