Summer Bulbs - Plant Gladiolus every two weeks until the first of July for a
continuous bloom. Plant Callas, Ranunculus, Crocosmia and other summer bloomers
anytime this month.
Vegetables - Try planting early potatoes, bush beans and other cool season crops.
Interplanting onions helps to prevent cutworms. Corn requires a soil temperature of
at least 60 degrees. Start melons, peppers, squash and tomatoes indoors for May
planting.
Annuals & Perennials - Many perennials and groundcovers bloom in April. Buying a few
in bloom each month insures continuous flowers in your landscape. Annual seeds of
Asters, Cosmos, Marigolds, Zinnias and Snapdragons may be sown now. Started annuals
may be set out now, but protect them from frost.
Lawn Care
Lawns need a complete fertilizer every six weeks through October. A weed & feed
formula can be used to control broadleaf weeds, but a liquid weed killer works
better to kill clover.
Check for thatch, which is a layer of dead roots and stems on top of the soil. An
inch thick layer of thatch causes problems with watering, fertilizing and disease.
Remove it with a power rake or thatcher and reseed.
If the lawn is full of weeds or coarse grass, April and May are good months to kill
every thing with Roundup, power rake, and re-seed with a good blend of fescue and
perennial ryegrass.
Spraying
Leaf spot diseases are worst when leaves are young and tender, and the weather is
cloudy and rainy. Begin spraying fruit trees, dogwoods and roses every seven to
ten days with a fungicide. Include an insecticide when insects are present. Do not
spray insecticides on open flowers because it kills the bees which we need. For codling moth
on apples, spray just as the flowers are about to open and again when the petals have
mostly fallen.
