April's 5 Must-Plant Vegetables: For Any Climate!

hi everyone welcome to my garden and Happy Spring  this is the time of year that we gardeners dream   about the weather is getting warmer and it's  finally time to get our hands dirty in the   soil today I'm going to share with you five must  plant veggies for April now I know it's not quite   April yet however the early bird gets the worm  same applies for gardening the early gardener   grows more veggies let's jump in Veggie number  one to plan in April is Summer Squash one of   my personal favorite I like to call it a power  producer because it grows fast you can plant it   in the ground you can start from seed indoors and  you're going to be eating your squash in about 60   days definitely a win-win now would you believe  these little seedlings I started about 5 days ago   under grow lights they're already popping but in  southern climates like I live in here in Southern   California I can plant them in the ground or  in containers right now which is really nice   and when you're planting squash in your container  you want at least a 10 or a 20 gallon container   so I'm going to plant some the scallop squash here  in my 20-gallon smart pot today and I like scallop   squash because it's a little bit of a smaller  variety it can spill over the edge and really be   super beautiful this is the scallop squashed mix  blend from my Squash Seed Collection and I'm just   going to plant three seeds here in the 20 gallon  it's going to share a little container here with   um some peppers and some other greens are growing  here and all you need to do is just poke a seed   about a/ an inch into the soil and the general  rule of thumb is is you want to plant your seeds   half the depth of the diameter of the seed so this  seat's about a/4 inch or so we're actually going   to plant it maybe about an eighth of an inch deep  just poke it into the soil and with three seeds   planted I have insurance that at least at least  one will germinate but I'm sure all three will   probably germinate and then as the seedlings grow  and get about 3 to 4 in tall I'll thin them out   and keep the strongest seedling in the container  so our container doesn't get too crowded so just   cover it up there give it a nice little drink of  water and you Southern gardeners in frost free   zones you can plant your squash seeds directly  in your containers or garden beds right now and   you'll be eating your squash in about 60 days now  you Northern gardeners who are still expecting   Frost in your area don't think I forgot about you  you can still plant squash seeds in April and what   you want to do is start them from seed indoor So  today we're going to start some round zucchini   squash from my Spring Garden Seed Collection I  love this variety it's actually shaped like a   baseball once it's ready to harvest so tender  so delicious and amazing on the grill so since   squash grows super fast I like to plant it from  sea in these little cow pots they're about 3 in   tall they're biodegradable and your squash seeds  can stand here just a little bit longer before   they're ready to go outside you can also do them  in the sixpacks too but the cow pots work really   well so I just poked a hole in here with with a  pencil I'm going to drop three seeds in cover it   with soil pop it under grow lights in about 4  weeks you're going to have a beautiful seeding   to put into the garden after your last frosted  the spring garden seed collection has a little   bit of everything in there about 15 varieties  for you to get started with your April veggies   and all my Seed Collections are on sale for 50%  off with the code "HAPPYSPRING" until the end   of March vegetable number two you must plan in  April is another power producer grows like crazy   and produces a ton of veggies so you can save  a lot of money at the grocery store and that is   cucumbers now these were planted again just five  days ago look at how fast they've grown they were   started from seed indoors you Southern gardeners  in frost free zones plant them outside now little   trick what I like to do they need to be planted on  the trellis and since I still have my peas growing   here which will probably be done in about a month  I'm actually going to start some Boston Pickling   Cucumbers from seed at the base of my trellis here  here by the time the peas are done the cucumbers   will be growing and be ready to take their place  planting one of my favorite varieties here and   that is Boston pickling so prolific really lives  up to the power producer reputation and you can   see cucumber seeds are just a little bit smaller  than squash seeds but you really plant them in   exactly the same way about 1/4 inch deep going  to put three or four seeds here at the base of   the trellis and they are going to bust through the  soil probably in about 3 to 5 days it's going to   be be in the 60s and 70s this week and it is going  to be so much fun to see them germinate I know you   love that thrill too so make sure that you comment  below what your favorite part of planting seeds is   I'm going to guess it's seeing them germinate  for the very first time so you can plant them   in containers in raised beds if frost is passed  if you're still dealing with frost in your area   you want to plant them in