April is a difficult month in the garden because it’s still cold enough in many places that snow is still falling in fits and although we see blossoms everywhere across the country telling us that the sap is flowing in the fruit trees and the soil is beginning to warm up, it still isn’t time for planting warm weather crops such as tomatoes and peppers except in those southern states where spring starts in February (Florida, Southern California, Texas, for example).

Although it’s tempting to begin buying tomato starts as they are appearing in the nurseries right now, it is best to wait at least another week to buy them.  Because there are so many different regions in the U.S. with different micro-climates, I will keep my information fairly general.  What each gardener needs to do is be very clear on what their USDA zone is (or use some other more specific zoning chart such as the Sunset Zones) and be sure to find good resources for information specific to your gardening zone that will help you map out what you should be planting and when.

To find out your USDA climate zone you can look them up on line at The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

Another great resource for anyone who needs local information on when to plant things is to call your local Extension office to find out what information they have.  Sometimes they will have detailed free brochures that tell you when to plant things in your region.  The Extension Services. These services generally get their information from the most local universities and from reputable sources like master gardeners or agricultural instructors.

You can also get information on local planting guides from books printed specifically for your region.  Be sure to check your local library for any good regional vegetable gardening guides.

The best resource for the Pacific Northwest is The Maritime Northwest Garden Guide produced by the Seattle Tilth.  If you live and garden in the Pacific Northwest and don’t have this magazine sized guide then you need to get it.  It cost $10.00 when I bought my copy at Powell’s Books in Portland.  It covers gardening month by month in all the regions here and lays out not only planting guides for vegetables, but flowers, herbs, and perennials as well.  It is also the guide the Master Gardening program gives out to its students.

I will be doing some research and soliciting some help from experienced gardeners to help me map out what gardeners need to be doing in their kitchen gardens month by month because this is very important information we all need and I’d like it to be handy right here.  But that will, of course, take some time.

In the meantime I would like to give a very general idea of what should be planted in most gardens this month:

Dark Leafy Greens: kale, chard, spinach, Asian greens

Lettuces: all kinds of lettuce greens, and herbs

Cold weather crops: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, turnips, beets, carrots

Onions: shallot bulbs, onions, bunching onions, leeks

Peas: peas, favas

Potatoes!

Late April: all the warm weather crops such as tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans, and melons.

Now get out there and plant some seeds!

Long before the current recession hit us all in the face my friend Chelsea and I were getting excited about learning to do things like can jam and make quilts.  We spent a lot of time together cooking and talking about projects we could do ourselves.  She lives up in the hills in a rustic house on acreage doing her laundry outside like a hillbilly.  I lived in town and got to do my laundry inside but was obsessed with growing as much of my own food as possible.

Together we learned a lot of new/old skills and at some point we got to talking about how so few people were learning to do the kinds of things we were learning to do from their own parents.  It used to be that you learned to can vegetables from your mom or your grandmother.  You learned to quilt from them as well.  They taught you how to mend clothes, darn socks, and cook a basic pie crust.  It occurred to us that all of these skills were still important and that someone needed to be teaching new generations how to do things like take care of their furniture and plan meals so that food isn’t wasted.  In fact, someone needs to teach everyone to do basic cooking.

We thought it would be great to start a finishing school for people interested in urban homesteading and everyone who’s interested in increasing the quality of their lives through mastering the home arts.  We had so much fun imagining ourselves as the head mistresses of the school and planning the curriculum.  Neither of us has any money to open an actual school but the desire to open such a school has never stopped exciting me.

What I finally realized is that with a website (or blog) I can do the next best thing: online courses!  With the use of photos, instructions, and even some video instruction, I feel that we can teach each other to do almost anything.  I am fortunate enough to know and be friends with nearly every kind of crafts person and I have solicited their help to provide useful information and instruction on all kinds of topics such as: raising chickens, growing herbs and vegetables, making your own medicines, sewing, and home economics.

My goal is that this become a great reference for urban homesteaders with only the highest quality information and writing.  Hopefully it will feel like a fresh, bright, and inspiring place to come.

I already have a lot of recipes to upload once they get finessed just a little so be patient as I begin to build the content up.  Come back often and feel free to make suggestions on the kind of content you most desire us to cover or questions you would like to have answered.

Please come and visit again!