Project Name: April 2026 – Greenhouse ready for planting and epic battle with aphids won
Project Objectives: To germinate enough tomatoes not only for me, but also for my extended family and friends. To finish the monstrous "greenhouse" project, because if I don't do it now, I will be in a real time trouble. As if it wasn't enough that I haven't planted radishes yet! To win the epic battle with aphids, because we would like to eat those peppers and chillies in the future ourselves, instead of letting the aphids eat them now. To get everbearing strawberries! Also to germinate a few watermelons. To repot the cucumbers, because we would like to harvest the produce already in May (at home, of course). And not to forget to prune the raspberries and herbs. And to knit the Easter whip three times. Well, tasks over my head :D
Business Case & Project Scope:
April is one of those months when I can say that the most things are happening in the garden, at least for me. I am germinating and sowing a lot of vegetables, pruning raspberries and herbs... and there is also the Easter holiday. Which might not seem like a big deal to someone, but when you have two sons and a husband at home, and you are the one knitting the Easter whip, it is quite a stretch :D And since I felt like I didn't have enough on my plate this year anyway, I decided to finally finish the greenhouse project :D
Not that I decided to finish the inside of the greenhouse voluntarily and all by myself, but if I don't finish it now in April, I can probably skip this season completely :D So my husband got a clear combat task – to keep all our Junior helpers busy for three afternoons. The older son did go to help me a bit with painting and balancing with the spirit level, but he is already five. However, I won't claim that I needed our two-year-old twins to help me there too. Not that they didn't want to help, of course :D
Resources & Target Deliverables:
So in short, what I want to plant and what project I want to finish.
- To prune the willow for the Easter whip
- To plant the lovage
- To plant up the buckets and window boxes on the northern side of the house (spring onion, arugula, corn salad, Red Giant mustard, chard, perennial bloody dock and arugula)
- To finish the "greenhouse" project
- To end the war with aphids
- To germinate tomatoes
- To germinate watermelons
- Mara de Bois strawberries
- To repot Minisprint cucumbers
- To prune raspberries and herbs
Critical Infrastructure & Hacks:
There is probably no need to write anything special here, just...
- Masonry buckets and large tubs – have a lot of them, really a lot... and maybe even more :D Even if you have a giant garden, you will always find a use for these.
- Window boxes – you can never have enough of those either. When I ordered a little over 20 of them in March, my husband looked like his knees would buckle.
- Aphids – yes, the battles on all fronts are still ongoing, so I will just remind you that plants overwintering at home need to be checked and sprayed before you bring them inside. And if you don't do it, you will remember me many times in the winter :D And in the spring too :D
- Very sharp scissors
- Enough yogurt cups (because 88 tomatoes is quite a challenge)
EXECUTION PHASE:
Phase 1: Strawberries – for 5 eaters you need quite a lot
I managed to get absolutely luxurious trailing everbearing Mara de Bois strawberries. Or at least people on the net wrote that they are delicious. I have them for the first time. So I took 20 of them. And because I also liked Aromas, I took 10 of those too. Well, suddenly we have enough strawberries at home for all 5 eaters in the household. Now just... where to put them! :D Which brings us back to the advice – you can never have enough window boxes. So I planted them all into window boxes and put them in the greenhouse. They will have a good time there.
Phase 2: Epic battle with aphids successfully won
I proudly report that the score of the match at the end of March was about 3:0 for the aphids, and in the middle already 11:0. But in the middle of April I managed to turn the score around and win :D Luckily, I only needed to win one match. I confess without torture that I finally reached for chemistry, otherwise there would really be nothing left of those peppers and chillies this season.
Phase 3: Germinating tomatoes and watermelons
At the beginning of April, I decided to germinate tomatoes. But I really underestimated my family and friends. I gave them the opportunity to say for themselves how many seedlings they wanted. The request finally stopped at a respectable 88 seedlings. And a much more complicated struggle began than with the strawberries – where to put them :D In the end, I spent 2 days on the net, but I found trays that fit exactly on my windowsill and maximize utility (I just squeeze the maximum number of seedlings onto the windows :D). In addition, I started germinating a few Crimson Sweet watermelons, followed 2-3 days later by Bolt F1 rootstocks for grafting. Next time, I will start germinating the watermelons in the middle of March, but more on that in future articles.
Phase 4: Minisprint cucumbers repotted
I also repotted the Minisprint cucumbers into pots. Why am I writing a separate point about this? Because in a month you will see what a spectacular project it will turn into! And mainly, I have already blamed myself several times for not managing to germinate them in January. So now I have to buy them in the store, because the Junior Managers don't ask when their season is.
Phase 5: Expedition for willow twigs and lovage
So for the first time, we wanted to go on an expedition to cut willow twigs for the Easter whip just my husband and I. We tactically used grandma's offer to watch the kids for us. However, as it happens, right at the end when leaving the house, one small catch squeezed into this project – specifically our older son... and so in the end the peace and quiet was gone, and we also had to take a detour through the swings, climbing frames, and zipline :D So it was an expedition for the whole afternoon. And after returning home, I got a report from my neighbor that she dug up a piece of lovage for me to come and get. Crisis situations require crisis operational solutions, so instead of us, the willow twigs and lovage took a bath in the shower cabin in the evening :D Thank goodness we still have a bathtub :D
Phase 6: Sowing the northern part of the house
When I was thinking about what to put on the northern windows as a decoration before my ornamental flowers grow, I thought of a solution that I will do every year from now on – combining the useful with the decorative. Somehow I didn't have a place this year to put arugula and spring onions. And this brings us back to the advice – not only can you never have enough window boxes, the same applies to masonry buckets and large tubs :) But don't forget to drill holes in the bottom of them. So: I sowed red spring onions and arugula into two window boxes. I sowed corn salad and green spring onions into the third window box. And I can say that next time I will pass on the corn salad. If someone really annoyed me this year... no, it wasn't my husband ;) ... it was the corn salad :D First it's too warm for it, then too cold again, it doesn't like too much water, but not too little either :D So next time I will plant spinach instead. And into the buckets went Japanese Red Giant mustard, chard, and perennials of bloody dock and arugula. And those perennials still refuse to germinate. Maybe they are cold? Or do I have old seeds? I will probably buy fresh ones and give them one more chance before I condemn them :D
Phase 7: Greenhouse finished
Quite honestly, all through April I felt like I wasn't catching up with anything at all. And actually, it wasn't just a feeling :D I sowed tomatoes later than last year, watermelons too. Potatoes, peas, carrots, and radishes should have been planted in the greenhouse by now – and nothing :( But if I had to highlight one thing that I think really succeeded, it's the internal garden beds in the greenhouse. Normally I don't praise myself much, but I am really thrilled with the result! :) Sure, I will still be bringing soil into the aisles, putting down black foil and gravel, but at least something can be planted there now :)
Phase 8: Final Deliverable
April was one big run where I was literally running after a train and just couldn't get on it. But if something warms my heart, it's the fact that there are real visual results behind me. But more on those in May ;)
CURRENT STATUS:
We are waiting to see how the strawberries, tomatoes, and watermelons will grow. I also go daily to check if anything is peeking out on the northern side of the house. And what do you think? I completely forgot about the raspberries and herbs, of course, so I will have to do that at the beginning of May :D
