March 2006
April
- It’s a good time to plant corn, snap beans, okra and squash. Also set transplants of tomatoes and sweet peppers.
- Herbs generally grown for culinary use are: chives, lemon basil, dill, marjoram, rosemary, mint, lemon verbena, sweet basil, summer savory, peppermint and sage.
- If vegetables are allowed to overmature in the garden, plants will go into a rest period. Continue to pick pole beans, okra, squash and cucumbers. A bonus is that small, young vegetables are tastier to the palate.
- Perennial vegetables such as thorny asparagus and Jerusalem artichokes are planted just once, but harvested for years to come.
- If you’ve not grown fruit before, strawberries and blueberries are good starter plants that require little or no chemicals.
- Consider adding heirloom plants to your garden. Often among the most carefree and hardy of plants, unlike newer varieties, these time-tested favorites have had decades or even hundreds of years to adapt to local growing conditions.
- After a few years of growth, forsythia plants tend to decline in flower production. It is helpful to apply a cup of 5-10-5 commercial fertilizer this month.
- When two or three sets of leaflets are visible on seedlings in a seed container, they may be transplanted to individual pots for further growth.
- When grown as potted plants, hydrangeas tend to become root bound if left in the same pot for several years. Hydrangeas grow best and produce more blooms in the open.
- Keep grass away from tree trunks for the first few years. Competition with grasses can reduce root growth of young trees by as much as 50 percent.
- Never disturb the root system of a tree. Any digging or hoeing, which damages roots, can slow tree growth considerably.
- Apply an extra layer of mulch such as pine straw or pine bark to newly planted trees and shrubs. This reduces evaporation, helps roots adjust, and slows down weed growth in the spring.
- Intermixing marigolds and nasturtiums with vegetables will discourage nematodes and side shoots growing from main shoots.
- Flowers for heavy shade include: impatiens (patience plant), sultana, Vinca rosea (Madagascar periwinkle), wax begonia, foxglove, lobelia, basalm, nemophilia (baby-blue eyes) and godetia.
- During growing season, control size and encourage development of a compact plant by keeping long, wispy growth pruned back.
- It’s safest to rotate the location of annuals year after year, as with tomatoes. A three-year rotation, using unrelated plants, helps control soil-borne diseases.
- Repair thin or bare lawn spots in play areas or other spots subject to heavy traffic. If the spot is too thin, loosen soil several inches deep with a spading fork. This allows air, water and fertilizer to move into the soil.
- The best and easiest to grow of the flowering perennial vines include: hybrid clematis, autumn clematis, silver-lace vine, honeysuckle, wisteria and trumpet creeper.
- Lantanas are effective groundcovers for steep slopes; they are also a good choice for stone walls. These plants prefer full sun and fertile soil.
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