Category: Blog

Posted on

July Gardening To-Do List for USDA Zones 9-11

The summer fun is in full swing and we are likely all enjoying the opportunity for daily harvesting. There is such joy and satisfaction in being able to walk into your backyard and grab a snack on the go. The flavor of a sun-ripened sweet tomato right off the vine and a fresh piece of fruit from one of the trees. This is the taste of summer! For me, I remember being in the garden with my mom when I was a child, and she would always hand my brother and I some fresh green beans. There is something about fresh beans (still warm from the sunshine) that will always remind me of my childhood. I was fortunate as a child to have a parents who enjoyed the outdoors. My brother and I grew up climbing trees, foraging in the woods, hunting and fishing, and building forts near the berry patches. As the years have gone by, I have found myself looking back on those years as critical times of the establishment of wonder and imagination in my life. There is something about the garden and food forest that invites us inward and beckons us to be a part of it. To not just eat – but see, hear, experience and dream a little. The garden, for me anyway, is a place that I feel safe in, provided for, and celebrated.

This month, as you go about your July Gardening To-Do List, take time to imagine and appreciate. Take space for yourself and create a safe space to invite others. The food forest can be both a flower for one and a garden for all.

NOTE: This list is geared toward USDA Growing Zones 9-11. If you are looking for the July Gardening List for Zones 3-8, click here.

July Gardening To-Do List
Yellow Star Cherry (Aka Pitangatuba) tastes like a citrus pineapple and is very soft and juicy! They often fruit in the first year from planting, so it’s a great source of instant gratification for a tropical food forest.

July Garden Calendar for USDA Zones 9-11

In the Garden & Greenhouse

  • Building soil the vegetable garden: For the most part in zones 9-11, our annual vegetable season has come or is coming to an end. It’s the time when we shift from annual production toward production in the food forest. Som for annual beds, this is a great time for a cover crop (like Sunn Hemp, Cow Peas, etc.) or to cover it with straw and let it compost in place.
  • To plant: Cassava cuttings, sweet potatoes, okra, chaya, tropical spinaches (like Longevity, Okinawa, Brazilian, Suriname, or Jewels of Opar).
  • To harvest: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, okra…and as many tropical greens as you can! It’s also a great time of year to pick sweet potato leaves and saute them for supper. Add some salt, pepper, garlic, and cheese and tuck in!
  • Compost: Turn pile 1-2x per week.
    • NOTE: For most people an outdoor compost pile doesn’t really generate a lot. However, using a worm bin (like the ones from Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm), can provide worm tea which creates way more bang for your buck. For most families, composting worms are going to give you a better result.
  • Open the Greenhouse: This time of year the green house often needs to be open 24/7 so it does’t become an oven. You can also cover it with a shade cloth to help stop the heat. Generally speaking, most plants are outside at this point and enjoying the summer rains and sunshine. This makes it a great time of year for you to clean it out and get ready for fall. by mid-August, you’ll be ready to use it as a shade house to start seeds for the fall gardening season.
Foxglove in bloom

In the Food Forest

  • Apply Summer Compost or soil amendments
    • Compost (mushroom based for food forest and manure based for veggie garden). This is literally the single best thing you can add in the food forest this month!
    • Recommended Amendments: Azomite, epsom salts, chelated iron, hummus, chop and drop from nitrogen fixing plants.
    • Probiotics spray every other week. I use BioAg for this.
    • FREE 11-minute talk on probiotics for the yard, click here.
  • Plant new fruit trees and berry bushes. Here is a step-by-step process (with diagram) of how to plant a fruit tree or berry bush. Some of the info may surprise you. Remember, trees often take 3-5 years to reach a significant level of production. The best time to plant a fruit tree was 10 years ago, but the second best time is today. This is an ideal month to plant Avocado, mango, sugar apple, clumping bamboo, yellow star cherry, cherry of the rio grande, etc. It’s NOT ideal for stone fruit (plum, peach, nectarines), but can still be done if you prune them before planting.
  • Remove suckers from the base of fruit trees. These are likely a root stock coming back, and will essentially “suck” the nutrients from the top of the tree, so keep them cut / pinched off.
  • Chop and Drop!!! This is the prime time to chop and drop those soil building plants, because they still have the rest of the summer to grow again and provide a few more cycles. Remember, in order to truly get the nitrogen fixing and soil building benefits – you have to chop them down (and better yet to bury them under wood chips).
  • Banana TIP: If you are growing bananas in zones 8b and 9a (where frosts are likely in the winter), stop watering and fertilizing bananas that do not already have a flower. Wait until late winter to resume watering and feeding, as this will help you avoid having a partially formed rack that just gets killed in a frost. If the flower has already started, continue watering and feeding as usual. If you are in a generally frost free area – carry on as usual.
  • Get a plan and design This is a great month to plan and plant! The summer rains make food forest establishment easy. So, if you are interested in an in-person or virtual consultation, CLICK HERE.
New worm bin set up with some red wigglers. My favorite part about this system isn’t even the worm castings – it’s the worm tea that can be used weekly on plants!

In the Shed

  • Set mouse / rat traps. We have really liked these bucket traps from Amazon
  • Oil hand tools: Keep hand tools oiled and clean after every use. A cheep olive oil wipe down will work wonders to help prevent rust, but you can also use a gun or motor oil as well.
  • Use the Rainy Days: When you have occasional rainy days, consider taking an hour to clean and organize in your shed or garage. Make a “donate” pile to bring to a local community garden if you find you have a surplus that could find a new home.
Salvia in my mom’s summer garden. There are so many varieties and colors with this plant and it always gives summer visual interest to the butterfly garden.

Livestock

  • Water rotations: In nature, animals don’t drink out of the purified tap. Sometimes their water is from a rain puddle, but other times from a stream or pond. To help mimic this and give their immune system a boost, try doing something different every time you refill their water.
    • Apple Cider Vinegar: 1 tsp per gallon
    • Honey: 1 TBSP per gallon
    • BioIivestock Probiotic: Dilution rate on bottle depending on species
    • Herbs: Add fresh oregano, thyme, rosemary, etc to their water to make a “tea”
    • Rainwater
  • Deworming Cattle / Horses: 1-1.5 cups of Basic H per 100 gallon watering container OR 1TBSP per gallon for chickens, goats, lamb.
  • Keep Chickens Cool in Extreme Heat: click the link for some creative ideas to help keep chickens cool in the hot summer months.
  • Check herd health daily: My friend Fred always says, “A good farmer is ‘out-standing’ in his field. Literally.” As a general rule of thumb you should have eyes on every animals, every day. Some animals may need morning and evening check in times, but it’s important to be attentive, especially if any animals have recently given birth.
Comfrey (Bocking 14) can be planted on pasture edges or around fruit trees. It’s an excellent mineral mining crop and can be used as animal fodder and forage as well. It’s a suitable replacement for supplemental minerals and calcium for many farm animals.

In the Pasture

  • Plant: Not an ideal month for pasture planting… just let things grow and fill in.
  • Rotate Animals: Move animals as often as you can possibly manage. High intensity rotational grazing is optimal for soil and pasture health. If you are doing multiple animals: cows first, followed by sheep or goats, chickens last, and then give the pasture a break.
  • Pasture Edges: Plant support species on the pasture or food plot edges. Consider animal forage plants like Moringa and Mexican sunflower.

Around the House and Perennial Beds

  • Deadheading: Remove as many of the dead flowers as you can. This will promote more vigorous summer blooms. You may, however, want to let a few go to seed in order to save seeds for propagation next spring.
  • Fertilize flower beds: This time of year you can easily use bagged grass clippings in the annual beds to help fertilize and create mulch. If you are seeking to amend your soil, consider bone meal and azomite this time of year as your best options.
  • Annual Flowers: Plant some pops of color around the garden. Use as many native wildflowers and perennials as possible, because the vast majority of annuals do NOT provide nectar for bees and butterflies. However, using them sparingly can still give lasting bursts of color. Some annual flowers (nasturtiums, marigolds, calendula, etc.) are also edible and medicinal and can even be used as vegetable companion plants.
  • Air out the house: On a cool morning or early evening, consider opening up the windows to air out the house. This is also a great time to change your HVAC filters indoors from extended summer AC use.
  • Power-wash lawn furniture on hot summer day. When it’s too hot to be in the garden, get a power washer to clean off the porches, deck, patio, and the furniture. Many of them allow you to add a bit of soap (like Basic H) to the washer for added cleaning power.
Photo from a recent hike in the Daniel Boone National Forest in Beattyville, KY

Kids & Family Ideas

  • Visit a local hiking trail: Look up some hiking trails in your area and go out on a day adventure. Pack a lunch with you, bring extra water, and be sure to bring your camera and a foraging bag (if responsible foraging is permitted).
  • Wild Bird Feeding
    • Suet cakes for woodpeckers should be around the edges of the garden, because they will also help control caterpillars.
    • Safflower Seed: great for cardinals but also not a favorite of squirrels.
    • Water and birdbaths will help attract even more birds than the feeders themselves on hot summer days.
    • Hummingbird feeders: Never use dyed red nectar…this is completely unnecessary and not good for the birds. Also, remember that sugar water ferments quickly, so hummingbird feeders need to be changed every 3 or 4 days. If you cannot remember to change the nectar water, please take down your feeders because fermented water is a number one killer of hummingbirds.
  • Walking Sticks: Find and decorate walking sticks together. You can tie string around them and collect feathers, paint them, etc. Even as an adult, a good walking stick is a must when putting chickens up for the night.
  • Outdoor picnics: Plant at least one meal a week that is outside in nature. Maybe this week it’s grilling on the patio, but then next week might be a blanket in the grass with charcuterie boards. Perhaps sandwiches from your childhood while laying in a hammock, or a summer salad on the front porch as you wave at the neighbors passing by.

See you in the Garden

As always, thanks for taking time to join on the gardening and permaculture journey. Be sure to check out the continual flow of content available via our social media channels. Remember, PermacultureFX also does virtual consulting (using facetime, zoom, satellite images, etc.). We’d love to help you get a plan for your property and help you create abundance and wonder.

If this article was helpful, consider sharing on social media (or with your garden groups) to help set others up to win on their property. Happy Summer – and I’ll see you in the garden!

– Kristofer Edler

PS – If you are looking to keep growing in your Permaculture journey, we offer virtual classes, PDF’s, and exclusive content in our ever-growing Permaculture Patreon Community. There is now a 7-day FREE TRIAL!

Posted on

July Gardening To-Do List (USDA Zones 3-8)

The summer fun is in full swing and we are likely all enjoying the opportunity for daily harvesting. There is such joy and satisfaction in being able to walk into your backyard and grab a snack on the go. The flavor of a sun-ripened sweet tomato right off the vine, a little bit of sweet bell pepper, a few remaining peas, or a fresh piece of fruit from the tree. This is the taste of summer! For me, I remember being in the garden with my mom when I was a child, and she would always hand my brother and I some fresh green beans. There is something about fresh beans (still warm from the sunshine) that will always remind me of my childhood. I was fortunate as a child to have a parents who enjoyed the outdoors. My brother and I grew up climbing trees, foraging in the woods, hunting and fishing, and building forts near the berry patches. As the years have gone by, I have found myself looking back on those years as critical times of the establishment of wonder and imagination in my life. There is something about the garden and food forest that invites us inward and beckons us to be a part of it. To not just eat – but see, hear, experience and dream a little. The garden, for me anyway, is a place that I feel safe in, provided for, and celebrated.

