by Linda Carloni
The calendar says it’s spring, but with our continuing atmospheric river-fueled storms, it often still feels a lot like winter, a wet chilly winter. Nevertheless, there are tasks in the garden to tackle when you can seize a dry day.
Remember to avoid working the soil when it is too wet; let it drain first. This is particularly important with clay soil, which is unusual in Alameda, but nevertheless occurs here in some places. Clay soil takes much longer to drain, staying soggy and susceptible to damage to the soil structure due to working when it is too wet.
Check Your Irrigation System
It will stop raining, sooner or later. When it does and the soil dries, we’ll need once again to irrigate our gardens. If you have an irrigation system, you can use a dry day now to get out and test it to make sure the water is reaching what you want and not spilling water where you don’t want. Then you’ll be ready when you need it. The Marin Master Gardeners have a quick guide to checking your system.
Vegetable Seedlings
This year, seedlings being grown outdoors are very delayed. The chilly weather and cloud cover has slowed their growth and development. Many vegetable seedling sales, including ours, will take place in April. You may find that the seedlings on sale are smaller than you usually see, but if they’ve got a good start in life, with proper care they should thrive once it gets warmer. Plant them in your garden when the soil is damp, but not sopping wet. If we’re expecting a lot of wind, consider putting them in a protected space on a porch rather than setting them out in your garden right away. If there’s any prospect of frost, protect the seedlings by covering them.
Planting Vegetables
As long as the soil is dry enough, you can plant some veggies. Root crops – beets, carrots, turnips, radishes and potatoes – are good choices. In temperate Alameda, in April you can still plant lettuce, spinach and other salad greens, chard, collards, kale and green onions, from seeds or seedlings.
It’s usually fine in Alameda to plant cucumbers, beans, and squash outside in April. This year, though, note the temperatures first to avoid seeding outside when it’s still very chilly. For seeds, you can find the optimal, minimum and maximum soil temperatures for germination of various vegetables here. If the soil is too cold, the seeds in particular may rot before they germinate. Here’s a commercial agriculture service that gives you soil temperatures throughout the US – including Alameda. Hopefully at least the second half of April will bring warm and sunny gardening weather.
Check for Pests
Before you plant, it’s good to check for pests. Snails and slugs, for example, may be lying in wait for the tender seedlings you’ll be putting out. The UC IPM website has comprehensive information on pest management for the home gardener, including this short sheet on managing snails and slugs.
Plant Pollinator-Friendly Flowers
Pollinators need food year round. April is a fine time to seed out cosmos, sunflowers and many other summer annuals. In addition to veggies, our plant sale will offer pollinator flower seedlings grown totally free of neonicotinoids, which can kill pollinators.
Happy Gardening!
