Garden Update: APRIL

by Texas Homesteader ~ 

This has certainly been a busy gardening year.  First of all earlier this year RancherMan & I ripped out all of our previously existing raised beds and replaced them in a new more efficient design for irrigation.  And of course I’ve had my heirloom seeds growing in my indoor greenhouse since mid January. It helps pacify my need to get my hands in the soil when it’s way too early to plant outside.  But now that it’s starting to warm up and in NE Texas the danger of the last killing frost is passed. It’s time to get out in the garden!

Come See How My Garden Is Doing For The Month Of April - There's Lots Going On In My Northeast Texas Veggie Garden! #TexasHomesteader

Getting A Jump On The Season

I placed my indoor greenhouse out on our south-facing porch and each day I took the top off of it to allow the seedlings to be exposed to the outside elements, gradually lengthening the time of exposure.   This is called hardening off. It exposes the tender seedlings to the outside elements of breezes and sunshine and prepares them to be transferred to the garden without such a shock in their growing conditions.

Starting heirloom seeds indoors. Come See How My Garden Is Doing For The Month Of April - There's Lots Going On In My Northeast Texas Veggie Garden! #TexasHomesteader

Installing Drip Irrigation

Another big change to our gardening plan this year is the actual irrigation.  For years I’ve  irrigated the garden from our underground cistern which collects rain water from our home’s roof through an underground pipe.  In the past I’ve used both regular water hoses and soaker hoses to deliver that water to the garden.

But this year RancherMan & I purchased drip irrigation supplies and have installed it throughout the raised beds.  It is surprisingly easy to install and this system should help preserve the water in our underground cistern throughout those hot dry summer months by delivering water just where it’s needed.

Cucuzzi Squash

Now that all is ready I’m itching to get something planted.  I was given seeds from a veggie called “cucuzzi” by a very sweet blogger last year.  It’s said that cucuzzi grows crazy fast & produces mass quantities of a vegetable much like a zucchini.  I’ve been warned to plant it somewhere that it can climb due to its vigorous growth tendencies.

So I’ve planted the seedlings on either side of our arbor at the entrance to the garden.  Since the planting area is angle shaped there will be no way to mow & maintain it in future months so I used empty feed sacks to cover the ground, cutting a hole for the seedlings to be planted.  The paper should keep the grass from growing in this hard-to-reach area.  Fingers crossed!

After the cucuzzi seedlings were planted I covered the paper with grass clippings for a more finished look.  Hey, it’s my beloved garden and I want it to be prettiful!

Other Veggies Planted

I also planted spaghetti squash, tomatoes, bell peppers, cantaloupe, okra, tomatillo, pablano peppers, and pumpkin.  The poor jalapeno plant that RancherMan & I dug up before the first freeze last year was also finally replaced into the garden.  It was in sad shape but within days brand new leaves began to grow!

Perennial Garden Plants

Some things have already been in the garden for several months/years but they’re starting to peak out for the season.  The asparagus has been growing for several weeks. I often snap off a spear and munch on it right then & there as I’m in the garden. It just doesn’t get any better than that!

And the blackberries I planted last year to grow along the fence are blooming. I can’t wait to harvest those sweet berries in a month or so.  I’m training the vines to grow up and along the fence for easier harvest. And there’s never a shortage of heavy string from feed sacks to encourage those vines to grow where I want them!

The oregano I planted in the garden last year has just exploded. Even with our brutal icy winter it’s survived and is giving me plenty to harvest.  I recently harvested a huge basket overflowing with fresh oregano and I’ll dry it and place it in jars for seasoning.

Harvesting Oregano. Come See How My Garden Is Doing For The Month Of April - There's Lots Going On In My Northeast Texas Veggie Garden! #TexasHomesteader

And my row of onions planted last year is growing quite nicely as well, I’ll be able to harvest them soon and this will open up a space to plant more veggies just as soon as I hang the “VACANCY” sign on the garden window!