This month, as you go about your July Garden Calendar and To-Do List, take time to imagine and appreciate. Take space for yourself and create a safe space to invite others. The food forest can be both a flower for one and a garden for all.

NOTE: This list is geared toward USDA Growing Zones 3-8. If you are looking for the July Gardening List for Zones 9-11, click here.

Cosmos from the garden. TIP: Deadhead spent flowers to promote more midsummer blooms.

July Gardening To-Do List for USDA Zones 3-8

In the Garden & Greenhouse

  • Building soil the vegetable garden: Remember, we are what we eat, so stay away from both chemical and synthetic fertilizers. Our top choice to “fertilize” is always to apply compost (regular for veggies and mushroom based for fruit trees and berry bushes). If you do not have access to organic compost, then my second choice is usually a rotation of worm tea, bone meal, azomite, fish emulsion, kelp, or other “whole ingredient” fertilizers, which help build the soil and not just give a temporary result. Unfortunately, even some name brand organic fertilizers are hiding things like MSG under the name “soy protein hydrolysate”. So, use wisdom when picking out the best fertilizers for you and your family.
  • To plant: Get ready for planting fall garden veggies later this month. Think potatoes, broccoli, and other brassicas. Consider starting some in trays mid to late month.
  • To harvest: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, beans, carrots, zucchini, squash, lettuce, and mixed greens
  • Compost: Turn pile 1-2x per week.
    • NOTE: For most people an outdoor compost pile doesn’t really generate a lot. However, using a worm bin (like the ones from Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm), can provide worm tea which creates way more bang for your buck. For most families, composting worms are going to give you a better result.
Foxglove in bloom

In the Food Forest

  • Apply Summer Compost or soil amendments
  • Plant new fruit trees and berry bushes. Here is a step-by-step process (with diagram) of how to plant a fruit tree or berry bush. Some of the info may surprise you. Remember, trees often take 3-5 years to reach a significant level of production. The best time to plant a fruit tree was 10 years ago, but the second best time is today.
  • Remove suckers from the base of fruit trees. These are likely a root stock coming back, and will essentially “suck” the nutrients from the top of the tree, so keep them cut / pinched off.
New worm bin set up with some red wigglers. My favorite part about this system isn’t even the worm castings – it’s the worm tea that can be used weekly on plants!

In the Shed

  • Set mouse / rat traps. We have really liked these bucket traps from Amazon
  • Oil hand tools: Keep hand tools oiled and clean after every use. A cheep olive oil wipe down will work wonders to help prevent rust, but you can also use a gun or motor oil as well.
  • Use the Rainy Days: When you have occasional rainy days, consider taking an hour to clean and organize in your shed or garage. Make a “donate” pile to bring to a local community garden if you find you have a surplus that could find a new home.
Salvia in my mom’s summer garden in Michigan. There are so many varieties and colors with this plant and it always gives summer visual interest to the butterfly garden.

Livestock

  • Water rotations: In nature, animals don’t drink out of the purified tap. Sometimes their water is from a rain puddle, but other times from a stream or pond. To help mimic this and give their immune system a boost, try doing something different every time you refill their water.
    • Apple Cider Vinegar: 1 tsp per gallon
    • Honey: 1 TBSP per gallon
    • BioIivestock Probiotic: Dilution rate on bottle depending on species
    • Herbs: Add fresh oregano, thyme, rosemary, etc to their water to make a “tea”
    • Rainwater
  • Deworming Cattle / Horses: 1-1.5 cups of Basic H per 100 gallon watering container OR 1TBSP per gallon for chickens, goats, lamb.
  • Keep Chickens Cool in Extreme Heat: click the link for some creative ideas to help keep chickens cool in the hot summer months.
  • Check herd health daily: My friend Fred always says, “A good farmer is ‘out-standing’ in his field. Literally.” As a general rule of thumb you should have eyes on every animals, every day. Some animals may need morning and evening check in times, but it’s important to be attentive, especially if any animals have recently given birth.
Comfrey (Bocking 14) can be planted on pasture edges or around fruit trees. It’s an excellent mineral mining crop and can be used as animal fodder and forage as well. It’s a suitable replacement for supplemental minerals and calcium for many farm animals.

In the Pasture

  • Plant: Keep pastures irrigated, plant sunn hemp for deer forage or nitrogen fixing cover crops.
  • Pasture Edge: Plant support species on the pasture or food plot edges. Consider edible berry bushes (currants, gooseberries, lingonberry, elderberry, mulberry, or paw paw trees. Other plants like comfrey, vetch, and clover can be planted on the edges to help fix nitrogen into the soil and provide additional pollination.

Around the House and Perennial Beds

  • Deadheading: Remove as many of the dead flowers as you can. This will promote more vigorous summer blooms. You may, however, want to let a few go to seed in order to save seeds for propagation next spring.
  • Fertilize flower beds: This time of year you can easily use bagged grass clippings in the annual beds to help fertilize and create mulch. If you are seeking to amend your soil, consider bone meal and azomite this time of year as your best options.
  • Spring bulb care: Cut back any of the “dead” from the spring bulbs to clean up the flower beds. If they are still green, leave them along because they are storing up their energy reserves for next years blooms.
  • Annual Flowers: Plant some pops of color around the garden. Use as many native wildflowers and perennials as possible, because the vast majority of annuals do NOT provide nectar for bees and butterflies. However, using them sparingly can still give lasting bursts of color. Some annual flowers (nasturtiums, marigolds, calendula, etc.) are also edible and medicinal and can even be used as vegetable companion plants.
  • Air out the house: On a cool morning or early evening, consider opening up the windows to air out the house. This is also a great time to change your HVAC filters indoors from extended summer AC use.
  • Power-wash lawn furniture on hot summer day. When it’s too hot to be in the garden, get a power washer to clean off the porches, deck, patio, and the furniture. Many of them allow you to add a bit of soap (like Basic H) to the washer for added cleaning power.
July Gardening To-Do List
Photo from a recent hike in the Daniel Boone National Forest in Beattyville, KY

Kids & Family Ideas

  • Visit a local hiking trail: Look up some hiking trails in your area and go out on a day adventure. Pack a lunch with you, bring extra water, and be sure to bring your camera and a foraging bag (if responsible foraging is permitted).
  • Wild Bird Feeding
    • Suet cakes for woodpeckers should be around the edges of the garden, because they will also help control caterpillars.
    • Safflower Seed: great for cardinals but also not a favorite of squirrels.
    • Water and birdbaths will help attract even more birds than the feeders themselves on hot summer days.
    • Hummingbird feeders: Never use dyed red nectar…this is completely unnecessary and not good for the birds. Also, remember that sugar water ferments quickly, so hummingbird feeders need to be changed every 3 or 4 days. If you cannot remember to change the nectar water, please take down your feeders because fermented water is a number one killer of hummingbirds.
  • Walking Sticks: Find and decorate walking sticks together. You can tie string around them and collect feathers, paint them, etc. Even as an adult, a good walking stick is a must when putting chickens up for the night.
  • Outdoor picnics: Plant at least one meal a week that is outside in nature. Maybe this week it’s grilling on the patio, but then next week might be a blanket in the grass with charcuterie boards. Perhaps sandwiches from your childhood while laying in a hammock, or a summer salad on the front porch as you wave at the neighbors passing by.

Thanks for reading our July Gardening To-Do List

As always, thanks for taking time to join on the gardening and permaculture journey. Be sure to check out the continual flow of content available via our social media channels. Remember, PermacultureFX also does virtual consulting (using Facetime, Zoom, satellite images, etc.). We’d love to help you get a plan for your property and help you create abundance and wonder.

If this article was helpful, consider sharing on social media (or with your garden groups) to help set others up to win on their property. Happy Summer, and I’ll see you in the garden!

– Kristofer Edler

PS – If you are interested in access to our ever growing resource library including video classes, pdf’s, food forest tours, and exclusive content – consider joining the Permaculture Patreon Community! There is a 7-day FREE TRIAL!

Posted on

June Gardening To-Do List for USDA Zones 9-11

June gardening calendar

What to do on your property in June?

What should I be doing in my garden in the month of June if I live in a subtropical climate (Zones 9-11)?  This is the list for you! 

Looking for a list for USDA Zones 3-8, click here.

The rainy season has begun, especially in Florida, so it’s time to shift from annual vegetable gardening to a focus on the food forest.  In essence, put your gardens to “bed” by using a cover crop like annual clover OR sunn hemp to help repair nitrogen and add biomass.  Instead, focus now on fruit trees, berry bushes, and nut trees!  This is a fantastic time to add some new tropical spinaches and edible hibiscus to your collection too!

June companion plants
Collards, Red Russian Kale, and Jewel Mix Nasturtiums

In the Garden

  • Summers in Subtropics:  Remember, this is the season that is like winter for most of the country.  Our best growing time for traditional garden veggies is essentially wrapping up.  Although it “can be done”, it’s likely better to focus on the food forest than the annual vegetables during the hot summer months.  Plant your sunn hemp in your annual garden beds and let them grow until August, at which time you can till it under to add nitrogen and biomass to your soil.  Then you’ll be ready for September vegetable season again.
  • Planting:  Summer peas, okra, and sweet potato.  You can also try and plant Seminole pumpkins now, but it’s a risk.   It is also still a good time to plant  ginger and turmeric – but I would not wait until the end of the month.   Get them in the ground as fast as you can.

  • Harvesting:  This month, you can harvest the pumpkins and squash from this winter, green beans, and the last bit of the cucumbers.  It’s also prime time for tropical greens!  This last week, I was harvesting the Dwarf Everbearing Mulberry and making jams and syrups to can for later.  I also tried a new pepper this year from “Seed the Stars” called a Dew Drop Pepper, and had wildly great results with them.  Most of those were canned up this week, but they are still yielding like crazy.  In fact, I have also used seeds from Seed the Stars for growing Seminole Pumpkins, Everglade Tomatoes, and butterfly pea as well.  

  • Tropical spinaches:  Some favorites (especially in Florida) are:  longevity spinach, Okinawa spinach, Suriname spinach, and Brazilian spinach.   These are high producers all summer long!

  • Tomatoes:   Most of the larger tomatoes are finishing up for the summer in the hot climates, so if you are wondering why they look so sad… that’s totally normal.  The best (if not the only) tomato that does well in the summer in warmer climates is the Everglade tomato.  It’s a gorgeous little cherry tomato that will fruit most of the summer and is very disease resistant.  It’s excellent on salads, canned in salsa, or eaten fresh.  As for your other tomatoes… let them go and focus on other things.  

  • Plant Cover Crops:  One of the best cover crops in hot climates is called Sunn Hemp.  It’s in the legume family (as opposed to the other hemp) and not only repairs nitrogen in the soil, but is also a massive biomass accumulator.  If you plant it now, it will be 6-9′ tall before August, at which time it can be chopped and dropped or even buried and composted in place in the garden.  For a FREE growing guide on Sunn Hemp, email permaculturefx@gmail.com 
  • Managing powdery mildew:  In warmer tropical climates, this is the time of year when powdery mildew really starts getting wild.  When you see the initial signs, spray immediately with neem spray (buy 100% need on Amazon and then dilute with water and some Basic H to emulsify).  Spray in the early morning well before the heat of the day, preferably on an overcast day.   Follow up in 2-3 days with a probiotic spray like BioAg by SCD Probiotics.  Repeat the following week, if necessary.   If this doesn’t help, it’s actually better to remove and burn the plants so it doesn’t spread.  Remember, the spores will stay active in your soil, so it’s important to catch it early and remove / burn the spent plants.
Plant nasturtiums

GARDEN TIP

Plant nasturtiums around the garden and in the food forest. They are a two-fold insectary plant. First, they will attract the good insect and pollinators, especially the braconid wasps (which defend against the bad guys). Secondly, they are an insect trap for aphids, so if you see your nasturtiums covered…. consider them a sacrificial crop to protect your veggies. In hot climates, they appreciate part shade in summer months and sun in the winter.

