It's The Perfect Time To Start A Garden!
Late March is the perfect time to get those tomato and pepper seeds started indoors ready for an early spring planting! It’s also a great time to start planting those cool weather vegetables that can withstand those last frost days of March and April.
April is almost here and your garden soil is finally warming up! April is the best time to plant most of your vegetable seeds after your last frost. It’s still not too late to plant tomatoes and peppers from seeds as well. Check out the below vegetables that can be started in April. Be sure to check your gardening zone for last frost dates.
Once you get the hang of growing some of these 'easier to grow’ items, try out some others veggies and flowers! Get the kids to help with the educational, important, and special task of planting, caring for, growing, and then cooking with their one, hand grown food! It’s a wonderful way to teach them to love the Earth, try new things, and they’re more likely to eat something new if they’ve helped to grow it themselves!
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VEGETABLES & HERBS
**This is the perfect time of year to give a vegetable garden a shot!
If you’re new to the gardening game, some of the best things to start with are herbs, peas, cabbage, lettuce, beats, carrots, and tomatoes. Start off with some herbs (super easy to grow), and then try some of the others. Seeds, literally cost pennies, so try your hand at some of these other veggies and see what happens!
BEANS: (*best for April)
Start planting both bush and pole beans now that the soil and air are warmed up. Try a continual 7-10 day sowing of different varieties. This will give you continual bean crops and not one large harvest with wasted crop.
Suggested variety: Contender, Kentucky Wonder, Topcrop
Growing beans:
https://www....growing-beans
BEETS
Sow beets now for a fast, early summer treat.
Suggested variety: Detroit Dark Red
Growing beets:
https://www....pedia?id=7157
CABBAGE
*Cabbage is one of the easier plants to grow in the garden. Select a variety that is right for your location (size and maturity length). Be sure to fertilize and water when cabbage head begins to form.
Suggested variety: Premium Late Flat Dutch, Golden Acre, Michihili
Growing cabbage:
https://www....owing-cabbage
CARROTS
Planting carrots by April will give an early summer crop.
Suggested variety: Little Finger, Scarlet Nantes
Growing carrots:
https://www....-grow-carrots
CORN
One of the most rewarding and fast growing crops to grow. Corn is delicious when cooked only minutes after being pulled off the stalk. Try a small plot of corn, working your way to a large field of several varieties.
Suggested variety: Peaches and Cream, Incredible, Sugar Buns
Growing corn:
https://bonn...growing-corn/
CUCUMBERS
*Fast growing vine or bush cucumber plants can produce an abundance of cucumber fruits. Be careful to pick a variety for the space you have in your garden. Vine cucumbers can be the best tasting but need far more space than bush varieties.
Suggest variety: 80, Muncher, Marketmore 76
Growing cucumbers:
https://www....cucumbers.htm
HERBS
*Plant heat loving herbs like basil, oregano, thyme and sage.
Suggested varieties: Italian Basil, Greek Oregano, Dill
Growing Herbs:
https://www....rb-gardening/
MELONS
Melons are some of the most rewarding plants to grow. Great for hot, long summers. A staple for summer picnics and family fun.
Suggested variety: Sugar Baby, Crimson Sweet, Hales Best
Growing melons:
https://www....growing-guide
ONIONS
Get those onion seeds growing. Be careful to select an onion variety appropriate for your garden zone. Northern areas should plant long day onions. Southern regions should plant short day onions.
Suggest variety: Sweet White Walla, Red Creol, Yellow Spanish
Growing onions:
https://www....growing-guide
PEAS
Green peas and sugar peas are good to plant in July, and will produce a moderate fall harvest.
Suggested variety: Sugar Ann, Oregon Giant
Growing peas:
https://www....cle10250.html
PEPPERS
Fresh, crisp peppers are a garden favorite. Peppers take up little space and can produce high yields when planted close together. Plant as many different varieties as possible. They come small, big, hot, mild, and an array of different colors.
Suggested variety: California Wonder, Early Jalapeno, Sweet Banana, Super Chili
Tips for growing peppers:
https://bonn...wing-peppers/
SPINACH
Spinach is more of a cool weather vegetable and will produce until hot weather of summer. Planting in early March will ensure you have plenty of harvest before bolting.
Suggested variety: Bloomsdale, Samish
Growing spinach:
https://www....cle10244.html
SUMMER SQUASH
These can’t be planted for another few months, but it’s something to think about and look forward to!
Summer squash sowing in June will lead to fresh squash and zucchini in July and August.
Suggested Varieties: Cocozelle, Waltham Butternut
Growing squash: https://bonn...owing-squash/
TOMATOES
The most popular garden vegetable. Growing tomatoes is not only fun but treats you to some of the best tasting fruits in the world. Tomatoes come in many colors, shapes, taste, and sizes. Grow a few varieties every year to find your favorites!
Suggested variety: Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Roma, Sweetie, Heirloom Blend
Growing tomatoes:
https://www....-tips-1402587
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FLOWERS
**If you’re low on gardening space or the time it takes to maintain a vegetable garden, but still want to try your hand at growing something this Spring, flowers can be a great choice!
Early spring flowers can bring the color and warmth of spring to your garden weeks ahead of schedule. Not only do early spring blooming flowers add beauty, they can be helpful in attracting bees and other pollinators to your yard early in the season, which encourages them to make your garden a regular place to visit for them. Keep reading to find what early blooming spring flowers you can put in your garden.
Read more at Gardening Know How: Types Of Early Spring Blooming Flowers https://www....g-flowers.htm
21 Spring Flowers For Your Garden
https://www....ming-flowers/
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We hope to see you soon for a class at our studio if you’re looking for something fun to do in or around the Naperville area! We make the perfect event for everything from a fun and unique date night, an awesome girls’ night out experience, and we even offer private events! When you view our classes on our website, you’ll be viewing our schedule for our public classes, but you can also book a painting party with the guest list of your choice! Come in to celebrate a birthday, bridal shower, reunion, retirement, and more with friends and family, sharing their artistic sides, together. Make memories that will last a lifetime with a souvenir to treasure forever with one our classes.
*Learn more about our private parties, here:
https://www....ivate-parties
We also play host to tons of corporate events, too! Why not book your next work party or team building event with us? We offer several styles of paintings that incorporate team building strategies, encouraging the whole office to work together, creating a stunning world of art!
*Read more about corporate events, here:
https://www....porate-events
Finally, in addition to out studio parties, we offer mobile events, off-site! You choose the location and we’ll come to you with all of the supplies!
*Learn more about out mobile events, here:
https://www....porate-events