again a little cow pot  is perfect or the six-packs and you do it pretty   much exact ly the same way pop three seeds in each  cow pot or each seed cell cover with soil keep   moist while they're germinating pop them under  grow lights and you're going to have yourself a   little squash seedling a little bigger than this  to plant outside in about 4 weeks or after your   last frost a vegetable number three you've got to  plan in April are beans another power producer and   boy do they live up to their name producing you  a ton of food saving you lots of money at the   grocery store now the cool thing about beans is  is there's two different kinds bush beans which   you can grow in a container or a raised bed and  pole or runner beans which you want to grow on a   trellis now here I have my favorite Scarlet Runner  beans growing on this Archway which makes a really   pretty entrance into the hill Garden here the  cool thing about these runner beans is you can   cut them off at the base and they regrow back in  frostfree zones these have actually been growing   since last summer believe it or not so they're  just starting to climb up the trellis but here   we have have some beans from last year that have  dried up and just kind of fell off here and I'm   just going to pop them right into the ground look  at these beautiful bean seeds if you don't have   save seeds from last year these are in my Bean  Seed collection but they're so easy to plant   just going to use my Pencil Trick here to poke a  couple holes in the soil to plant a few more beans   and because these are such large seeds I'm going  to plant them about an inch or so deep and by by   the way the hummingbirds love the Scarlet Runner  beans they love the red flowers it brings them   in like crazy to our garden here and the beans  are one of my favorite they're super tasty and   so delicious they're definitely a must try bean if  you have the space for them if you don't have the   space for runner beans or pull beans no problem  grab yourself some bush beans and plant them in   a container these are the Royal Burgundy Bush  Beans a beautiful purple bean planted about 5   days ago and they germinate so fast look how  big they already are about 2 to 3 in tall so   I'm going to pop some here in my blue calikim  5 gallon smart pots these are the Jackson bush   beans from my Spring Garden Seed collection if you  have kids grow beans with them they're going to   absolutely love the immediate satisfaction almost  of seeing them grow so I'm going to poke about   five holes here in my 5 gallon and just quickly  drop in some seeds it's a very prolific variety   drought tolerant and heat tolerant loves the warm  weather and it's definitely something you've got   to plan in April you're going to be harvesting  these in about 60 days and if you don't plant   them now you are going to be sorry so the early  Gardener definitely gets the worm on these your   Northern gardeners who are still under Snow either  plant them in your sixpacks here just like I did   under grow lights or use little cowpots cuz they  grow fast and they're going to need a little bit   of space to spread their wings if you're about  four weeks from putting them outside pop them   in here so easy you guys are getting the hang of  this now poke them down into the soil keep them   moist while they're germinating and growing  about 4 weeks or after your last frost a pop   them outside for some delicious beans in about 60  days vegetable number four that you really must   plant in April are greens one of my very favorite  things about growing my own vegetable garden is a   garden fresh salad greens of different colors  varieties and textures now lettuce is the most   typical green that most people grow it's a cool  weather vegetable it loves temperatures under   75° look at these amazing varieties I have  right here and you Northern gardeners we're   going to start with you first this time Now's  the Time for those cool weather greens now if   your soil has thought a little bit and you can  kind of work it with your hands you can plant   your lettuce and have beautiful lettuce like this  in about six weeks so what I'm going to plant on   the edge of my garden bed here is the price head  lettuce from my uh Lettuce Seed Collection so all   you need to do is just put a little sprinkle in  your hands and just take a little pinch between   your thumb and forefinger and lightly sprinkle  it in your garden bed or your container and you   don't even need to cover lettuce because it does  like light to germinate if you do cover it cover   it very lightly and sometimes I will cover it  lightly to protect it from the birds it's all   you have to do and it's nice to look for those  little empty spaces in your garden where you   might be able to plant a little extra and even  plant new seeds every couple of weeks so you   always have a continual supply you can also start  your lettuce seeds indoors so if your garden is   still under snow just grab yourself a six-pack no  problem and do it in pretty much the same way few   little sprinkles on the top of the soil here my  six-pack is filled with moistened seed starting   mix just kind of lightly tamp it down there pop it  under your grow lights keep it moist don't forget   your tags remember what variety you're growing  