In the Greenhouse

  • We are essentially finished with the “Greenhouse” season, but if you have a shade cloth, you can actually open up all the windows now and put the shade cloth over the top. This will allow you to start micro-greens and other tropical plants (like Vanilla beans and orchids). If using a shade cloth, you can also use the opened greenhouse for your indoor plants to give them a season outside. Just be sure to pay attention to your watering schedule.
  • Clean and sterilize the plastic pots used this winter / spring. Stack and store them.
  • Set mouse traps to control critters.
  • Hang fly trap to control aphids, flies, and other pests.
A Natural Farm
Spring 2021 Permaculture Design Course students serving in the food forest at A Natural Farm in Howey-in-the-Hills, FL

In the Food Forest

  • Get a plan: Summer is an ideal time for planting in the food forest, because rainy season will make sure everything is well taken care of for you. Consider getting a private property consultation with us to help you design your yard. We will tell you where to plant, what specific varieties, how to plant them appropriately, and give a guide on how to maintain your food forest. Click here to read about our new property consultation types! We also offer drive thru consultations now, which are ideal for follow-up visits from folks who already have an existing plan in place.
  • Plant fruit trees and berry bushes: This month, think about planting avocados (there are so many great varieties), mangos, strawberry trees, tropical cherries, guava, and other tropical trees. This will allow them to have 7 months to “root in” and establish themselves before it gets cold. Summer is a perfect time to start that food forest… just make sure you have a plan first.
  • Compost and wood chips! In places like Florida, the rule of thumb is to fertilize (especially via compost or manure) every March, (early) June, and September. This month, it’s highly encouraged to refresh your wood chips as well, which helps prevent soil sterilization during the hot sunny months. Some species (like Avocado, Citrus, and Mango) can have some compost this month, but organic fertilizers should wait until September when fruit are NOT on the branches. For a FREE planting guide for new fruit trees or how to layer mulch around existing trees, click here.
  • Important Fertilization Tips: Only fertilize at the beginning of this month using compost, bone meal, kelp, or composted manure (like black kow). Do NOT use chemical or synthetic fertilizers under any circumstances and absolutely STOP fertilizing your yard for the summer. Adding nitrogen heavy and synthetic fertilizers are known to highly increase the risk of toxic algae blooms. So, please do your part and only fertilize this month using whole ingredients, like those listed above. Do NOT fertilize the second half of the month – no exceptions. Though it might be “permissible” for your trees, it has a much more damaging effect on our local ecosystems – so compost ASAP or wait until September.
  • Ground cherry seedlings (or Cape Cod Gooseberry) can go into the ground now.  Plant them around the base of fruit trees to provide shade for the root systems, but allow enough light to get through to produce a harvest.  These will often self-seed, so plant in an area where you are ok with them spreading.  The taste of these berries is incredible, you will not regret planting them! Not to mention, they are packed with vitamin-C.
  • Herbs around fruit trees:  Woody and smelly herbs are great at two things:  keeping pests away (deer and bad bugs) and attracting native bees for pollination.  Wait, I lied… three things.  They are also a great ground cover under the young fruit trees.  Plant yarrow, bronze fennel, dill, oregano, thyme, chives, or garlic chives in clusters around the base of each fruit tree.  Let them spread and grow wild.
  • Harvest elderberry flowers:  If you are making elderflower tinctures, teas, or wine – now is your time to harvest!  Make the good stuff when flowers are at their peak.
  • Apply late spring foliar spray, if you have not done so already. It’s also a good time to try and get some elderberry cuttings for propagation.
  • Do NOT prune fruit trees! Never prune during the warmer months… wait until they go dormant. While the plant is sleeping, the sap slows down and the weather is often drier, which helps prevent bacterial and fungal infections.
Elderflower blossoms in Central Florida

Enjoy Flowers in bloom

Though this isn’t exactly the best time to plant native perennials, it’s a great time to enjoy the ones you started earlier. If you decide to plant anything this time of year, remember to check their water needs and mulch heavily. Never water until the soil has had the chance to try out for a day. If in doubt, finger check the soil down to your big knuckle.

In the Shed

  • Now that your tools are up and running, give them a check over before the summer months hit. 1 – Check oil levels. 2 – Check air filters. 3 – Add a bit of Seafoam to the gas to help clean things out a bit. Reoil your metal tools to prevent rust.
  • Make sure all outdoor tools and equipment are covered when not in use. In places like the South Eastern US, we are entering the rainy season and moisture is hard on equipment. If you cannot store them in a shed, make sure they are covered with a tarp when not in use.
  • Set mouse traps and keep any animal feed sealed and contained.
  • Make a tool cleaning bucket: Fill bucket with sharp play sand. Add oil motor oil, cheep cooking oils, etc until the sand is “damp”. Stab shovels, hoes, pitch forks in and out a few times to clean off dirt and give the metal a nice oiling to keep them from rusting after each use. Garden spades and trowels can be kept in the sand bucket when not in use. Obviously, do NOT put pruners or tools with gears in the sand.

In the Chicken Coop & Barn

  • Chickens:  Many folks who bought/hatched spring chickens are now free ranging their birds. They are not laying yet, so do NOT give them calcium.  Stay on an organic grower feed until the first eggs arrive.  My preference is a high protein feed with lots of seed varieties.   Personally, prefer to mix and ferment my own feed. Here’s my recipe.
  • Quail:  It’s starting to get hot, to be sure to keep their water filled at all times.  It helps (once a week) to add a tsp of apple cider vinegar to their waterer.  It will keep them healthy and active.  As you weed the garden, you can also give them an occasional worms and weeds for additional goodness in their diet.  Their cooing and songs will be as nice of a reward as the healthy eggs they will produce.
  • Deworm: Use 1 tablespoon of Basic H in a 5 gallon waterer (1 tsp per gal) for chickens. Add 1.5 cups to a 100gal waterer basin for cattle and horses. Available in bulk (much cheeper for farm use) This should be their only water source for two days.
  • Disinfect: Use Basic H to clean coops, animal areas, waterers, feeders, etc. This is a great time to power wash the barn, shed, and garage as well.
Feeders and seed in my yard are always from Wild Birds Unlimited, because I believe strongly in their quality and their support of local education and school connections.

Around the House

  • Put out summer bird seed and feeders. This is an excellent way to help with insect control around the garden. For more information on bird seed selections and food forest benefits, watch this IGTV video.
  • Keep South and West facing shades closed during the day time in order to block out the hot sun.
  • Open up the windows (on cooler nights) to help air out the house and let in fresh air.
  • Replace your AC air filters and clean out the vents with a shop vac.
  • Power wash cement, walkways, sides of house, shutters, wood decks, and outdoor furniture.
  • Clean outdoor windows and doors (I use Basic H for this).
  • Apply UV protectant to your recreational vehicles (boats, car interiors, RV’s, decals, etc.)

In the Perennial Flower Beds

  • Transplanting:  Now is NOT the time to transplant, unless you see rain in the forecast for the next week.
  • Compost! Now is the last chance to compost your perennial wildflowers before fall, so if you want to increase your summer blooms then go ahead and do that now. It’s also a great time to water using an organic fish emulsion / sea kelp blend. Your potted plants will REALLY appreciate this.
  • Cut back mums:  Yeah, go to town. Cut them back quite a bit.  Leave only about 1/3 of the plant.  You do NOT want this to develop buds yet, so if you see them forming again – give it a hair cut.

Ideas for Kids

  1. Take a food forest tour: Visit places like A Natural Farm, Momma G Farms, Bamboo Leaf Tea, or the Reid Farm. Bring the kids for an amazing hands on experience.
  2. Visit a botanical garden: Some of our favorites include Bok Tower and the Harry P. Leu Gardens.
  3. Make Butterfly Pea Flower tea! Google it… because it’s a magical color changing experience that tastes like Kool Aid. Seeds are available on Etsy from a company called “Seed the Stars”.
  4. Plant a sweet almond bush. This is (by far) one of the best smelling pollinating plants in all of Florida. Though it’s not native here, it’s a butterfly hit and performs very well in our climate. The almond smelling flowers produce year round, and the large bush needs NO winter protection.

Keep Learning and Growing

As you continue to spend time in the garden and food forest, consider subscribing to a new podcast or Youtube Channel to help you keep learning. If you are interested in digital classes, MP3’s, videos, and PDF’s, you might consider joining us on Patreon. We now have a FREE 7-day trial to see if it’s a good fit for you. But at the end of the day – just keep learning and growing on the go!

NOTE: If you are interested in having an in-person or digital consultation for your property, we are now offering these at discounted prices.

Looking for a list for USDA Zones 3-8, click here.

Posted on

June Gardening To-Do List for USDA Zones 3-8

June gardening calendar

June Gardening To-Do List

What should I be doing on my property in the month of June if I live in USDA Zones 3-8? Have you ever wondered what other organic regenerative gardeners are doing right now in their yards or on their properties?   (Looking for USDA Zones 9-11, click here)  Well, here’s a little list to give you a jump-start for what you be doing in your midwest garden in June.  

In the Garden

  • Plant more:  Kale, lettuce, cucumbers, summer/winter squash  Staggering your plantings will help diversify harvest times and ensure a healthier crop. If you have extra space, plug in some more annual flower seeds like sunflower, cosmos, zinnia, or nasturtium. 
  • To Plant:  Corn, cucumbers, beans, squash, pumpkins
  • Tomatoes: Plant another round of them to diversify harvest throughout the season.  In the midwest, where we often have hard clay soil, you can actually increase your root systems for greater water intake by following these easy steps.  First, pinch off the bottom layers of leaves, only leaving 2 – 3 sets on the top of the seedling.  Second, plant the seedling all the way up to the top of the plant leaving only the remaining leaves above the ground.  Because tomatoes will grow roots from the hairs on the stem, the entire stem under the soil will produce roots.  This should only be done with seedlings up to 6-8″ tall.  Lastly, be sure to give it a good watering from your rain barrel when you finish.
  • Plant extra bean seedlings everywhere you can.  Yes, everywhere you can.  The bush beans are excellent right off the plant (raw), can be cooked, and some can be dried.  The best part, in my humble opinion, is that the green beans are nitrogen fixers and help repair the soil.
Plant nasturtiums

TIP

Plant nasturtiums around the garden and in the food forest. They are a two-fold insectary plant. First, they will attract the good insect and pollinators, especially the braconid wasps (which defend against the bad guys). Secondly, they are an insect trap for aphids, so if you see your nasturtiums covered…. consider them a sacrificial crop to protect your veggies.

In the Greenhouse

  • We are essentially finished with the “Greenhouse” season, but if you have a shade cloth, you can actually open up all the windows now and put the shade cloth over the top. This will allow you to start micro-greens and other later season veggie starts. If using a shade cloth, you can also use the opened greenhouse for your indoor tropical plants to give them a season outdoors. Just be sure to pay attention to your watering!
  • Clean and sterilize the plastic pots used this winter / spring
  • Set mouse traps to control critters
  • Hang fly trap to control aphids, flies, and other pests
  • Fertilizing: It’s crucial to give your gardens and food forest what they need! Focus on nitrogen this month. Consider bonemeal or blood meal applications in both the veggie garden and food forest. It’s often best to fertilize right before a rain in order to water it in nicely.

