April in the Garden
- Raise mowing height of lawnmower.
- Monitor spring rains and irrigate as needed.
- Paint trunks of young trees with white latex paint to prevent sunburn, borers.
- Fertilize water plants.
- Use fertilizers and pesticides only as needed and according to label directions.
- Cover squash with row cover until flowering to prevent diseases spread by aphids, white-flies.
- Use wet rolled up newspapers as traps for snails and earwigs, or pick them by hand.
- Continue weeding.
- Thin fruit crops as necessary.
- Remove spent blooms from bulbs; leave green leaves to build nutrients for next year.
- Sod, seed or over-seed lawn.
- Plant tomatoes and peppers only when night time temperatures reach 50°.
Planting Guide
Transplanting Brassicas
Vegetables & Herbs
- Start seeds in green house or cold frame for carrots, cucumber, corn, melons, squash, green beans, lettuce, spinach, celery, tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers.
- Directly seed carrots, cucumber, corn, green beans, melons and squash.
- Trans plant seedlings or purchased plants of lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and cucumber.
- Harvest spinach, peas, cauliflower, broccoli, first onions, and cabbage.
- Again, refer to planting guide for best timing of spring vegetable seeds and transplants.
Bulbs and Flowers
- Plant warm season annuals such as ageratum, impatiens, lobelia, marigold, petunia, and sunflower.
- Plant perennials such as catmint, salvia, scabiosa, verbena, and yarrow.
- Plant perennial ground covers such as snow-in-summer or dwarf plumbago.
- Plant whatever catches your eye!
