VEGETABLE PATCH : Before the change (midday), fruit day — bright spring light and a waxing descending moon make this a fine window for settling fruiting plants into the ground. Move cucumber plants out to their final spots at 60 cm in the row, rows 100 cm apart; bury them up to their first leaves for a stronger anchor. Pumpkin transplants go in at 120 cm apart, rows 150 cm — give them room to sprawl and work in a generous shovelful of compost at planting. Bean seedlings raised under cover can move out now at 8 cm in the row, rows 40 cm, in a warm, sheltered bed.
ORCHARD : A shovelful of compost worked around the base of young kiwi vines (one male to five females) will feed the fruiting wood through the weeks ahead. Grapevines and fig trees also welcome a mulch layer now to conserve spring moisture and keep surface roots cool as temperatures climb.
VEGETABLE PATCH : After the change, root day — the afternoon shifts the energy toward what grows underground. Earth up potato rows with a draw hoe, mounding loose soil firmly around the stems to keep developing tubers in the dark and encourage a fuller harvest. Strawberry beds reward a little attention too: tuck fresh mulch beneath the foliage to hold moisture and keep fruit clean as it begins to form.
LANDSCAPING : Artichoke offsets planted at 1 m each way will anchor well in moist, workable afternoon soil; add a handful of well-rotted manure at the base to sustain their vigorous, architectural growth through summer.