In the Food Forest

  • Ground Cherry seedlings can go into the ground.  Plant them around the base of trees to provide shade for the root systems, but allow enough light to get through to produce a harvest.  These will often self-seed, so plant in an area where you are ok with them spreading.  However, the taste of these berries is incredible, you will not regret planting them.
  • Herbs around fruit trees:  Woody and smelly herbs are great at two things:  keeping pests away (deer and bad bugs) and attracting native bees for pollination.  Wait, I lied… three things.  They are also a great ground cover under the young fruit trees.  Plant yarrow, bronze fennel, dill, oregano, thyme, chives, or garlic chives in clusters around the base of each fruit tree.  Let them spread and grow wild.
  • Harvest elderberry flowers:  If you are making elderflower tinctures, teas, or wine – now is your time to harvest!  Make the good stuff when flowers are at their peak.
  • Apply late spring foliar spray, if you have not done so already.
What Can You Plant Between Snows?

Enjoy your spring pollinating bulbs that you planted this winter.

If you forgot… here’s an article of when you could plant this this coming winter.

In the Shed

  • Now that your tools are up and running, give them a check over before the summer months hit. 1 – Check oil levels. 2 – Check air filters. 3 – Add a bit of Seafoam to the gas to help clean things out a bit.
  • Set mouse traps and keep any animal feed sealed and contained.
  • Make a tool cleaning bucket: Fill bucket with sharp play sand. Add oil motor oil, cheep cooking oils, etc until the sand is “damp”. Stab shovels, hoes, pitch forks in and out a few times to clean off dirt and give the metal a nice oiling to keep them from rusting after each use. Garden spades and trowels can be kept in the sand bucket.

In the Chicken Coop

  • Chickens:  Many folks who bought the spring chickens are now free ranging their birds. They are not laying yet, so do NOT give calcium.  Stay on a great grower feed until the first eggs arrive.  My preference is a high protein feed with lots of seed varieties.   Personally, prefer to mix and ferment my own feed. Here’s my recipe.
  • Quail:  It’s starting to get hot, to be sure to keep their water filled at all times.  It helps (once a week) to add a tsp of apple cider vinegar to their waterer.  It will keep them healthy and active.  As you weed the garden, you can also give them an occasional worm for additional protein in their diet.  Their cooing and songs will be as nice of a reward as the healthy eggs they will produce.
  • Deworming: Use 1 tablespoon of Basic H in a 5 gallon waterer (1tsp per gal) for chickens. Add 1.5 cups to a 100gal waterer basin for cattle and horses. Available in bulk (much cheeper for farm use) This should be their only water source for two days.

Around the House

  • Keep South and West facing shades closed during the day time in order to block out the hot sun.
  • Open up the windows on cooler nights to help air out the house and let in fresh air.
  • Replace your AC air filters and clean out the vents with a shop vac.
  • Power wash cement, walkways, sides of house, shutters, wood decks, and outdoor furniture.
  • Clean outdoor windows and doors (I use Basic H for this)
  • Apply UV protectant to your recreational vehicles (boats, car interiors, RV’s, decals, etc.

In the Perennial Flower Beds

  • Transplanting:  It’s the chance to move perennials for a few months.  Once the Midwest summers get hot, it’s really a challenge to transplant your perennials without over stressing them too much.  Now is a GREAT time to transplant coneflowers, yarrow, black-eyed Susans, penstemons, etc.
  • Share plants that you are dividing and trade with friends.
  • Cut back mums:  Yeah, go to town. Cut them back quite a bit.  Leave only about 1/3 of the plant.  You do NOT want this to develop buds yet, so if you see them forming again – give it a hair cut.

Keep Learning and Growing!

During these hot summer days, it’s also a great time to keep learning and growing. Consider finding a new Podcast or even join us on Patreon for lots of classes, PDF files, and other documents to help you grow on the go. We are also offering a FREE 7-day trial on Patreon, so you can see if the content there is a good fit for you and your learning style.

LOOKING FOR THE JUNE LIST FOR WARMER CLIMATES? CLICK HERE

Posted on

How to Use Wood Ash from the Campfire | Kris Edler

wood ashes in the garden

Growing up, I have countless memories of cooking around the campfire.  My brother and I would spend hours at a time burning brush, cooking our dinners, and having s’mores after dark.  Even as a young adult, I would light a campfire in my Kansas City yard and see how many days I could keep it going, and how many meals I could cook over it during that time.  As a little known fact, I still have the same stones around my campfire that I used as a kid… I have brought them with me everywhere over the years.  Many of those rocks were from “rock hounding” adventures with my Aunt Barb and Uncle Del.

However, every so often, it’s time to clean out the fire pit and find a creative use for the ashes produced.  In permaculture, one of the keys learned from my PDC leader, Geoff Lawton, is that “the problem is often the solution.”  So, I asked myself… I could I use wood ash from the campfire creatively?  How could I give those nutrients back to my environment in a useful way?

img_7678When looking around a permaculture property, there are many uses for wood ash which can be a great source of nutrients for your soil.   However, it’s important to know that with wood ash, your kindergarten teacher was right in saying, “A little dab will do ya.”  Use only a small amount and increase after a few weeks to make sure your soil pH says in the safe zone.  The reason for this is that ashes are extremely alkaline on the pH scale.

Wood Ash is Highly Alkaline

pH for vegetables
best pH for vegetable garden

Because wood ash is a high pH (often 9-13), we have to carefully consider what to do with ashes in our garden.  Optimal soils for most vegetable gardens have a pH of 6.0-7.2, so adding something like wood ashes can have a drastic effect on pH and do so very quickly.  However, using it appropriately can really help nature walk out it’s course of keeping your soil in balance.

Wood ashes are naturally occurring in nature and are a great way for nature to “reset” an environment.  For example, in the Great Plains, the Kiowa Nations would often do controlled burns in order to reset and manage the land.  In California, as devastating as wild fires can be to homes, it’s actually natures way of resetting the damaged landscape and ridding it of invasive annuals that we have brought to the area.  In upstate Washington, the fires clear out understory and add nutrients back to the soil to feed the remaining old growth forests.  This being said, though fire can be a source of destruction, it’s also a source of life in certain circumstances.

Nutrients in Wood Ash

Potassium and potash are two of the prime nutrients are available from wood ash.  The burning process makes them readily available for absorption by your plants.  In fact, potash is so soluble that if it gets wet between the burning process and the time you spread it on your plants, much of the nutrient value will have leeched into the nearby soil.

How to Use Wood Ash in the Garden

There are countless ways to use wood ashes in your garden and around your property, but understanding the soil make-up of your area is the first step before application.  You can easily find out the average pH by purchasing a test kit from a  local garden center.  You can buy kits to test it instantly (lower accuracy) or purchase a kit online that will test it overnight to get a better reading.  Either way, once you know your starting point, you can adjust your pH using organic compounds, like wood ash, to get into the optimal range.  Remember, start by adding only a small amount and give the soil a few weeks to adjust before adding more.  It’s also important to note that various parts of the property could have very different pH readings.

So, now let’s get to it:  How to use wood ashes from the campfire…

1.  Use it in the compost pile

This is especially useful if you are composting a lot of fruit (i.e. citrus) waste, because fruit (being acidic) can really lower the pH of your pile, making it a wet / slimy mess.  You can bring it back into balance by sprinkling a shovel full of ashes over the top.  Always make sure your ashes are completely cool before using.

pH for trees and bushes
pH for trees and bushes

2.  Sprinkle them around berry bushes and fruit trees which prefer alkaline soil or extra potassium.

I generally use them first around apple trees, currants, gooseberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc.  They will enjoy the extra sprinkle a few times a year, especially in the early spring or late fall.  Do NOT use around blueberries, pineapple, grapes, olive, or jaboticaba – these all prefer acidic soil.

3.  Sprinkle on plants to deter pests

This application will only require a small amount of ashes to create a fine dusting.  If you do not have ducks to control snails and slugs, then wood ashes can be a great deterrent.  Carrots and turnips can also be susceptible to the flies and larvae, which can be deterred by the ashes as well.

4.  Light use in the vegetable garden

Often root crops like carrots, turnips, and beets will appreciate a sprinkle of ashes in the springtime worked into the soil.  Just a light dusting is more than enough.  I often use my wood ashes a few weeks before planting and then let it rain a few times before planting seeds.  Other plants that love the extra potash are beans, peas, and legumes.  Just remember, when using ashes in the garden, always test your soil first, so you stay in the optimal zone (6.0-7.2 pH) for growing veggies.

5.  Use them your lawn instead of lime

Wood ashes are a great substitute for adding lime to your lawn.  The easiest way to spread the ashes is to do so just before a good rain, so it soaks into the ground quickly.  This helps with the solubility and also prevents the dust from being tracked indoors or getting on your shoes.  I often use my grass seed spreader and put it on the lowest setting and broadcast the ashes that way.  Doing it by hand or with a shovel can often create piles in the grass which will over alkalize an area.

6.  Indoors to control odors or absorb moisture

Keeping a small bowl of wood ashes in a closet or cabinet will not only absorb odors, but it will also help absorb moisture and control mold.  Making a bowl with wood ash is great for keeping boats and campers fresh as well.

7.  Dust baths for poultry and fowl

One of the WORST homesteading tips I have ever seen is to use Diatomaceous Earth in it’s DRY form with animals.  These microscopic crustaceans are like mini razor blades that will do permanent damage to the lungs of your animals.   So instead of using DE… consider adding wood ashes to your chickens dust-bath.  The alkaline ashes will kill the dust mites, ticks, and fleas, etc and you don’t have to worry about the respiratory health of the animals.  Not to mention, ashes will also help control odors!

8.  Add to ponds and lakes to help control algae blooms

Add about one table spoon of ashes per 1000 gallons of water.  The ashes will not “kill” the algae, but it will slow it down and make it more manageable.

9.  Cleaning… yes… cleaning!

Wood ash can really help polish up brass and metal.  Making a paste and scrubbing down your silver might sound counter-productive – but trust me on this one!  You can also use wood ash in the garage and workshop as a way to clean up oil, gas, or chemical spills.

Sooooooo….

Now that you have a few good uses for those ashes, go outside, make a campfire and have a s’more (or three).  Permaculture is a judgement free zone… so let’s just promise to not star counting marshmallows.  Just make sure the ashes are cool before spreading.

Remember, the problem is often the solution.  Happy gardening.

Posted on

May Gardening To-Do List for USDA Zones 9-11

NOTE: This list is geared toward USDA Growing Zones 9-11. If you are looking for the May Gardening List for Zones 3-8, click here.

We are officially past any dangers of frost and cold, and now the warm part of spring is certainly upon us! In many subtropical regions, this late spring season is often very dry, which can make it challenging in the garden and food forest. The rainy season, in places like Central Florida, is generally from the last week of May to the first week of October. So, for many folks, until rainy season arrives, our time is consumed with harvesting the last of the spring vegetables and daily checking gardens for watering needs.

Remember (especially in Florida), you cannot water gardens and fruit trees very well on a “perfect schedule”. Because of temperature fluctuations, wind, humidity, and other elements the length of time between watering can vary dramatically. Anyone who tells you to just water every day is going to have major issues as the season progresses.

