Happy Monday, again; as well as happy spring and April Eve, also. I love Mondays! They’re my 52 Chances a year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with you.
I love spring and April, as they celebrate, among other things… Keep America Beautiful Month, Lawn and Garden Month, and National Garden Month. April is a beautiful beginning to the northern hemisphere’s transformation from dormancy to vibrancy.
Nature’s rebirth is seen throughout the woodlands, parks, and neighborhood yards all around us. Colors are beginning to explode and wildlife is starting to flourish. More than New Year’s Day, it’s the season of renewed hope and resolutions (at least for the approaching summer). April is also the National Month of Hope.
This coming month plays host to several spring revival holidays and observances, celebrating life and rebirth. Besides the ones already mentioned, there’s also Easter and Passover, as well as National Earth Day and National Arbor Day.
Where I live in Michigan, birds are returning to nest and lay their eggs for a new generation of backyard joy and many bunnies abound. Some of the deer that come to graze in our yard are getting noticeably bigger, as their coming fawns are growing in their bellies.
Michigan’s trees are budding and the forsythia bushes are turning vivid yellow. The crocus is usually the first spring flower that I see bloom, as beds of daffodils, hyacinth, tulips, irises and other spring bloomers are starting to resurrect, with spikes of bright green popping out of the ground.
“Sweet April showers do bring May flowers.” – Thomas Tusser, “500 Points of Good Husbandry” (1557)
April is usually the month when our winter blahs are quickly and happily packed away with our sweaters, at least for most of the rest of the year. April’s showers are welcomed in with open arms (up to a point), as they feed the earth and revive its growth cycle.
“April showers bring May flowers” is a centuries old proverb that has both literal and figurative anecdotes about nature’s life cycle, as well as humanity’s cycle of perseverance and hope (respectively). It’s generally accredited to Thomas Tusser’s similar quote, in his 1557 collection of writings, “500 Points of Good Husbandry”.
In Michigan, we like to say that “it’s better to have rain than snow”, as you don’t have to shovel rain. Nevertheless, we don’t want flooding rains, either. To compensate, I designed our backyard vegetable garden with raised beds (as Mom had when we lived in Algonac). They drain quicker than inground beds, preventing overwatering and mold issues.
Due to its wide range of varying temperatures, this state has numerous Plant Hardiness Zones, ranging from 4 to 6. Since I am in planting Zone 6, April is when I start planting my vegetable garden seeds indoors. The seedlings will then be transplanted outside after Mother’s Day weekend, when the chance of frost is slim-to-none.
Gardening became such a popular activity that clubs began forming at the turn of the 20th century. Garden clubs generally promote beautification, through flowers, as well as a love for botany and conservation. Gardening, unless you have allergies, is a very healthy hobby – physically and mentally.
It’s classified as “moderate” exercise (like aerobics), working all of the major muscle groups – legs, buttocks, arms, shoulders, neck, back, and abdomen – as you stretch, bend, lift, pull, push, etc. All of these activities can build muscles and burn calories.
One hour of gardening and yard work can burn more than walking, at a moderate pace, for the same amount of time, as it works more muscle groups. An hour of gardening, depending on your size and the specific activities involved, can burn up to or over 300 calories.
According to EnglishGardens.com, based on a 180-lb person, doing various gardening activities for 30 minutes, one can burn the following amount of calories:
- Watering plants, burns 61 calories.
- Planting seedlings, burns 162 calories.
- Weeding, pruning or trimming shrubs (manually), burns 142 calories.
- Composting, digging, spading, or tilling, burns 250 or more calories.
[NOTE: Lighter people usually burn less calories than heavier people.]
There’s also a great calorie-burning chart at NutriStrategy.com, where I found that weeding and cultivating my flower garden burns about 393 calories per hour for someone my size. Plus, the sunshine feeds my body much needed Vitamin D, as it’s a natural source for it.
Likewise, gardening excites the brain – stimulating serotonin production, relieving stress, elevating happiness, and regulating mood and anxiety. There’s growing research on the positive benefits of gardening – mentally and physically.
Fruit trees and berry plants (or bushes) are great to plant in April. I planted a couple of cherry trees on our property in the spring of 2012 and they’re still doing really well. The birds love them immensely. It’s commonly known that growing your own fruits and vegetables inspires a healthier diet. That, in turn, strengthens your immune system.
I’ve written several blog posts, about how growing your own food can save money on groceries – especially if you don’t factor in the value of your time (which also has been on the rise) – but gardening is beneficial in many other ways, too. Most gardening requires some amount of physical care and dedication.
When Mom started self-publishing her monthly newsletter, in 1974, she used to dedicate about a page to gardening tips and tricks, as she was an avid gardener, herself, when she had time.
Mom learned a lot about gardening from Dad’s mom, when they lived with Dad’s parents, during their first year of marriage, before they got their first home. Here are some of her tips.
Decades ago, when we lived in Algonac, Mom had a raised garden bed, about 8-ft square. I remember helping her plant strawberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers. There were also perenials of rhubarb, apples, and pears. I enjoyed helping her harvest it for her homemade jams, sauces, and desserts.
Mom picked up most of her gardening (and canning) skills from Dad’s mom, who always had wonderful tomato (and rose) gardens, when she lived on French Road, in Detroit. Enjoying the benefits that gardening gave her, Mom wanted to pass on what she learned to her readers.
