Miller in April

Couple of interesting entries for April in Miller's 18th century "Gardener's Kalendar."
Planting melons. He says to make a small mound of fresh dung [he doesn't say what kind but for some reason I think horse], cover the dung with a foot of loam, plant the seeds on top, and cover the planting with a bell jar. The dung, he says, will heat up the soil, which will stimulate germination and root growth; the bell jar will keep cold winds at bay. As the plants develop, he says, add a ring of fresh dung covered by loam around the hill to encourage the roots to grow outward to support large vines.
Insects. He says if you have insects in your orchard trees wash them out with an infusion made with tobacco stalks. [Earliest pesticide recommendation I know of. And they were still using nicotine in the mid-1900s--200 years later.] 


Inland Jim
Willamette Valley
44.99 N 123.04 W
Elevation 148'
39.9" Precipitation
Hardiness Zone 8/9
Heat Zone 5
Sunset Zone 6
Minimum 0 F [-15 C]
Maximum 102 F [39 C]

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