Still plenty of dusty yellow pollen floating around
As we move closer toward the end of April, we are still having to contend with plenty of pollen from trees, weeds, and grass. Keep pollen off the carport with the leaf blower and rinse it off the vehicles every day. Wipe it from the windshields and from around the door panels and dashboard. Rinse pollen from the vehicles each day.
Investing in a durable water wand
A water wand is a great start toward conserving water by placing water only where it is needed without wasting the water in the middle of the row. A good water wand with six or more settings from“stream shower, spray, pour, and other modes. A good wand cost around $12. A wand will apply an application of water in any desired mode directly where you need it. It can place a stream in a furrow on top of seeds after sowing them. A helpful tip about a water wand is to never leave the wand attached when pulling the hose from one location to another because you may damage the spring on the wand.
Starting a colorful container of Coleus or Joseph’s coat
The first container of summer annuals to start the warm weather flower season should be a container of Coleus. They come with foliage of rose, pink, cream, yellow, wine, mint green, red, and lavender. Coleus are available in six-, four-, and nine-packs. As the Coleus begins to produce lavender blooms, pinch them off to produce an abundance of foliage.
Here’s hoping for plenty of April showers to finish April’s fair well
What better way to condition the soil for the growing season of warm weather than ending the month of April with a few showers in all their glory and majesty, moisture and grace?
Frost is still possible during the remainder of April
Even though the frost date of April 15 is long past a possibility of frost is still possible. We still have some cold nights in the forecast and frost can still be in the forecast even into early May. All cool weather vegetables will endure a frost, but hold off on sowing or planting any warm weather vegetables until the first or second week of May.
Saving the mesh bags that oranges and onions come in
The three-pound mesh bags that onions and oranges come in at supermarkets are great pest control instruments for the garden plot all during the growing season. You can use them from keeping rabbits from eating green beans and foliage. Just take a fragrant bar of soap such as Dial and shave it into small chips and fill the mesh bag and hang it near the row or bed of green beans. Rabbits defiantly do not like the smell of soap. Maybe they associate the smell of soap with humans. When green beans are blooming, you can fill a mesh bag with some moth balls to keep nasty groundhogs (members of the rodent family) at a distance from the garden.
The art of building a sturdy bird nest
How does a bird know how to build a bird nest? They instinctively know how to construct a nest and how to discern what materials to use. We saw a robin earlier in the season with a piece of chewing gum wrapper in her beak. This seems like an odd building material, but somehow she visions it in the construction of her nest. Like all God’s creation, they are wonderfully made.
Starting off a few Early Girl tomatoes
April still has five days remaining and a few cold days in the month of May, but it’s worth a gamble to set out several Early Girl tomato plants to attempt an early harvest. The Early Girl meets conditions because it has a 60-65 harvest date from transplanting in the garden. The effort will be worth it if you can coax a harvest from a four pack of Early Girls by the end of June. They will need a little extra attention and care plus maybe covering on cool nights, but tomatoes and a harvest in late June of fresh tomato’s is worth extra effort.
Keeping hummingbird feeders filled with nectar
With the days of April drawing near an end, more and more hummers are making their way to the feeders. Fill the feeders half full of nectar several times each week and check on how much they are consuming. You can purchase nectar, ready made in two quart jugs or in powdered packets that can be mixed with proper amount of water. You can also prepare your own nectar with a half and half mixture of sugar and water and maybe twice as much water as sugar with a few drops of red food coloring.
Providing birdhouse for the bluebirds
The bluebirds are making a come back and you can invite them to your own backyard, lawn, or garden by placing a bluebird house a distance away from your home or garden. Bluebirds do not like to be to close to people, but a birdhouse properly placed a distance from the home or garden will draw them near enough for plenty of bluebird grazing.
Kicking off the warm weather vegetables growing season of green beans
The nights are still a bit cool but that should not hinder sowing a row or two of green beans such as Top Crop or Strike. These both are stringless, tender, and productive and produce two harvests when cleanly picked. Start a row or bed this week and another bed or two, two weeks from now. Cool weather should not hinder them because by the time they sprout it will be May and soil will begin to warm up. Wait until the middle of May to sow the bulk of the green bean harvest in 60 to 70 days. Sow green beans in a furrow about three or four inches deep. Apply a layer of peat moss in the bottom of the furrow, sow seed, apply another layer of peat moss and a layer of Black Kow composted cow manure and apply an application of Plant Tone organic vegetable food and hill up soil on each side of the furrow and tamp down with a hoe blade. After they sprout, apply a side dressing of Plant Tone organic vegetable food every 15 days and pull soil up on each side of the row.
Patience with tomatoes, peppers, corn, lima beans, egg plants, squash, and cucumbers
The last nights of April will be cool and also the first ten days of May will feature some cold days and nights for all above mentioned warm weather vegetables. The soil is not warm enough for sowing warm weather vegetable seed or transplanting plants of peppers, tomatoes, and egg plants. For more dependable and sure results on warm weather vegetables, wait until the middle of May when soil is warmer and nights begin to be warmer. When soil is warmer, seeds will quickly sprout and plants will rapidly respond.
Making a rich dark brown sugar cake
To make this cake do not preheat the oven. Ingredients include one pound box dark brown sugar, one cup sugar, three sticks light margarine, five large eggs, three cups plain flour, half teaspoon baking powder, one cup milk, one tablespoon vanilla, one cup chopped pecans. Cream dark brown sugar, sugar, and margarine together. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and baking powder. Mix in milk and vanilla. Mix all ingredients well and fold in the mixed pecans. Bake in a well greased and floured tube pan for an hour and ten minutes at 325 degrees.Cool for 30 minutes before removing from pan.
Hoe hoe hoedown
God, the artist — The Sunday school teacher started the day’s lesson with a question; “Boys and girls what do you know about God?” A boy’s hand shot up in the air. “I know, I know, God is an artist,” said the little boy. “And how do you know that?” asked the puzzled teacher. The little boy replied, “You know, ‘Our father who does art in heaven.’”
Simple sermon — In the message one Sunday morning, the preacher said, “If absence makes the heart grow fonder, a lot of you must really love our church.”
Wife to another wife — My husband still has the first two loaves I ever baked him, he uses them for bookends!
Enjoying the full pink moon tomorrow night
Tomorrow night, a full pink moon can be enjoyed after sunset. It may actually look pink as it rises after the sun sets in the west. It will be an interesting contrast as it rises against a background of trees displaying a new coating of fresh green leaves. Enjoy the moon each night during the week as it rises a little bit later each night.
