April
April 3, 2016
April is a time of transition in the winter garden. The weather is mild, and the spinach plants are mature and hardy. I put away the glass covers. If a bizarre weather event is predicted that may harm the plants, I'll pull the tarp over the top of the plants.
The above picture was taken April 3, 2016. I have harvested all the usable spinach leaves from this garden three times, beginning January 1. Each harvesting invigorated the plants, and they produced even larger leaves for the next harvest. The plants in the foreground have been harvested most recently. I will begin harvesting leaves from the plants closest to the pine tree next. The picture at the right shows large spinach leaves typical in April.
In addition to harvesting and eating as much spinach as I can, I also watch the plants and continue thinning them as they try to bolt. I wait until the flower stalk begins to form before I pull up the plant, and as the number of plants declines toward the end of the month, I wait even longer before I destroy a plant. Instead, I pull off the flower stalk and continue to harvest the lower leaves of the spinach plant as my needs dictate.
April 27, 2016
By the end of April (above), I've removed most of the plants that were planted in September. Those that remain were planted January 29, 2016. The plants in the picture below, have been harvested once and are ready for a second picking.
Lettuce production becomes very important in April. I had begun planting small patches of lettuce in March, and I continue planting once every three weeks in April. The size of the small plots matches the size of small screen frames I have, about 36 inches on a side. The screens hold moisture in the lettuce planting to facilitate germination and to protect small seedlings. The picture at the right was taken April 16, 2016. The seeds had been planted March 8.
By the end of April, some of the lettuce plants will have leaves that are large enough to harvest. I harvest lettuce one leaf at a time, taking larger leaves and leaving smaller, central leaves to continue growing.
Three weather factors impact my efforts to establish lettuce: wind, dryness, and heavy rain.
Lettuce seed is like grass seed. It needs to be just barely covered with dirt, yet it needs to remain moist until it germinates, and the cooler it is, the longer it takes to germinate. Lettuce also needs to sense sunlight before it will germinate.
In Nebraska, rain is often infrequent, but wind is an everyday event. It doesn't take much dry wind blowing across a new lettuce planting to dry out the lettuce seed and ruin the planting. I prepare a small patch of ground for planting, and then I soak the ground. I wait a few hours, then I sprinkle lettuce seed on top and then sprinkle loose dirt on top of the seed. I lightly water this so the the top layer of dry loose dirt mixes with the wet soil under it and soaks the seed. Finally, I lay screen over the ground. The screen allows light to penetrate, but it retards drying from the wind. I watch the ground closely, and when the seed begins to germinate, I raise the screen up slightly and set the frame of the screen on scrap wood blocks.
The screen protects the seedlings from the drying wind, but it also protects them from one of the greatest threats to tender lettuce seedlings: heavy rain. Screen is not foolproof, however, and some heavy rain will still penetrate the screen and ruin the seedlings. When I am concerned that an impending heavy rain will harm my seedlings, I cover the screen with glass or even a board. Standing in mud trying to pry flattened leaves up from the ground is a chore I'd prefer to avoid.
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