and you are all set something very important to   know about lettuce as the temperatures rise and  get over 75 or 80° your lettuce will start to   bolt so you Southern gardeners need to be aware  of this and plant yourself some heat tolerant   greens right now but let me just show you what  bolting looks like the lettuce will shoot up   a taller thick stock like this start to develop  flowers on the top once that happens it changes   the flavor of the lettuce and makes it bitter you  can see what's happening here with this arugula   it's tall thick stock it's got flowers on it and  I'll save this for the bees because they really   love to buzz around the flowers luckily there's  all kinds of heat tolerant grains that you can   grow once the temperatures shoot over 80 a couple  of my favorites are this red Russian Kale this is   an absolutely gorgeous variety has beautiful red  kind of pinkish stems here super tender we love to   throw them in these it's very easy to grow right  from seed either directly in your garden beds or   you can start from seed indoors and another  one is chard now a couple beautiful varieties   of Chard here that I love first of all this is  called Bright Lights Swiss chard would you look   at these stems they are just beautiful you can  actually chop the stems up and use them like you   would celery in stir fries or use the leaves for  sandwich wraps or sauté and and scrambled eggs or   of course just eat in your beautiful garden fresh  salads and right here we've got a beautiful red   chard with gorgeous bright red stocks and what  I'm going to do is just pop some right here in   my garden bed and I've got some uh a Heat Tolerant  Green Seed collection with five or six different   varieties of heat tolerant greens and you Southern  gardeners after your last frost date pop them in   actually it's super cold tolerant so even you  Northern gardeners if you get them established   sometimes in the late fall they'll last you all  winter but here in southern California often my   kale and chard plants will last me for several  years so you just sprinkle them in the garden bed here this is the kale cover it with a tiny bit  of soil water it in and I've got a brand new crop   of kale started here my little shorty smart pot  now let me just show you the charred seeds here   they're actually like little seed pods and inside  these little seed pods are several different seeds   so sometimes you get a couple of plants popping  up from one or two seed pods which of course   technically makes them another power producer too  they kind of look like beet seeds so you just grab   a seed pop it in your garden bed your container  these are all very container friendly cover it   with a little bit of soil give it a nice little  drink and you are good to go with your kale and   your char your heat colorant greens and the good  thing about all these veggies is not only can you   plant them outside but you can also plant them in  your little six-packs plant a couple of charred   seeds in here poking them down into the soil and  then this is the lado kale which is also called   Dinosaur Kale it's a beautiful variety and the  leaves kind of do look like dinosaur skin it's   kind of crazy but I know you're going to love  the variety that they add to your garden about   4 weeks going to have transplants to pop outside  for your greens the fifth crop that you must grow   in April are herbs no better way to punch up the  flavor of your garden fresh vegetables than with   your own fresh herbs easy to grow for beginners  many of them are drought tolerant there's your   cool weather herbs like parsley cilantro and  Dill and chives for your Northern gardeners   and you Southern gardeners you've got to get your  warm weather herbs planted right now like thyme   oregano and my all-time favorite basil one thing  I love about herbs is they're super easy to grow   and they're so versatile you can grow them in  small containers on your patio railing larger   containers if you want to grow more herbs or you  can grow them from raised beds can start them   from seed indoors or you Southern gardeners can  start them from sea directly in your containers   or your rais beds if this is your very first  year of growing your own vegetables I want   to say congratulations you're in the right place  and I know you're going to love the taste of your   own homegrown food and just like what happened to  me I know you're gonna get hooked so what I want   you to do this week is get out in your garden and  plant these must grow vegetables because remember   what I said the early gardener grows more food  thanks for watching we'll see you next time in the garden

Channel: CaliKim29 Garden & Home DIY

Views: 46,423

Keywords: what to plant in April, spring garden, frost-resistant crops, year-round gardening, vegetable planting guide, garden calendar, sustainable gardening, organic gardening, CaliKim, cool weather vegetables, vegetables to plant in April, southern climate gardening, plant vegetables in any climate, essential Apri crops, plant in April, how to plant greens, how to plant squash, smart pots, calikim seed collections, how to plant beans, how to plant herbs, how to plant cucumbers

Id: QTpmUM7_t98

Length: 14min 50sec (890 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 25 2024