April is a weeding month.  It's essential to get the small perennials weeded before they really start growing so that I don't damage their new shoots and flowers, so this week's goal is to weed the strawberries, asparagus, rhubarb, herbs, perennial onions, and garlic.

Next week, I'll focus on the beds to be transplanted or planted into this month, then will move on to the beds earmarked for summer crops.  Last call (if I don't run out of time before planting season begins) will be weeding the spring garden that I planted in February and March.

A winter mulch of straw makes this weeding job less time-consuming, but there's still plenty of chickweed, bittercress, dandelions, and dead nettles pushing up through my mulch.  Every year, I get a bit further ahead of the weeds --- maybe this year will be the one where I'll rip all of the spring weeds out before they go to seed.

The task looks a bit daunting, but feels better once I dive in and begin.  Twenty-six beds later, I feel as peaceful as if I'd spent the day meditating, and the chickens are sated on three wheelbarrow loads of worms, snails, and chickweed.  I think April is going to be a good month.

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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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