Other Entries: August 2007 September 2007 January 2008 March 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008

Snow and frost. Frost, followed by snow. Frost. Ice. Hail. Snow. We have had unusually cold and violent weather this month. Though I suffered few direct plant losses, the cold, wet weather has caused me to experience some very poor germination rates this spring. It has also allowed me to effectively observe the different microclimates of my garden: Peas sown in a low spot in early March have fared much worse than the same variety of peas sown in a high, warm part of the garden. In the warmth of summer, it's easy to forget that cool air flows down hills, and sits at the bottom.

My resident gastropods have been enjoying a population renaissance as of late: Many of the tender young seedlings I planted-out in late March were consumed through April. I take a Zen approach to slug and snail damage nowadays: While I still set some traps, I generally find it fairly easy to shrug-off the inevitable springtime losses and get on with my life. By July, all will be forgiven. It is also important to remember that slugs and snails do not exist just to consume green, living plant materials and piss-off gardeners: They spend much of their time out of sight, foraging for both living and decaying organic materials, shredding and mixing as they go. The smaller particles that are a result of their activities can be more easily be broken-down by bacteria, fungi, and other soil denizens. Slugs and snails are an important part of the soil food web, and have as much right to our gardens as we do.

I sow many different types of seed during the month of April: Peas, Carrots, Parsnips, Lettuce, Kale, Cabbage, Broccoli, Mizuna, Boc Choi, Gai Lan, Parsley, Potatoes, Borage, and Cress. I don't doubt I've some things from that list. My garden begins to progress more rapidly as the weather warms. In addition to sowing cool-weather crops, I am preparing for the planting-out of warm seasons crops towards the middle and end of May. Around the middle of April, I began moving my tomatoes and groundcherries from the artificially-lit propagation shelf in my kitchen window to the coldframe outside. Though I struggle to remember to open the coldframe in the morning, and close it again in the evening, they seem to be acclimatizing well.

The brassica harvest, which lasts just twelve months of the year in my garden, is going well. As the plants begin forming flowers, I switch from harvesting the lower leaves, to harvesting the flowering tops, to prolong production. When left to open their flowers and begin the seed-forming process, most brassicas stop producing new leaves and shoots. I find that by pinching the flower buds off kale, collards, and others, I can convince them to keep putting out new shoots for another couple of months. Inevitably, though, they succumb to their fate, the scattering of seeds and the cold embrace of death. Happy spring!