April Gardening While Stuck At Home

It's been quite some time since my last blog post. I've been taking a college course on women's ministry and just decided I couldn't do both at the same time. However, given the current circumstances concerning Covid 19, I thought a bit of gardening motivation was in order. One of the most therapeutic things for me has been the warm Spring weather and getting my hands dirty in the garden. You can benefit from this too. We're all stuck at home for the most part and gardening is a hobby that has a multitude of benefits, not the least of which is fresh food. Here are some ways you can be busy in your garden now.

First, it's not too late to plant spring veggies. Lettuce, spinach, kale, peas, carrots and onions all prefer cooler weather and it's not too late to plant them, but don't wait too much longer. Once the hot summer weather kicks in, your spring veggies will be done. Everything I listed above is really easy to start from seeds with the exception of onions. I recommend buying onion sets instead. You can find seeds and onion sets at Walmart, Lowes and other hardware stores, and garden centers. Just be sure to check that your local garden center is still open.



Second, you can get your garden ready for summer planting in a few weeks. Summer veggies include tomatoes, peppers, squash and beans. This means pulling out any weeds and pulling off the winter mulch. It's also a good time to make any repairs to your raised beds and trellises. You can also add amendments to your soil - like compost or manure to enrich your garden.

Third, if you haven't already done so, go ahead and clean up your perennial beds. Pull out last years dead growth and any weeds that have sprung up. You can also freshen up the mulch if you wish.

Be aware that all perennial plants- whether herbaceous perennials, bushes or trees- will wake up to Spring at different times. Don't panic if a particular plant hasn't started to show signs of new growth yet. It might just not be ready.

So go ahead and try your hand at gardening. The fresh air, sunshine, and soil will do you a world of good. Feel free to post pics of your garden in the comment section below.