However, as Mom’s recipe business quickly grew, within a few years, she had very little time to spend on gardening. When we moved to St. Clair (1977), Mom decided not to have a garden anymore. Nevertheless, she continued growing a few tomato plants in patio pots every year, using coffee grounds and dried, ground-up, egg shells to help them thrive.
Vegetable gardening is a little more involved than other types of gardening. In any gardening, first, you have to get the soil ready, by mulching, weeding, composting, etc. before you even plant the bulbs, seeds or seedlings. When planting vegetables, some seeds are better to start indoors, such as tomatoes, peppers, cauliflower, and broccoli.
After about 6-8 weeks of growth, the seedlings are transplanted into the garden beds, when frost chances have passed. Some seedlings like corn, beans, and peas don’t transplant well. These seeds should be sown right into the ground when weather allows; covering them with an old sheet whenever frost conditions are possible.
April is a great time, depending on your USDA planting zone, to start planting and growing perennial fruits and vegetables like asparagus, chives, rhubarb, raspberries, horseradish and more. I already have the first four in some of my gardens. My asparagus is usually the first to pop up, around late May.
Inflation and the high costs of food is not a new subject. Mom was writing about these in her syndicated column, No Laugh ‘N’ Matter, 50 years ago. Recently though, especially during the last 5 years, since grocery prices have risen again, many people have decided to hone their homesteading skills, by growing at least some of their own food.
More people are also raising egg-laying chickens and learning to fish and hunt, as well, to supplement the rising costs of eggs and meat. You could say homesteading has found a rejuvenation with new generations.
There are so many grocery products you can make at home – from soap to soup mix. Mom featured many of these in her self-published cookbook, The Secrets of Homemade Groceries (Gloria Pitzer – Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; August 1980)] – one of my personal favorites.
FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…
As seen in…
No Laughing Matter [a syndicated series of articles (circa 1970s – 1980s) by Gloria Pitzer]
‘TIS THE SEASON TO BE THANKFUL…
…THE WORLD HAS ALWAYS had its poor and unemployed, and people have always gone to bed hungry in every generation.
When our children were very small and our struggles seemed hopeless, I remember that had it not been for our backyard garden, a few apple and pear trees in the back, and good fishing in the river “out front”, we would have sent our children to bed hungry, many a night. But we didn’t.
Being products of the [Great] Depression [Era] of the 1930s, Paul and I remember how to make more from less, during those times. It was always sufficient. And we always looked toward the day when there might be “more”…
LAST THOUGHTS…
Yesterday, I finally finished posting Mom’s “Secret RecipesTM Master Index” (from all of her cookbooks and newsletters that I have). That was a long project to create and post. I hope it helps those who are looking for one of Mom’s recipes. Many of her out-of-print, self-published books can be found on Amazon, E-bay, and other used book sources.
Thanks for visiting! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my memories of my mom, her memories, and other related things. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at [email protected]. You can also find me on Facebook: @TheRecipeDetective.
IN CLOSING…
In honor of tomorrow, being National Sourdough Bread Day, here’s Mom’s secret recipe for “Herman Sourdough Raisin Bread [Biscuits]”, as seen in her self-published cookbook, Make Alike Recipes (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Oct. 1991, p. 12).
It’s a variation of her “Sourdough Biscuits (Herman Biscuits)”, which I posted last April; and also uses her Thin Vanilla Glaze/Icing recipe. As always, I’m asking only for proper credit if you care to re-share any of these.
P.S. Food-for-thought until next Monday…
It’s the last day of March, which still observes… Irish-American Heritage Month, National Caffeine Awareness Month, National Celery Month, National Craft Month, National Flour Month, National Sauce Month, and National Women’s History Month.
Today is also… National Clams on the Half Shell Day and National Tater Day.
Tomorrow begins the month of April, which observes… National Couple Appreciation Month, National Fresh Celery Month, National Humor Month, National Soft Pretzel Month, National Soy Foods Month, National Poetry Month, National Pecan Month, Scottish-American Heritage Month, and Stress Awareness Month – among other things.
Tomorrow is also… April Fool’s Day and National One Cent Day.
April 2nd is… National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day. Plus, as the first Wednesday in April (for 2025), it’s also… National Walking Day.
April 3rd is… National Chocolate Mousse Day and World Party Day. Plus, as the first Thursday in April (for 2025), it’s also… National Burrito Day.
April 4th is… National Chicken Cordon Bleu Day, National Hug a Newsperson Day, National School Librarian Day, and National Vitamin C Day. Plus, as the first Saturday in April (for 2025), it’s also… National Love Our Children Day, National Play Outside Day, and National Handmade Day.
April 5th is… Gold Star Spouses Day, National Caramel Day, National Deep Dish Pizza Day, National Nebraska Day, and National Raisin and Spice Bar Day. It’s also the 32nd anniversary of Mom’s SECOND appearance on the Phil Donahue show (1993).
April 6th is… National Hostess Twinkie Day, National Caramel Popcorn Day, New Beer’s Eve, and National Teflon Day. As the start of the first full week of April (for 2025), it’s also… National Public Health Week.
Have a great week!
…13 down and 39 to go!
