A great video from The University of Maine's Cooperative Extension:

Seed of the Month: Lacinato Kale

 Lacinato Kale 

(a.k.a. Dinasour or Tuscan Kale)

April:

New seed variety for 2013.

My favorite variety of kale—hands down! The leaves have a beautiful embossed texture and are gorgeous dark blue-green.  Lacinato has a nice upright habit and is easy to grow—especially in cool climates (it can tolerate a light frost).  Sweeter and more tender than most curley leaf kales.

Lacinato Kale is best when simply prepared—don’t try to cover the flavor!

Sautéed Lacinato Kale :

(as with all recipes the amounts are merely suggestions, add more or use less garlic or chili or kale)

•  2 cups washed and torn Lacinato kale leaves 
•  2 cloves of garlic (or more to taste)
•  ¼ tsp Chili Pepper flakes 
•  A nice quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
•   Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Put olive oil, garlic and chili pepper flakes into a skillet.  Heat the skillet over moderate heat.
2. When the garlic is fragrant add the kale and sauté gently until the kale is cooked to your liking.

Bill's Favorite Native Plants: April

Allen, Sterling & Lothrop's nursery manager Bill Kennie has been working with the Falmouth Open Space committee to help eradicate invasive plants from the Maine landscape. Bill believes that it is very important to include native species in ornamental landscape gardens. Indeed, the more native plants a garden has the better--native plants are typically low maintenance, they provide food and shelter for wildlife and are visually in keeping with our native "wild" landscape.
 

Sanguinaria Canadensis                                 “Blood Root”

Perennial:

Height: 8-12”                      Spread: 8-12”

This woodland surprise starts with pearl white flowers that emerge in the spring.  The blooms are followed by large rounded leaves that create an elegant woodland carpet.  We watch for this in our shade garden every May!  It likes rich soil with plenty of moisture.  It is slow to get established but will reward you year after year.

Seeds To Start in April

Here is April's Seed Starting schedule.  Don't forget that you can sow peas as soon as the soil can be worked.
Please be aware that this seed-starting schedule is based on being planted on Memorial Day weekend (the traditional weekend for many Northeast gardeners to put their gardens in).

Tip from the Seed-Room: Seedlings should be transplanted, at least once, before they are hardened-off and planted in the garden. This will ensure a strong plant that will better handle the shock of planting.
Once seedlings have their first pair of true leaves and are strong enough for you to handle them, it's time for them to be transplanted. Be sure to never handle the seedling by its stem-- use one of its leaves. If you are transplanting them into a flat be sure to place seedlings 2 inches apart from each other.

April 6th: Marigold, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Broccoli, Tomato.

April 13th: Brussel Sprouts, Endive, Kohlrabi, Kale, Collards, Viola, Oriental Poppy, Black-eyed Susans, Annual Cut Flower Mix, Bachelor's Buttons, Cleome, Alyssum, Portulaca, Strawflower, Sage.

April 27th: Cucumber, Cantaloupe, Lettuce, Cosmos, Zinnias.

 

AS&L Garden Tips for April

 

Spring Lawn Care 101 [1]

 

While it’s important to attend to your lawn in the spring, serious renovation should be done around Labor Day. 

 

1.       What kind of lawn do you want?

a.       How are you planning to use it?

b.      How much time and money are you willing to spend on it?

 

2.       Will you be applying a crabgrass control?

a.       Yes, DO NOT overseed in the Spring—overseed in the Fall

 

3.       What is the square footage of the lawn?

 

4.       Test the pH.

 

5.       Mow the lawn shorter than usual—about 2”

 

6.       Remove as many weeds and as much debris as possible.

 

7.       Thoroughly rake or dethatch the lawn.

a.       Thatch:  is comprised of living and dead material (i.e. grass clippings, grass stems, and other debris)—usually hidden by the grass the material accumulates and decomposes over time.  Many cool weather grasses don’t create heavy thatch.  Warm weather grasses, like bluegrass do create heavy thatch.

                                                               i.      Thatch can prevent fertilizer from reaching the soil.  It can also play host to insects and fungal diseases.

b.      Usually, using a hand rake will do all you need for dethatching; however, some lawns may require the use of a dethatching machine.  The machine makes vertical cuts into the lawn and pulls the dead material to the surface.

 

8.       Based on the pH results add the soil amendments.

a.       Lime

b.      Fertilizer

c.       In that order

 

9.       Over-seed with grass seed at about half the normal rate (for instance, most AS&L lawn mixes are applied at a rate of 1lb per 200 sq.ft. for a new lawn—for over-seeding use 1/2lb. per 200 sq.ft.)

 

10.   Water daily until established.

 

 

 

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[1] Based on Paul Tuckey’s The Organic Lawn Care Manual