Here is how to water properly

Use the “Finger Test” to see if your plants actually need water. Never just assume that they do. Put your finger in the soil down to the second knuckle. If it’s dry, then go ahead and water. However, if you feel coolness or moisture – then let it be. Generally speaking, most plants (especially fruit trees and berry bushes) actually like to dry out a bit between waterings.

“As a practice, it’s far better to water LESS frequently and MORE deeply.

Doing this will help establish a healthier root system and overall plant.”

-KRIS EDLER | PERMACULTUREFX FOUNDER

So, get ready for an exciting month! May is the time when our region makes the shift from “annual vegetable gardening” being the focus to a primary focus on perennial production from our fruit trees and berry bushes. So here is your May Gardening To-Do List to help you jumpstart your late-spring projects. For some, it may be helpful to print out this list and hang it somewhere to refer to it each week to check progress.

NOTE: This list is geared toward USDA Growing Zones 9-11. If you are looking for the May Gardening List for Zones 3-8, click here.

Tropic Beauty Peach
Tropic Beauty Peach | Self-pollinating, hardy to 20 degrees, low chill hours, deliciously sweet and juicy.

May Gardening To-Do List for USDA Zones 9-11

In the Garden & Greenhouse

  • Fertilizing the vegetable garden: If you have not applied a late spring probiotic to your soil or as a foliar spray, then now is the time to do that! This application will increase the health of your soil microbiome, give plants a better chance at fighting off disease and fungus, and is a proactive way to address garden pests before they do any damage. BioAg is my preferred spray for this.
  • To plant: Okra, potatoes, sweet potatoes, summer beans / peas, and Seminole pumpkin. The prime vegetable planting season is now almost over for sub-tropical zones, so it’s time to plant your cover crop. We recommend planting Sunn Hemp at the end of the month as a nitrogen-fixing cover-crop that can be tilled into the soil in August.
  • Tropical Spinaches: It’s time to plant tropical spinaches like longevity spinach, Okinawa, Surinam, Jewels of Opar, Brazilian Sisso, etc!
  • Salad Trees & Hibiscus: In this climate, some of the best edible greens actually grow as trees or bushes during the hot weather months. Some of our favorites include: South Sea Salad, Bele Hibiscus, Roselle (Jamaican Sorrel), Cranberry Hibiscus, and Katuk, and Kenaf.
  • To harvest: Salad greens, kale, tropical spinaches, last of the peas, beets, turnips, etc. Harvest tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, etc. When they start to struggle because of heat and/or powdery mildew – just put the garden to bed and cover crop it until after the rainy season. Focus on fruit trees, berry bushes, and edible tropical plants for the summer.
  • Compost: Turn pile 1x per week.
    • NOTE: For most people an outdoor compost pile doesn’t really generate a lot. However, using a worm bin (like the ones from Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm), can provide worm tea which creates way more bang for your buck. For most families, composting worms are going to give you a better result than a mere compost pile.
  • Cover Crops: For garden beds that are being put to rest for the summer, this is a great time to plant a cover crop. Sunn Hemp is in the legume family and does an excellent job with this. Not only will it grow 8-10′ tall by August, but produces gorgeous blooms and actually repairs the soil. Sunn Hemp repairs the soil in two ways. First, it fixes atmospheric nitrogen into the soil with nodules on the roots, which interact with bacteria in the soil. Secondly, when you till it in (or bury it) in your garden later in August, it will add much needed biomass to your soil. It can be used as animal fodder, but must be fed to livestock before it flowers.
Sunn Hemp Cover Crop

In the Food Forest

  • Consider probiotics for your garden and yard (if you didn’t do it last month) FREE 11-minute talk on probiotics for the yard, click here.
  • Plant new fruit trees and berry bushes. Here is a step-by-step process (with diagram) of how to plant a fruit tree or berry bush. Some of the info may surprise you. This is a great time to plant avocado, mango, strawberry tree and other tropical trees. Planting this time of year gives them 7-8 months to root in and settle before winter. It should be noted that you will need to water more often until rainy season starts.
  • Ginger and Tumeric: Time to get those bad boys back into the ground! Remember, they love shade and LOTS of neglect. They also do much better in the ground (instead of pots), so plop them down, add some mulch on top, and walk away!
  • Harvest (and enjoy): peaches, nectarines, plums, mulberries, strawberry tree, moringa leaves / flowers, elderberry, blueberries, jaboticaba, cattleya guava (in some areas). Anyone else in food forest heaven, yet?!
  • Apply mulch (wood chips) to any areas that need it. Fruit trees like to have 4-6″ of wood chips around the base (extending all the way to the drip line). Remember to keep mulch a few inches back from the truck, because you don’t want the decomposing wood touching your tree.
  • Pruning: NO major pruning once trees flower. After they awaken for the spring, there is a lot of sap flowing, so you don’t want to cause a fungal or bacterial issue by pruning this time of year. Pruning should be done during late winter dormancy, so if you haven’t pruned fruit trees yet, it’s best to wait at this point. You can, however, still prune pines, decorative shrubs, and ornamental trees now.
The Strawberry Tree (or Jamaican cherry) is a new favorite! The fruit is low in sugar, high in vitamin-C, and (get this) it tastes like strawberry skittles or cotton candy. Grows best in Zones 9b-12 and produces fruit from April – Decemeber. (Photographer unknown)

In the Shed

  • Put out yellow jacket and fly traps
  • Reset mouse / rat traps (peppermint essential oil on a cotton ball in storage areas will also repel them)
  • Spring cleaning time: Go through a couple storage areas this month and recycle, donate, and reorganize. Steward what you have with excellence.

Livestock

  • Water rotations: In nature, animals don’t drink out of the purified, and chemically treatred tap. Sometimes their water is from a rain puddle, but other times from a stream or pond. To help mimic this and give their immune system a boost, try doing something different every time you refill their water.
    • Apple Cider Vinegar: 1 tsp per gallon
    • Honey: 1 TBSP per gallon
    • BioIivestock Probiotic: Dilution rate on bottle depending on species
    • Herbs: Add fresh oregano, thyme, rosemary, etc to their water to make a “tea”
    • Rainwater
  • Spring Chickens: This is a great time to add to the flock by either purchasing heritage breeds or hatching your own. Whatever you do, stay away from Cornish Rock or Cornish Cross “meat birds”… more on that to come. It’s also an ideal time to add rabbits, quail, or other animals into your system.
  • Dogs: It’s time for spring check-ups on the fur babies. Once they are up to date on their appointments, go support a local groomer and send them to the doggie spa for a day. NOTE: I’d give a tip on cats… but the only thing I can think of is how much I don’t like them. Sorry, not sorry.

In the Pasture

  • Plant: Last chance to plant Timothy grass, perennial peanut, wildflower mixes, tobacco, clover mixes, and alfalfa can still be planted in some regions. Due to the usual dry weather this time of year, supplemental watering may be needed.
  • Hay / Straw: Any rotting or wet bales can be used in the garden or food forest as deep mulch. It can be spread 5-7″ thick in areas that are going to be “future” garden beds in order to prep the soil. First, roll out contractor paper (usually found in the paint section of a hardware store) over the grass and then cover with the straw or other mulch. This is a great opportunity to do “layer mulching” if you have other materials available.
New food forest installation example. There are three 100′ long rows of fruit trees, berry bushes, and native pollinators with over 90 plants. These rows have been layered with contractor paper (for weed suppression), 1″ of compost, and 6″ deep of wood chip mulch. The rows are 3′ wide. Between the lanes, the grass has been removed and reseeded with a clover mix (and lightly covered with straw).

Around the House and Perennial Beds

  • Power washing time: Use an organic soap (like Basic H) to power-wash the house, sidewalks, and other recreational vehicles.
  • Cut back last years growth: Remove any dead material left over from last fall and add to the compost pile.
  • Fertilize flower beds: Use kelp, blood meal, and/or fish emulsion. I like to use blood meal in March/April and then in May/June use bone meal. Kelp and fish emulsion can be used anytime during the growing season. Alternatively, apply a 1/2″ layer of compost to flower beds or at the base of each flower. Keep away from the stems, so it doesn’t “burn”.
  • Perennial Flowers: Using native wildflowers is so much easier than annuals, not to mention will save you money because they come back every year. Here are some of our favorites!
  • Air out the house: On a day you are home, open up every window in the house and turn on fans to circulate fresh air into the house. Change the filters in the HVAC system for the spring months. This is also a great time to vacuum out floor vents and air returns.
  • Clean out the freezer and disinfect really well. It’s often best to do this the day before garbage day, so you can take old items directly to the road.
Bele Hibiscus (aka Mahoe Hibiscus Tree): Delicious, edible leaves that are great in soups, stews, salads, or used for dolmas. Flowers are also edible (fresh). Grows in zones 9-12 in part sun to full shade.

Kids & Family Ideas

  • Nature Hike: Create a mini-scavenger hunt before going on your nature hike. Have kids look for things like: a feather, a seed pod, a leaf bigger than their hand, a cool rock, a weird stick, etc.
  • Wild Bird Feeding
    • Set out orange halves and grape jelly for the arriving orioles
    • Put hummingbird feeders out on April 15th (never use the kind with red dye), and be sure to change the water in them every week.
    • Hang a new birdhouse for spring nesting season
    • Add white millet to feeders to attract indigo buntings (bright blue birds)
  • Local Farm Visit: Many local farms offer free tours, kids activities, etc. Look up a local farm to visit in your area and give your kiddos exposure to the animals, crops, and fruit trees.
April gardening list peaches
Tropic Beauty Peach in Central Florida

See you in the garden

As always, thanks for taking time to join on the gardening and permaculture journey. Be sure to check out the continual flow of content available via our social media channels. Remember, PermacultureFX also does both in person AND virtual consulting (using facetime, zoom, satellite images, etc.). We’d love to help you get a plan for your property and help you create abundance and wonder.

For those looking for on-going homestead mentorship, online permaculture classes, and access to our ever-growing library of resources – consider becoming a member of our Patreon Community. The Abundance Tier even has a FREE 7-Day Trial, so you can bing watch and see if it’s a good fit for you.

Lastly, if this article was helpful, consider sharing on social media (or with your garden groups) to help set others up to win on their property.

Happy spring, and I’ll see you in the Garden!

– Kristofer Edler

Posted on

May Gardening To-Do List for Zones 3-8

NOTE: This list is geared toward USDA Growing Zones 3-8. If you are looking for the May Gardening List for Zones 9-11, click here.

We are ALMOST THERE… almost past the dangers of frost. In zones 3-5, it could still frost as late as Memorial Day, however in zones 6-7 it’s probably safe by now (fingers crossed). This time of year can be tricky, so I usually try to not put all my eggs in one basket. Stagger your planting by a week or two for each type of crop. Maybe start putting out some of the more cold tolerant plants in batches and even sneak in one or two tomato plants (if you are in zones 6-7), but be patient and don’t plant everything all at once. This will give you a buffer crop in case there is another cold snap, but will also stagger your ripening times.

In the springtime, watering is important, especially as new plants are getting established. However, because the day-to-day temps fluctuate so much, it’s important to water properly (and only as needed)

Here is how to water properly

Use the “Finger Test” to see if your plants actually need water. Never just assume that they do. Put your finger in the soil down to the second knuckle. If it’s dry, then go ahead and water. However, if you feel coolness or moisture – then let it be. Generally speaking, most plants (especially fruit trees and berry bushes) actually like to dry out a bit between waterings.

