Just when we thought we might be out of the winter woods, leave it to the Old Farmer’s Almanac to bring us back down to earth.
“When March has April weather, April will have March weather,” their pundits cautioned recently. In other words, be careful what we wish for.
It’s true that the month of March has been pretty agreeable so far, except for that pesky ice storm followed by snow again. But after a winter with tons of snow and a brutal below-zero stretch in February — not to mention the nicely early Easter (April 5) that’s on its way — you could start to believe that spring will be early this year.
As a gardener, I’ve always loved an early Easter. Even when the notorious March storms rage, it makes me feel like winter is over when the tulips come out right after all the greenery of St. Patrick’s Day. When on top of it all I get my garden seedlings going on my window sill, it really doesn’t matter if winter decides to break the mood with another snowstorm or two.
I say early Easter gives us permission to move right past winter into spring. You could start shoveling all the snow you just shovelled off the driveway back on to it so it will melt faster. You could start wearing your running shoes instead of your crampon-studded boots. You might even start to plan your summer garden.
But don’t say I didn’t warn you when I quote you a further piece from the Old Farmer’s recent missive: “Snow in April is manure.”
Just how should we begin to understand this piece of advice?
It seems that snow in April is often called “poor man’s fertilizer” because it supplies nutrients, especially all-important nitrogen, to the soil. As snow falls through the atmosphere it attracts the nitrates and ammonia in the air, bringing to the ground these two essential ingredients of good garden soil. As if that weren’t enough, snow stays on the ground and only melts gradually, so the nitrogen can further seep slowly and evenly into the earth. As the garden warms up in April, any snow cover will keep this gentle nutrient boost going, benefitting all the spring bulbs and perennials waking up after the winter.
Finally, if you did get off to an early start in March, the April snow also acts as a blanket that will protect new growth in the event of any sudden night chill.
But I have to admit I never thought of snow as manure.
It will add a certain je ne sais quoi to the next snowfall, won’t it?