Onions in my vegetable garden. Come See How My Garden Is Doing For The Month Of April - There's Lots Going On In My Northeast Texas Veggie Garden! #TexasHomesteader

The grapes have been planted in the garden for about 3 years and are now beginning to bloom for the year, I can’t  wait to taste the sweetness of vine-ripened concord grapes again.  I also transplanted heirloom garlic last year from an old abandoned homestead on our remote pasture.  Those bulbs are now huge so i can’t wait to dig into them as well. (oops, pardon that pun!)

How’s your garden doing these days?  Are you able to get into the garden yet or are you still waiting for the big melt?

~TxH~

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13 thoughts on “Garden Update: APRIL

  1. Kathy

    Coming along nicely – I hope you have a wonderful growing season! I do appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

    Reply
  2. Kenneth Goh

    I totally enjoy reading this post as in Singapore, there is no land space for us to cultivate and four seasons for us to enjoy the arrival of spring. However, thanks for sharing with 4 seasons blog hop. Cheers and have a nice day.

    Reply
  3. Tanya @ Seven Springs Homestead

    We have our spring plants in the ground but our last frost date is May 15. I am patiently (ok, not so patiently) waiting for this date to plant everything else. I am interested in the cucuzzi, please let us know how it tastes! Thanks for sharing on Green Thumb Thursday.

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      OMGosh Tanya I almost couldn’t wait until our danger of frost had passed. I jumped the gun by a week and guess what? Frost! Thankfully I was able to save my tender plants but Mother Nature will really throw a kink in your plans sometimes! ~TxH~

      Reply
  4. Rachel @ Grow a Good Life

    I enjoyed your little tour of the garden and it sound like you got a lot accomplished. I have never heard of Cucuzzi but they look interesting. I will wait for your verdict on the flavor. Thank you for sharing at Green Thumb Thursday!

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      Oh yes ma’am Rachel, I’ll be sure to review the growing tenacity and the flavor of the cucuzzi! Thanks for stopping by. ~TxH~

      Reply
  5. Karen

    I really want to commend you on your commitment to repurposing. It’s evident throughout this post… from seedling pots, weed barrier, mulch, gifted seed, feed sack string, water conservation and harvesting heirloom garlic off an abandoned homestead (jealous!). Wonder if the feed company had weed barrier in mind when they printed “Please dispose of in proper place” on their feed sack. 🙂 Best wishes for plentiful produce!

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      What a sweet thing to say Karen. I really do like to repurpose wherever possible. LOL I think it’s funny you noticed the litter notice on the feed sack. 🙂 ~TxH~

      Reply
  6. daisy

    I really like your layout. We are hoping to try drip irrigation when we buy our property later this year. Even if we use rain barrels for our water supply, it makes sense to conserve with this type of watering system. Thanks for joining us on The Maple Hill Hop today!

    Reply
  7. Nancy

    What a great place!
    I love the raised bed that “meanders”….very cool. Wish I had great space….
    Alas, I live in suburbia CA and though I do have raised beds, they are not all that big. Love the feed bags that are cut and used as a first layer of mulch! Very cool…..
    OUr raised beds work hard year round…and I am on to the next layer so to speak. Our fava beans were mostly done, and just got taken out to make room for more goodies. MY asparagus isn’t doing all that well this year…not sure why…
    Take care…
    Nancy
    wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      Thanks for the compliment Nancy, I think I’m really gonna love this new design much better than the old design. Now if I can just figure out how to cover the grass in the walkways so it won’t be a maintenance issue. I’ve covered with feed sacks & covered the sacks with grass clippings & hay much like I did the cucuzzi but sooner or later things start sprouting in the hay & it’s a big papery mess when the mower runs over it. Any thoughts? I’d like to use what we have here on the ranch if at all possible (just an environmental issue for me…) ~TxH~

      Reply

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