“As a practice, it’s far better to water LESS frequently and MORE deeply.

Doing this will help establish a healthier root system and overall plant.”

-KRIS EDLER | PERMACULTUREFX FOUNDER

So, get ready for an exciting month. Gardening season is officially here. Here is your May Gardening To-Do List to help you jumpstart your spring projects.

NOTE: This list is geared toward USDA Growing Zones 3-8. If you are looking for the May Gardening List for Zones 9-11, click here.

Tropic Beauty Peach
Reminder: Be sure to dormant spray those fruit trees before the flowers get into full swing. At the very least, spray with neem, basic H, and a probiotic.

May Gardening To-Do List for USDA Zones 3-8

In the Garden & Greenhouse

  • Probiotics for the vegetable garden: If you have not applied a spring probiotic to your soil or as a foliar spray, then now is the time to do that! This application will increase the health of your soil microbiome, give plants a better chance at fighting off disease and fungus, and is a proactive way to address garden pests before they do any damage. BioAg is my preferred spray for this.
  • To plant: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, beans, peas, corn, cucumbers, and other warm season crops.
  • To harvest: Salad greens, kale, radishes, beets, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, snow peas. You can also keep harvesting the asparagus until the spear size decreases. Then leave it to grow into a “fern” to feed the plant for next season.
  • Compost: Turn pile 1-2x per week.
    • NOTE: For most people an outdoor compost pile doesn’t really generate a lot. However, using a worm bin (like the ones from Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm), can provide worm tea which creates way more bang for your buck. For most families, composting worms are going to give you a better result than a mere compost pile.
  • Cover Crops: For many food forest areas, it is a great time to plant cover crops in the lanes for grass and weed suppression. Here are some of our favorite for the Midwest: CLICK HERE
White Clover as a cover crop for food forests or “grass replacement”

In the Food Forest

  • Consider probiotics for your garden and yard (if you didn’t do it last month) FREE 11-minute talk on probiotics for the yard, click here.
  • Plant new fruit trees and berry bushes. Here is a step-by-step process (with diagram) of how to plant a fruit tree or berry bush. Some of the info may surprise you. This is a great time to plant peach, plum, apple, pear, persimmon, paw paw, etc. Planting this time of year gives them 7-8 months to root in and settle before winter. It should be noted that you will need to water more often until rainy season starts.
  • Harvest (and enjoy): Spring mushrooms (i.e. morels), fiddlehead ferns, wild ramps, lungwort.
  • Apply mulch (wood chips) to any areas that need it. Fruit trees like to have 6-8″ deep wood chips around the base (extending all the way to the drip line). Remember to keep mulch a few inches back from the truck, because you don’t want the decomposing wood touching your tree. Garden beds prefer straw as a mulch, because when it decomposes it’s a bacterially based structure.
  • Pruning: NO major pruning once trees flower. So if your trees are still dormant – get that pruning in NOW!
apple orchard care in kansas city
Apple Tree from The Giving Grove in Kansas City, MO

In the Shed

  • Clean off tools, re-oil, and remove rust
  • Reset mouse / rat traps (peppermint essential oil on a cotton ball in storage areas will also repel them)
  • Use leaf blower to clean out corners and dust piles from the winter months
  • Spring cleaning time: Go through a couple storage areas this month and recycle, donate, and reorganize. Steward what you have with excellence.

Livestock

  • Water rotations: In nature, animals don’t drink out of the purified, and chemically treatred tap. Sometimes their water is from a rain puddle, but other times from a stream or pond. To help mimic this and give their immune system a boost, try doing something different every time you refill their water.
    • Apple Cider Vinegar: 1 tsp per gallon
    • Honey: 1 TBSP per gallon
    • BioIivestock Probiotic: Dilution rate on bottle depending on species
    • Herbs: Add fresh oregano, thyme, rosemary, etc to their water to make a “tea”
    • Rainwater
  • Spring Chickens: This is a great time to add to the flock by either purchasing heritage breeds or hatching your own. Whatever you do, stay away from Cornish Rock or Cornish Cross “meat birds”… more on that to come. It’s also an ideal time to add rabbits, quail, or other animals into your system.
  • Dogs: It’s time for spring check-ups on the fur babies. Once they are up to date on their appointments, go support a local groomer and send them to the doggie spa for a day. NOTE: I’d give a tip on cats… but the only thing I can think of is how much I don’t like them. Sorry, not sorry.

In the Pasture

  • Plant: Clovers, chicory, rye, turnips, radishes, wheat, oats, etc.
  • Hay / Straw: Any rotting or wet bales can be used in the garden or food forest as deep mulch. It can be spread 5-7″ thick in areas that are going to be “future” garden beds in order to prep the soil. First, roll out contractor paper (usually found in the paint section of a hardware store) over the grass and then cover with the straw or other mulch. This is a great opportunity to do “layer mulching” if you have other materials available.
New food forest installation example. There are three 100′ long rows of fruit trees, berry bushes, and native pollinators with over 90 plants. These rows have been layered with contractor paper (for weed suppression), 1″ of compost, and 6″ deep of wood chip mulch. The rows are 3′ wide. Between the lanes, the grass has been removed and reseeded with a clover mix (and lightly covered with straw).

Around the House and Perennial Beds

  • Power washing time: Use an organic soap (like Basic H) to power-wash the house, sidewalks, and other recreational vehicles.
  • Cut back last years growth: Remove any dead material left over from last fall and add to the compost pile.
  • Fertilize flower beds: Use kelp, blood meal, and/or fish emulsion. I like to use blood meal in March/April and then in May/June use bone meal. Kelp and fish emulsion can be used anytime during the growing season. Alternatively, apply a 1/2″ layer of compost to flower beds or at the base of each flower. Keep away from the stems, so it doesn’t “burn”.
  • Perennial Flowers: Using native wildflowers is so much easier than annuals, not to mention will save you money because they come back every year. Here are some of our favorites!
  • Annual Flowers: Plant annual flowers for pops of color. Limit the number of annuals, because most of them are ‘sterile’ and provide no benefit to native insects and butterflies. Consider doing 80%+ native perennials and wildflowers to better support the local ecosystem.
  • Air out the house: On a day you are home, open up every window in the house and turn on fans to circulate fresh air into the house. Change the filters in the HVAC system for the spring months. This is also a great time to vacuum out floor vents and air returns.
  • House Plants: Move houseplants outdoors once evening temps are above 50 degrees. Start in full shade and then gradually increase the sunlight exposure over a few weeks. Fertilize with fish emulsion and sea kelp once they are outside.
  • Clean out the freezer and disinfect really well. It’s often best to do this the day before garbage day, so you can take old items directly to the road.
Bele Hibiscus (aka Auntie Lilli’s South Sea Salad Tree): Delicious, edible leaves that are great in soups, stews, salads, or used for dolmas. Flowers are also edible (fresh). Grows in zones 9-12 in part sun to full shade as a perennial, but can be grown in zones 3-8 as an annual.

Kids & Family Ideas

  • Nature Hike: Create a mini-scavenger hunt before going on your nature hike. Have kids look for things like: a feather, a seed pod, a leaf bigger than their hand, a cool rock, a weird stick, etc.
  • Wild Bird Feeding
    • Set out orange halves and grape jelly for the arriving orioles
    • Put hummingbird feeders out on April 15th (never use the kind with red dye), and be sure to change the water in them every week.
    • Hang a new birdhouse for spring nesting season
    • Add white millet to feeders to attract indigo buntings (bright blue birds)
  • Local Farm Visit: Many local farms offer free tours, kids activities, etc. Look up a local farm to visit in your area and give your kiddos exposure to the animals, crops, and fruit trees.

See you in the garden

As always, thanks for taking time to join on the gardening and permaculture journey. Be sure to check out the continual flow of content available via our social media channels. Remember, PermacultureFX also does virtual consulting (using Facetime, zoom, satellite images, etc.). We’d love to help you get a plan for your property and help you create abundance and wonder.

Also, if you are looking for on-going property and homestead mentorship, online classes, and access to our resource library, be sure to check our our Patreon. The abundance tier even has a FREE 7-Day Trial, so you can bing watch and see if it’s a good fit for you.

If this article was helpful, consider sharing on social media (or with your garden groups) to help set others up to win on their property. Happy spring, and I’ll see you in the garden!

– Kristofer Edler

Posted on

April Gardening To-Do List (Zones 9-11)

Spring is officially in motion and is showing off with all her glory. The flowers are blooming, the bees & butterflies have awakened from their slumber, and fruit is beginning to ripen in the food forest. Right now, the mango trees are finishing their blooming and have started to set fruit. Avocado trees are blooming and stone fruits are beginning to grow! One of my favorite things to do in the springtime is to visit local garden centers and see what is new for the coming growing season. Even though I usually gravitate toward native wildflowers and perennials, I often splurge on a few annual flowers or herbs to add splashes of color. Not to mention, I always seem to find one more place to hang a bird feeder or bird house. There is something about walking around a local (and independently owned) nursery that makes the gardeners heart come alive. Maybe it’s seeing others with the same plant addiction… I mean passion… yeah… passion. Or maybe it’s the plants themselves that make me feel alive on the inside. This is the season that my inner hobbit comes to life again and I start dreaming of the spring fruiting that is right around the corner.

In the midst of the busyness of the season though, it always helps to stay organized. So here is your April Gardening To-Do List to help you jumpstart your spring projects. For me it’s helpful to print out this list and hang it somewhere so I can refer to it each week to check my progress, but do whatever is best for you.

Be sure to comment below and give this article a share to other gardeners who might be interested.

NOTE: This list is geared toward USDA Growing Zones 9-11. If you are looking for the April Gardening List for Zones 3-8, click here.

April gardening list turmeric
curcuma zedoaria (Spicy White)

April Gardening To-Do List for USDA Zones 9-11

In the Garden & Greenhouse

  • Fertilizing the vegetable garden: Remember, we are what we eat, so stay away from both chemical and synthetic fertilizers. My top choice to fertilize is always to apply compost (regular for veggies and mushroom based for fruit trees and berry bushes). If you do not have access to organic compost, then my second choice for this time of year is usually a rotation of worm tea, blood meal, azomite, fish emulsion, kelp, or other “whole ingredient” fertilizers that are high in NITROGEN. Unfortunately, even some name brand organic fertilizers are hiding things like MSG under the name “soy protein hydrolysate”. So, use wisdom when picking out the best fertilizers for you and your family.
  • To plant: Cabbage, sweet potatoes, potatoes, Swiss chard, beans (all kinds), corn, squash, watermelon, okra, tomatoes (up to zone 9a only), herbs (all zones), nasturtiums, edible flowers. You can also plant cosmos, zinnia, sunflowers, etc.
  • To harvest: Salad greens, kale, tropical spinaches, snow peas, daikon, radishes, beets, herbs.
  • Compost: Turn pile 1-2x per week.
    • NOTE: For most people an outdoor compost pile doesn’t really generate a lot. However, using a worm bin (like the ones from The Worm Nerd online), can provide worm tea which creates way more bang for your buck. For most families, composting worms are going to give you a better result.
April gardening list raised beds
Raised beds being planted at Empower School and Farm

In the Food Forest

  • Prune back brambles (raspberries and blackberries)
  • Apply a late spring foliar spray.
  • Consider probiotics for your garden and yard. FREE 11-minute talk on probiotics for the yard, click here.
  • Plant new fruit trees and berry bushes. Here is a step-by-step process (with diagram) of how to plant a fruit tree or berry bush. Some of the info may surprise you. This is a great time to plant avocado, mango, strawberry tree and other tropical trees. Planting this time of year gives them 7-8 months to root in and settle before winter.
  • Pinch off “first year fruit”. Never let a fruit tree produce fruit the first year that it is in the ground. Remove any fruit so all the energy goes to establishing a heathy root system. Even leaving a single fruit will cause the nutrient requirements of the tree to change, so make sure to remove all fruit the first year it’s in the ground. This is soooo hard to do, but it will help create a much healthier tree in the long-run.
  • Apply mulch (wood chips) to any areas that need it. Fruit trees like to have 4-6″ of wood chips around the base (extending all the way to the drip line). This helps conserve moisture, but also creates a rich fungal compost at the base of the tree. Remember, keep mulch a few inches back from the truck, because you don’t want the decomposing wood touching your tree.
  • Pruning: NO pruning once trees flower. After they awaken for the spring, there is a lot of sap flowing. You don’t want to cause a fungal or bacterial issue by pruning this time of year. Pruning should be done during late winter dormancy, so if you haven’t pruned fruit trees yet, it’s best to wait. You can, however, still prune pines, decorative shrubs, and ornamental trees now.
April gardening list foliar spray
Spring foliar spray being applied by a permaculture design course participant in 2021 at Empower School and Farm.

