My edible April garden

Guess what today is, edible landscape artists! The day I show you my April garden. ;)

Our multi-year drought has to be over by now; we've had rain two to three times a week for several weeks now. Which is great for growing!

I am doing much better this year on keeping the weeds down -- I'm going out and pulling weeds every day that we aren't having active thunderstorms.

I also mulched around the ornamental alliums and daylilies by the mailbox (which are beginning to form buds) and put in those pansies which had been languishing in my garage all winter.

My spring greens are doing very nicely.

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)

The honeyberry bushes are also growing well.

Honeyberry (Lonicera caerulea)

I have lots of garlic coming up, and the kale and blackberries have been in bloom for the past couple of weeks. And of course, my strawberry plants are doing fine -- they are just beginning to bud. You see what kind of soil I have -- it rained two days before and it's cracking already.

Strawberry (left) and spinach (center)

Trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata)

My trifoliate orange is making tiny fruits, lots of them!

Speaking of these, I tried making wine from the ripe ones last fall, and it turned out very well -- dry and tangy.

It's getting better the longer I let it sit. I've tried making vinegar, too, but it's stubbornly refusing to turn, even when I put in some mother from my apple cider vinegar (which usually does the trick)!


And the first rosebuds of the year are here! :D

In the back yard, I've planted potatoes again, thwarting the rascals who dig up and eat my potatoes every time I try to plant them by putting them in a cage. They seem to like being in there. :D

I add dirt as they grow, and I'll put more potatoesover in that bare spot as I get more to plant.

I usually plant the eyes off of any of my store bought organic potatoes which begin to sprout, which seems to happen soon after I get them home.

(I have been known to buy bags of potatoes in the grocery store which are already sprouting for this exact purpose, and they do just fine!)

My cherry tree seems to be doing fine, although I don't see any cherries forming. It's supposed to be self-pollinating, so I'm not exactly sure what's going on. But I did read that it would make fruit "in 2-4 years, and I planted it two years ago, so it might just be too small still. I've planted onions and garlic all around it, among other things.

My grapevines, which I thought were dead, have perked up nicely. My mulberry tree has as well (I thought for sure it was dead, as it did nothing last year, not even a leaf!)

Want to show off your April garden? Stop by our April contest page or learn more about the Four Season Garden contest here.