--- subject: "Redden Gardens — April 2026" previewText: "Peas are climbing, lettuce is up, and the blackberry near 10th is waking. Here's your April dispatch from 909 Scott." vars: - volume - issue - monthYear - requestPlotUrl - websiteUrl - instagramUrl - facebookUrl - volunteerUrl --- Redden Gardens — <%= it.monthYear %>
Peas are climbing, lettuce is up, and the blackberry near 10th is waking. Here's your April dispatch from 909 Scott.
Vol. <%= it.volume %> · Issue <%= it.issue %> · <%= it.monthYear %>
Redden Gardens
The Gardener's Almanac — a monthly dispatch from 909 Scott
 

Hello, *|IF:FNAME|**|FNAME|**|ELSE:|*neighbor*|END:IF|*,

April is the month the garden stops rehearsing and starts performing. Peas are already climbing the trellises on the south end, the asparagus crowns are breaking ground, and the blackberry near the 10th & Scott corner — the one we've been watching for three seasons — is leafing out with real confidence this year.

 bunny

If you haven't been by your plot in a week, now is the time. Weeds grow faster than memory.

Plant This Month

What to sow & transplant in April

Pulled from the UK Extension planting calendar we follow. Kentucky's Zone 6b is right in stride — cool-season crops go in now, warm-season starts move to the windowsill.

Direct Sow Outdoors

Spinach · mustard · beets · peas · edible-podded peas · carrots · collards · kale · radishes · turnips · green onions · onion sets · endive · Swiss chard · lettuce

Transplant Outdoors

Cabbage · kohlrabi · asparagus & rhubarb crowns · early potato seed pieces

Start Indoors

Peppers · tomatoes · eggplant · sweet potato slips

Tip: if your rhubarb is four years old, dig and divide it now. Fertilize asparagus and rhubarb with 1 lb of 5-10-10 per 100 sq ft.

Outside the Fence

What anyone is welcome to pick

Our perimeter plantings are communal by design. Berries and herbs along the outside of the fence are for anyone walking by — please don't be shy. The blackberry near 10th & Scott is our projected star this year as it reaches productive maturity. Tomatoes and peppers outside the fence will hit their stride in July and August.

Flowers along the outside are fair game too — we just ask that you stick to multi-bloom varieties so there's plenty left for neighbors and pollinators. If you're unsure what's edible or how to pick, ask anyone you see working in the garden.

Community Corner

Three things worth knowing

The Giving Table returns in June.

Excess harvest from inside the garden gets shared outside the fence. We usually roll it out when summer squash starts — keep an eye out in early June (sooner if the weather cooperates).

COVUNITY Fridge is open year-round.

Along the alley to the north of the green building. Take what you need, leave what you can. There's also a microwave and a hot/cold water station, open anytime.

The Sunflower Library is restocked.

Our sharing library — yes, the one shaped like a sunflower on the fence — got a fresh donation of seed catalogs and two Ruth Stout titles. Pick up or drop off whenever.

Beyond 909 Scott

Our satellite gardens

Beyond the main lot, we help tend a smaller community garden in the northwest corner of Goebel Park, near the pollinator bed. Over at Randolph Park, the pollinator garden on the north end and the urban orchard on the south end are both leafing out — worth a walk-by this month.

If you want to put time toward any of these, reply to this email and we'll point you at whichever site needs hands that week.

Plots available

A few plots open up each spring. Claim yours before the warm-season rush.

Know someone who's been talking about growing their own tomatoes? Forward this along — there's still time to get a plot tilled and planted before Memorial Day.

Request a Plot ›

See you in the rows,

The Redden Gardens crew

Our Mission

To create a dedicated green haven for vegetable gardening and community knowledge sharing — and to grow beauty alongside vegetables, people alongside community, and stories alongside knowledge.

909 Scott Blvd · Covington, KY 41011

The Dr. John D. & M. Patricia Redden Memorial Garden

reddengardens.org  ·  Instagram  ·  Facebook  ·  Volunteer

You're getting this because you're part of the Redden Gardens plot & volunteer community.