In the Shed

  • Use Seafoam in the gas tank of all small engines as you start them for the first time this year. Seafoam will help clean out all the lines and help things run more smoothly as you enter the gardening season.
  • Check hand tools: If you oiled your garden tools before winter, everything should be ready to rock. However, if you forgot, you might need to use sandpaper to clean the rust off. Oil them up when you are finished to protect them. This is a great time to sharpen shovels and other tools with a grinder or dremel tool. Use linseed oil on handles to give everything a fresh look for the season.
  • Check for mold: Winter months and bad airflow can often result in a bit of mold. Look inside totes and stored items in the shed to make sure there is no mold or off-smelling areas. Open up the garage and shed on a day you are there to let things air out.
Cattley Guava – tart strawberry flavor, very hardy.

Livestock

  • Water rotations: In nature, animals don’t drink out of the purified tap. Sometimes their water is from a rain puddle, but other times from a stream or pond. To help mimic this and give their immune system a boost, try doing something different every time you refill their water.
    • Apple Cider Vinegar: 1 tsp per gallon
    • Honey: 1 TBSP per gallon
    • BioIivestock Probiotic: Dilution rate on bottle depending on species
    • Herbs: Add fresh oregano, thyme, rosemary, etc to their water to make a “tea”
    • Rainwater
  • Deworming Cattle / Horses: 1-1.5 cups of Basic H per 100 gallon watering container OR 1TBSP per gallon for chickens, goats, lamb.
  • Nesting box boosters: For a little treat in your nesting boxes, consider adding fresh or dried flower petals and herbs. Fennel, cilantro, and parsley are great laying stimulants. Remember, with spring rains, it is important to change bedding frequently and make sure everything remains dry and clean.
Surinam Spinach – Edible leaves and flowers, high protein, B -vitamins, and minerals.
Okinawa spinach
Okinawa spinach – Edible tropical spinach that love more shaded areas. Delicious in soups, stews, or scrambled eggs.

In the Pasture

  • Plant: Timothy grass, perennial peanut, wildflower mixes, tobacco, clovers, alfalfa.
  • Hay / Straw: Any rotting or wet bales can be used in the garden or food forest as deep mulch. It can be spread 5-7″ thick in areas that are going to be “future” garden beds in order to prep the soil. First, roll out contractor paper (usually found in the paint section of a hardware store) over the grass and then cover with the straw or other mulch. This is a great opportunity to do “layer mulching” if you have other materials available.
pond and pasture

Around the House and Perennial Beds

  • Flower pots from last year should be emptied and refreshed. Old soil can be put in a wheel barrow and have new compost mixed in. You can also empty old soil directly onto the compost pile to let it refresh over the next month or so. Wash flower pots well with an organic soap to kill any remaining bacteria before adding new soil and planting fresh plants.
  • Cut back last years growth: Remove any dead material left over from last fall and add to the compost pile.
  • Clean up bananas: It’s finally time to cut back the dead leaves and branches from bananas and other fruit trees. Removing dead leaves this time of year will help prevent rot and fungal issues. Not to mention, getting rid of the dead makes everything look a lot better.
  • Fertilize flower beds: Use kelp, bone meal, blood meal, and/or fish emulsion. I like to use blood meal in March/April and then in May/June use bone meal. Kelp and fish emulsion can be used anytime during the growing season. Alternatively, apply a 1/2″ layer of compost to flower beds or at the base of each flower. Keep away from the stems, so it doesn’t “burn”.
  • Annual Flowers: Plant some pops of color around the garden. Use as many native wildflowers and perennials as possible, because the vast majority of annuals do NOT provide nectar for bees and butterflies. However, using them sparingly can still give lasting bursts of color. Some annual flowers (nasturtiums, marigolds, calendula, etc.) are also edible and medicinal and can even be used as vegetable companion plants.
  • Air out the house: On a day you are home, open up every window in the house and turn on fans to circulate fresh air into the house. Change the filters in the HVAC system for the spring months. This is also a great time to vacuum out floor vents and air returns.
  • Check / replace smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries
  • Clean out the refrigerator and disinfect shelves. It’s often best to do this the day before garbage day, so you can take old items directly to the road.
dill herb
Dill – used for culinary purposes, as a pollinator, and in chicken nesting areas as a laying stimulant.

Kids & Family Ideas

  • Visit a local arboretum or community garden: Often these will have special programs for kids and families.
  • Wild Bird Feeding
    • Set out orange halves and grape jelly for the arriving orioles
    • Put hummingbird feeders out on April 15th (never use the kind with red dye), and be sure to change the water in them every week.
    • Hang a new birdhouse for spring nesting season
    • Add white millet to feeders to attract indigo buntings (bright blue birds)
  • Decorate a garden corner and create a gnome or fairy garden. Personally, I can’t get enough garden gnomes hidden in the flower beds or at the base of fruit trees.
  • Spring flower drawing or painting: Pick a flower or two for each kid and have them draw or paint it. When they finish, frame the artwork and hang for seasonal decorations in the house.
April gardening list peaches
Tropic Beauty Peach in Central Florida
CLICK HERE to Receive These Monthly Lists via Email

See you in the garden

As always, thanks for taking time to join on the gardening and permaculture journey. Be sure to check out the continual flow of content available via our social media channels.

Remember, we also do personal farm and property consultations and this is the PERECT time of year for this! We’d love to help you get a proactive plan for your property and help you create abundance and wonder.

And for those wanting longer-term property mentorship, training, and online classes – we now offer a Patreon Community with an ever-growing library of resources with varying membership levels.

If this article was helpful, consider sharing on social media (or with your garden groups) to help set others up to win on their property. Happy spring, and I’ll see you in the garden!

– Kristofer Edler

Posted on

April Gardening To-Do List (Zones 3-8)

Spring is officially in motion and is showing off with all her glory. The flowers are blooming, the bees have awakened from their slumber, and the gardening season is upon us. It seems like the winter snow was both yesterday and three months ago, all at the same time. One of my favorite things to do in the springtime is to visit local garden centers and see what is new for the coming growing season. Even though I usually gravitate toward native wildflowers and perennials, I often splurge on a few annual flowers or herbs to add splashes of color. Not to mention, I always seem to find one more place to hang a bird feeder or bird house. There is something about walking around a local (and independently owned) nursery that makes the gardeners heart come alive. Maybe it’s seeing others with the same plant addiction… I mean passion… yeah… passion. Or maybe it’s the plants themselves that make me feel alive on the inside. This is the season that my inner hobbit comes to life again after the winter slumber.

In the midst of the busyness of the season though, it always helps to stay organized. So here is your April Gardening To-Do List to help you jumpstart your spring projects. For me it’s helpful to print out this list and hang it somewhere so I can refer to it each week to check my progress, but do whatever is best for you.

Be sure to comment below and give this article a share to other gardeners who might be interested.

NOTE: This list is geared toward USDA Growing Zones 3-8. If you are looking for the April Gardening List for Zones 9-11, click here.

April gardening list spring flowers
Hyacinth, hosta, lungwort, bleeding heart

April Gardening To-Do List for USDA Zones 3-8

In the Garden & Greenhouse

  • Fertilizing the vegetable garden: Remember, we are what we eat, so stay away from both chemical and synthetic fertilizers. My top choice to fertilize is always to apply compost (regular for veggies and mushroom based for fruit trees and berry bushes). If you do not have access to organic compost, then my second choice for this time of year is usually a rotation of worm tea, blood meal, azomite, fish emulsion, or kelp. Unfortunately, even some name brand organic fertilizers are hiding things like MSG under the name “soy protein hydrolysate”. So, use wisdom when picking out the best fertilizers for you and your family.
  • To plant: carrots, radishes, beets, onions, asparagus, rhubarb, a few nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants). Wait to plant the majority of nightshades until after the last frost date in your region, but sometimes you can get a buffer crop if you stagger planting and the weather stays warm.
  • To harvest: Salad greens, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, mustards, peas, asparagus, and rhubarb
  • Compost: Turn pile 1-2x per week.
    • NOTE: For most people an outdoor compost pile doesn’t really generate a lot. However, using a worm bin (like the ones from the Worm Nerd online), can provide worm tea which creates way more bang for your buck. For most families, composting worms are going to give you a better result.
April gardening list raised beds
Raised beds being planted at Empower School and Farm

In the Food Forest

  • Prune back brambles (raspberries and blackberries)
  • Apply a late spring foliar spray.
  • Consider probiotics for your garden and yard. FREE 11-minute talk on probiotics for the yard, click here.
  • Plant new fruit trees and berry bushes. Here is a step-by-step process (with diagram) of how to plant a fruit tree or berry bush. Some of the info may surprise you.
  • Pinch off “first year fruit”. Never let a fruit tree produce fruit the first year that it is in the ground. Remove any fruit so all the energy goes to establishing a heathy root system. Even leaving a single fruit will cause the nutrient requirements of the tree to change, so make sure to remove all fruit the first year it’s in the ground. This is soooo hard to do, but it will help create a much healthier tree in the long-run.
  • Apply mulch (wood chips) to any areas that need it. Fruit trees like to have 4-6″ of wood chips around the base (extending all the way to the drip line). This helps conserve moisture, but also creates a rich fungal compost at the base of the tree. Remember, keep mulch a few inches back from the truck, because you don’t want the decomposing wood touching your tree.
  • Pruning: NO pruning once trees flower. After they awaken for the spring, there is a lot of sap flowing. You don’t want to cause a fungal or bacterial issue by pruning this time of year. Pruning should be done during late winter dormancy, so if you haven’t pruned fruit trees yet, it’s best to wait. You can, however, still prune pines, decorative shrubs, and ornamental trees now.
April gardening list foliar spray
Spring foliar spray being applied by a permaculture design course participant in 2021 at Empower School and Farm.

In the Shed

  • Use Seafoam in the gas tank of all small engines as you start them for the first time this year. Seafoam will help clean out all the lines and help things run more smoothly as you enter the gardening season.
  • Check hand tools: If you oiled your garden tools before winter, everything should be ready to rock. However, if you forgot, you might need to use sandpaper to clean the rust off. Oil them up when you are finished to protect them. This is a great time to sharpen shovels and other tools with a grinder or dremel tool. Use linseed oil on handles to give everything a fresh look for the season.
  • Check for mold: Winter months and bad airflow can often result in a bit of mold. Look inside totes and stored items in the shed to make sure there is no mold or off-smelling areas. Open up the garage and shed on a day you are there to let things air out.
April gardening list lungwort
Lungwort – this spring flower has leaves that can be used fresh as a tea to break up congestion and help lung health.

