We Had Another Frost Last Night

Bob Bauer

April 03, 2017 (Last Updated: March 06, 2023) | Reading Time: 2 minutes

April 03, 2017

We had another frost last night. It was a hard frost from 6:30 to 8:15 this morning. We were warned about it so I covered everything last night and didn't lose anything. Having three frosts in four days makes me adjust my last frost date to April 1st. for next year. The buds on the oak trees are opening, and an old farmers almanac saying is to wait to plant out until the oak leaves are the size of mouse ears..

That will coincide with the ground being warm enough this year. Who knows about next year. The weeping cherry tree is humming with pollinators. Where they all came from so quickly is a mystery..

April 04, 2017

I finally finished planting out my third flat of crucifers. The garden is filling up. I actually almost got tired of transplanting this year. That's a first. Everything will be direct seeded from now on this summer. This is a good time of year to visit your local garden center and see what kind of deals they have going on veggie six packs. Popping healthy plants into the ground with well formed root balls is as easy as it gets..

Sometimes though, if the plants have been in their containers too long, the roots will begin to circle around. The root tips are on the inside of the root ball and sometimes can't grow out through it unless you physically scratch the roots away from the bottom of the root ball. Using a pointed object you spread the bottom out trying not to break the roots. I plop them in the hole, gently backfill it, and make a small berm around them so the water will fill the hole. Ya know, just talking about it makes me want to go out and transplant some more..

April 05, 2017

I had to haul off the stalks from the Brussels sprouts that I used to sheet compost the fence line because they did not decompose over the winter. It looked like a whale boneyard back there. Everything else is pretty much gone, except for the more woody stems, so I'm ready to pile it up again..

And the aphids are not on the greenhouse lettuce anymore, either because of the increased air flow, or the abundance of little garden spiders that run across the aisle every time I go in. They are everywhere in the garden suddenly, and are always running away from my approach, so I know we're on the same page..

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