Gardening Tasks for April
Gardening Tips
We have had Spring all through March and now it is looking like we may be the last remnants of Winter for the start of April. So many of the garden tasks normally targeted for April may have already been completed. Successful gardening amounts to paying attention and following through with what needs to be done at any one time.
Regardless, here are some of the tasks for your garden which should be considered for April.
- Remove any winter-damaged branches or plants that have not begun to grow yet. You can prune spring-flowering plants when they finish blooming.
- Transplant citrus trees, ideally 2 to 5-year-old trees.
- Thin fruit to 6-inch spacing for better fruit size. Also, remember to provide adequate soil moisture for your fruit trees during April and May for good fruit size.
- Start fertilizing established roses if you stopped over the winter.
- Turn your water back on and start mowing established lawns. Dethatching and aerating are good things to complete in early April.
- Begin fertilizing grass this month and apply grub prevention treatments.
- Annual flowers can be seeded now. You can sow the seeds directly in the flower beds but remember to keep the soil moist until the seeds germinate.
- Thin out flower seedlings so that the plants have enough space to grow. You can transplant the extra seedlings to another area.
- Continue planting vegetables, such as beans, carrots, cucumbers, melons, peppers, squashes, and sunflowers.
- Plant vegetables in successive plantings so that you can have a continuous harvest throughout the growing season.
- Remember to thin out your vegetable plants so that they have enough room to grow. If they are too crowded, the plants will become weak.
Beware of insects and other pests in your garden. Keep an eye on your garden for aphids, spider mites, etc., and take action when necessary to eliminate the pests
If you don’t have enough garden space, you can always create more by growing crops in pots! For example, tomatoes make an ideal container plant when grown in buckets. Here are some ideas, plus our list of the best vegetables to grow in buckets, bags, and baskets.
Anything that holds soil can be used to grow extra veggies. Just make sure that it has holes in the bottom for drainage. Nothing kills more plants than overwatering.
Growing in containers now not only saves space but also, because they are portable, you can move the plants into more sunlight or shade or even move inside in terrible weather, such as hail or freeze. In addition, growing in buckets or pots means less weeding and less pests since you’re off the ground!
What to Grow in Buckets
If you have buckets from the hardware store, they make great planters for larger vegetables such as tomatoes or pole beans. Just drill holes in the bottom.
Don’t overplant!. Here are tips on how many plants to grow in each bucket.
Container: 1 plant per 5-gallon pot (can go as small a 3 gallon pot)
Varieties: ‘Early Girl,’ ‘Patio,’ ‘Small Fry,’ ‘Sweet 100’, ‘Tiny Tim’
Container: 2 or 3 plants per 5 gallon pot
Varieties: Bush ‘Blue Lake,’ Bush ‘Romano,’ ‘Tender Crop’
Container: 1 or 2 plant per 5-gallon pot
Varieties: ‘DeCicco,’ ‘Green Comet’
Container: at least 12 inches deep rectangular planter
Varieties: ‘Danvers Half Long,’ ‘Short ‘n Sweet,’ ‘Tiny Sweet.’
Container: 1 plant per 1-gallon pot
Varieties: ‘Patio Pik,’ ‘Pot Luck,’ ‘Spacemaster’
Container: 1 to 3 plants per 5-gallon pot
Varieties: ‘Black Beauty’, ‘Ichiban’, ‘Slim Jim’
Varieties: ‘Ruby’, ‘Salad Bowl’
Container: 1 plant per 3-gallon pot, 5 plants per 15-gallon tub
Varieties: ‘Cayenne,’ ‘Long Red,’ ‘Sweet Banana,’ ‘Wonder,’ ‘Yolo’
Planting In Bags
Fabric grow pots are great if you don’t have room to store pots over the winter. They’re great for growing potatoes. Fill with compost and potting mix, 3 plants to a grow bag. Just empty out the soil when the season is over and fold them up, ready for next year.