Livestock

  • Water rotations: In nature, animals don’t drink out of the purified tap. Sometimes their water is from a rain puddle, but other times from a stream or pond. To help mimic this and give their immune system a boost, try doing something different every time you refill their water.
    • Apple Cider Vinegar: 1 tsp per gallon
    • Honey: 1 TBSP per gallon
    • BioIivestock Probiotic: Dilution rate on bottle depending on species
    • Herbs: Add fresh oregano, thyme, rosemary, etc to their water to make a “tea”
    • Rainwater
  • Deworming Cattle / Horses: 1-1.5 cups of Basic H per 100 gallon watering container OR 1TBSP per gallon for chickens, goats, lamb.
  • Nesting box boosters: For a little treat in your nesting boxes, consider adding fresh or dried flower petals and herbs. Fennel, cilantro, and parsley are great laying stimulants. Remember, with spring rains, it is important to change bedding frequently and make sure everything remains dry and clean.
April gardening list currant flowers
Red Currant flowers in Kansas City, MO

In the Pasture

  • Plant: Timothy grass, perennial peanut, wildflower mixes, tobacco, clovers, alfalfa.
  • Hay / Straw: Any rotting or wet bales can be used in the garden or food forest as deep mulch. It can be spread 5-7″ thick in areas that are going to be “future” garden beds in order to prep the soil. First, roll out contractor paper (usually found in the paint section of a hardware store) over the grass and then cover with the straw or other mulch. This is a great opportunity to do “layer mulching” if you have other materials available.
April gardening list mushrooms
Morel mushrooms found in April in Kansas City, MO

Around the House and Perennial Beds

  • Flower pots from last year should be emptied and refreshed. Old soil can be put in a wheel barrow and have new compost mixed in. You can also empty old soil directly onto the compost pile to let it refresh over the next month or so. Wash flower pots well with an organic soap to kill any remaining bacteria before adding new soil and planting fresh plants.
  • Cut back last years growth: Remove any dead material left over from last fall and add to the compost pile.
  • Fertilize flower beds: Use kelp, bone meal, blood meal, and/or fish emulsion. I like to use blood meal in April and then in May or June use bone meal. Kelp and fish emulsion can be used anytime during the growing season. Alternatively, apply a 1/2″ layer of compost to flower beds or at the base of each flower. Keep away from the stems, so it doesn’t “burn”.
  • Spring bulb care: Remove flower / seed heads, but leave the green growth until they naturally die back. This green will help feed the bulb for next year.
  • Annual Flowers: Plant some pops of color around the garden. Use as many native wildflowers and perennials as possible, because the vast majority of annuals do NOT provide nectar for bees and butterflies. However, using them sparingly can still give lasting bursts of color. Some annual flowers (nasturtiums, marigolds, calendula, etc.) are also edible and medicinal and can even be used as vegetable companion plants.
  • Air out the house: On a day you are home, open up every window in the house and turn on fans to circulate fresh air into the house. Change the filters in the HVAC system for the spring months. This is also a great time to vacuum out floor vents and air returns.
  • Check / replace smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries
  • Clean out the refrigerator and disinfect shelves. It’s often best to do this the day before garbage day, so you can take old items directly to the road.
April gardening list spring flowers
Edible spring flowers: Violas, pansies, and snapdragons.

Kids & Family Ideas

  • Visit a local arboretum or community garden: Often these will have special programs for kids and families.
  • Wild Bird Feeding
    • Set out orange halves and grape jelly for the arriving orioles
    • Put hummingbird feeders out on April 15th (never use the kind with red dye), and be sure to change the water in them every week.
    • Hang a new birdhouse for spring nesting season
    • Add white millet to feeders to attract indigo buntings (bright blue birds)
  • Decorate a garden corner and create a gnome or fairy garden. Personally, I can’t get enough garden gnomes hidden in the flower beds or at the base of fruit trees.
  • Spring flower drawing or painting: Pick a flower or two for each kid and have them draw or paint it. When they finish, frame the artwork and hang for seasonal decorations in the house.
April gardening list turmeric
curcuma zedoaria (Spicy White)
CLICK HERE to Receive Monthly Lists in Your Email

See you in the garden

As always, thanks for taking time to join on the gardening and permaculture journey. Be sure to check out the continual flow of content available via our social media channels.

Remember, PermacultureFX also does virtual consulting (using facetime, zoom, satellite images, etc.). We’d love to help you get a plan for your property and help you create abundance and wonder.

And if you are looking for longer-term property mentorship, training, online classes… we now offer a Permaculture Patreon Community. We have multiple tiers of membership to help suit various levels of connection.

If this article was helpful, consider sharing on social media (or with your garden groups) to help set others up to win on their property. Happy spring, and I’ll see you in the garden!

– Kristofer Edler

Posted on

March Garden and Property To-Do List (Zones 9-12)

Here’s a list of what you should be doing in you garden and food forest in March, if you live in warmer, tropical climates (USDA Zones 9-12). Granted, weather isn’t exactly a science… well, it is… it’s just not a predictable one. Keep a close eye on your weather this month and adjust your planting accordingly. If you are unsure what growing zone you are in, watch this video tutorial. If you are in a colder climate and want info for zones 3-8, CLICK HERE.

Without further delay, ladies and gentlemen, here is March Gardening To-Do List!

Cover crop with daikon radish, winter wheat, and field peas

In the Garden

  • Take soil tests and send to your local extension office. Take samples from each area of your yard and make sure to get the detailed report. The most important part for me is not the NPK… it’s the amount of organic matter! Generally speaking if you have a higher percentage of organic material in your soil, the rest of the soil health will follow suit.
  • Fertilize: Make minor amendments before the spring rains (add blood meal, compost, fish emulsion, and kelp). Many people settle with a short-term “solution” of applying an NPK fertilizer, but a better longterm solution would be to focus on soil building through organic matter, manure, and compost.
  • TIP – Spread chicken poop and hay from the nesting boxes on the compost pile and get it working before the weather gets insanely hot.
  • Annuals to plant via seed: Okra, peppers, eggplant, more nasturtiums and marigolds (to deter garden pests), pumpkins, squash, and gourds. Also don’t forget to stagger your herb planting (basil, tulsi, ashwagandha, etc) by planting a few every week.
  • Annuals to plant outdoors: arugula, beans, borage, carrots, corn, cucumbers, okra, another round of onions, seminole pumpkins (Florida), squash, sweet potato slips, tomatoes (especially Everglade tomatoes), and watermelon.
  • Plant some tender annuals like longevity spinach, Okinawa spinach, Surinam spinach, Brazilian spinach, Auntie Lili’s Bele Hibiscus, South Sea Salad, etc. Don’t plant all you have yet, in case we still get another frost, but start putting some out in your more protected areas.
Calendula – used for tea, ointments, creams, etc.

In the Greenhouse

  • Plant seed trays: tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, roselle (Jamaican Sorrel), Cranberry hibiscus, katuk, etc. Start perennial seeds for food forest planting: goji berries, trees from seed (like Moringa), etc. Also start food forest items like Roselle, cranberry hibiscus, elderberry cuttings, sugar cane, and bananas.
  • Fertilize orchids well this month
  • TIP: Always plants more than what you think you’ll need. The worst case scenario is that you have some to share with neighbors, friends, or gorilla plant in a local park.
Nasturiums planted under trees and near tomatoes.

In the Food Forest

  • Break up any large sticks and twigs. They will decompose much faster if they are in direct contact with the soil.
  • Remove leaf cover from the soil and use as a mulch around the base of trees / bushes (cover the sticks). You can chop it up a bit with the mower if the leaves are still crispy.
  • Plant alley crops between rows and plantings. In zone 9, personally love planting durana clover, red clover, chickory, and winter wheat. Sun hemp should be purchased now and planted the first of April.
  • Plant living mulches around the base of the trees (turnips, Bocking 14 comfrey root, borage, nasturtiums, etc.)
  • Feed native wild birds before nesting season starts in order to encourage them to live in your area. They are fantastic bug control and leave behind little bits of birdie poo.
  • Hang wild bird houses and bat houses before nesting season begins.
  • Set out orange halves and grape jelly to attract early migrating orioles.
  • Spray your spring foliar spray on every perennial in the food forest! Get the recipe here.
  • Add fresh mulch to trees and shrubs (up to 5″ thick). Remember to always keep the mulch away from the trunks of the trees.
  • Get a permaculture consultation to help you come up with a game plan for your overall property, garden, and food forest. PermacultureFX now offers both in-person and digital consultations (at a reduced rate).
  • March 1-15th: Plant cold tolerant trees: peach, plum, nectarine, blueberries, elderberries, pear, apple, etc.
  • March 15-30th: Plant tropical trees (if the 30-day forecast looks warm): avocado, mango, strawberry tree, tropical cherries, etc.
  • Fertilize fruit trees and berry bushes with bloodmeal and compost NOW! You could also additionally use kelp, azomite, and epsom salts.
Simple birdhouses using old license plates

In the Shed

  • Sharpen mower blades and all cutting tools.
  • Oil any metal that rusted over the winter. Remove tarnish with steel wool. Ax heads should be treated with bees wax.
  • Check for broken pots from winter cold.
  • Set a few extra mouse traps in the shed, greenhouse, and garage.
  • Start up the mower, weed whipper, and other tools for the first time. If you have difficulty starting them, you can always use a bit of Sea Foam to get things moving. Use two ounces per gallon of gas. It will work wonders!

In the Chicken Coop

  • Remove winter bedding, if you used the deep bedding method.
  • Deep clean…deep clean…deep clean! We use Shaklee’s Basic H2, because it’s organic and will also take care of mites, lice, etc.
  • Lower fat content (corn) and increase protein sources. If you are doing a mealworm farm, it’s a great time to give the girls an extra boost!
  • Feed extra omega-3’s. Get some feeder fish (minnows) from a local pet store and put them in a shallow pan. Watch your chooks go nuts for them!
  • Use honey, garlic, and ACV in their water once per week to give them an extra immune boost before the springtime. I also add a product for livestock by SCD Probiotics based out of KCMO.
Basic H for deworming livestock and cleaning the barn / coop

Around the House

  • Clean out the gutters from any winter debris, especially oak leaves.
  • Remove winter window treatments and wash windows (inside and out).
  • Power-wash the sides of the house, cement, and garage doors. We use Basic H2 for this as well, because it organically takes care of mold and mildew easily.
  • Oil doors and hinges (interior and exterior).
  • Prune any trees around the yard before leaf buds begin to open.

In the Perennial Flower Beds

  • Finish cutting back any dead growth from last year.
  • Remove leaves or debris from the top of bulb areas, leaving only compost or wood chips. The debris should be composted and added back to the beds later.
  • Start planning mulch and compost deliveries now. Look for sales or companies to bring it to you in bulk.
  • You can also plant cold season annual flowers at this time as well. Snap dragons, violas, pansies, begonias, and calendulas do great this time of year.
  • Spring sow any native wildflowers.

  • TIP: Never use mulch that has been colored or dyed (red or black). Let’s just use our heads on why that’s a bad idea.

Proudly powered by WordPress