Time to seed the rest of your flowers, vegetables in flats or in garden
The whole universe is, as it were, a book written by the finger of God,
in which each creature forms a letter.
— Louis de Blois
The moon, sun and planets The fourth week of middle spring
The Gilded Goldfinch Moon, full on the 16th, wanes throughout the remainder of the month, reached perigee, its position closest to Earth, on April 19, and it enters its final quarter at 6:56 a.m. on April 23. Rising after midnight and setting in the morning, this moon passes overhead near dawn, encouraging creatures to eat, especially as the cold fronts of April 21 and 24 approach.
On April 21, the sun was 75 percent of the way to summer solstice, setting close to half past eight and making the evenings almost seem like June evenings.
Now the sky at 11 p.m. is in its prime spring planting position: Castor and Pollux to the west, Leo with its bright Regulus directly overhead and Arcturus dominating the east. The Milky Way fills the western horizon as Orion sets just behind the sun.
The Lyrid meteor shower peaks after midnight between April 21 and 23.
Weather trends
After lunar perigee on April 19, the odds for good field and garden weather improve. Seed all the rest of your flowers and vegetables in flats or directly in the garden. New moon on the 30th, however, should strengthen the last cold front of the month and the first front of May, so keep a lookout for light frost.
Zeitgebers: Events in nature that tell the time of year
Now winter wheat, the pastures and the lawns are the brightest of the year. Winter cress and violets turn some fields gold and purple. Bluebells nod on the hillsides. Bellwort, meadow rue, ragwort, columbine, white violet, winter cress, small-flowered buttercup, large-flowered trillium, wood betony, miterwort and Jack-in-the-pulpit are out.
Forsythia flowers turn a darker gold and magnolia petals fall as locusts, mulberries, ash, tree of heaven, ginkgoes, Japanese honeysuckles, wild roses and virgin’s bower leaf out. Grub
worms come to the surface of the lawn, and grasshoppers are born in the fields. Weevils appear in the alfalfa.
Birders could spot the arrival of the wood thrush, the broad-winged hawk, the king rail, the sora, the common gallinule, plovers and sandpipers. And look for the earliest ruby-throated hummingbird at your feeder.
May apples are a foot tall and buckeye buds have unraveled. Skunk cabbage leaves are more than half size in the swamps. Ragwort and garlic mustard are forming clumps, seed heads visible, still tightly bunched. Watercress has filled the shallow brooks.
In the field and garden
Farmers seed spring wheat in New England, sugar beets all across the Midwest and plant cotton along the Gulf. Cabbage butterflies are out laying eggs on the new cabbage, kale, collards and Brussels sprouts. Mulberry, locust, tree of heaven, viburnum and ginkgo send out their first leaves. Grape vines break dormancy.
When you see the first monarch butterflies in your garden and the iris plants start to bud, that’s the time to go out to the garden to hunt flea beetles and leafhoppers. And when you see bumble bees in the dandelions, watch for termites to swarm around your house.
Late peas should sprout quickly if planted now, and even tender garden vegetables should be all right if you cover their sprouts when frost threatens.
Prepare soil and seeds for new moon planting on April 30. Under the dark moon, destroy tent caterpillars as they hatch; then plant all your remaining root crops.
Spring rains and humidity can increase the risk of internal parasites in livestock. Make use of stool sample analysis to ensure that drenching has been effective.
Plan marketing now for Mother’s Day (May 8) and Memorial Day (May 30). Throughout the coming month, bedding plant sales are at their peak, ideal for selling as well as purchasing flowers for Mom or remembering a loved one.
Mind and body time
The SAD Index (which measures on a scale of 1 to 100 the forces thought to be associated with Seasonal Affective Disorder) falls slowly throughout the period, reaching the relatively gentle 30s by the end of the period.
Journal
The transition week to late spring ushers in Jackin-the-Pulpit Season, Miterwort Season, Wild Phlox Season, Celandine, Meadow Parsnip, Wood Betony, Wood Hyacinth, Fleabane, Spring Cress, Nodding Trillium, Larkspur and Bellwort blooming seasons. Garlic Mustard Season is here, covering the deep woods with white and green. It is Leafing Season for ginkgo, tree-of-heaven, oak, pecan, ash, locust, black walnut and mulberry. Wild Cherry Blossom Season spreads throughout the woodlots, along with Buckeye Blooming Season and Red Horse Chestnut Blooming Season. Clematis Season, Lily-ofthe-Valley Season and Star of Bethlehem Season grace the garden. Mock Orange Season, Korean Lilac Season and Honeysuckle Season announce the most fragrant time of year.
All the seasons mingle and accumulate, overwhelming in their number and particles, shifting their force from one hollow or habitat to another, from one day to the next. Some people tell me that they can’t take it all in, can’t deal with all the events and objects of spring, and spring on top of spring. Enumeration and repetition of enumerations collect in the brain and in the gut, exploding in the deep encounter, forcing their way into the true inner landscape.
“Poor Will’s Almanack for 2022’ is still available and contains the S.A.D.
Index, as well as natural history essays for each week of the year, monthly weather reports, some of the best reader stories of all time, and a monthly farm and garden calendar from Bill’s weekly NPR radio segment on WYSO. Purchase your copy from Amazon or, for an autographed Almanack, order from www. poorwillsalmanack.com, or send $22 to Poor Will, P.O.
Box 431, Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387.