Garden Calendar-April

 

 

 

 

•Plant perennials, shrubs and trees using mushroom compost, The Cow compost and manure, or Baccto Garden Soil mixed with the soil from the hole.  Use Fertilome Root Stimulator when planting and continue every two weeks for vigorous root growth.  

 •Fertilize roses using ½ cup Bone & Bloodmeal as growth begins; apply ¼ cup after the first blooms, then ¼ cup again in mid summer. Prune roses back to 12” from the ground (do not prune climbing roses now) and spread out the topsoil or peat used in winter to cover the base of the plant.

  •Plant bedding plants after April 15-20 when danger of frost is past. Warmer night temperatures will ease transplanting of tender annuals. Mix Mushroom Compost, Earthworm Castings, or Compost & Manure with the soil. Use Metro-mix potting mix to plant annuals in planters, pots, or in beds for vigorous growth.

   •Hang baskets of annuals after mid-April for colorful additions to porches, patios, and decks. Fertilize every week to two weeks using Fertilome Blooming & Rooting or All Purpose 20-20-20 water soluble fertilizer, or Neptune’s Harvest Fish & Seaweed organic fertilizer for continual blooms and healthy growth all summer.    

 •Sow grass seed in early April. Use Fertilome New Lawn Starter, Milorganite, or Espoma Organic Lawn Food raked in the surface of the soil before seeding.   •Topdress lawns with ½” mushroom compost and rake into the grass for healthy growth.

 •Prune azaleas and rhododendrons after blooming. Fertilize these and hollies, dogwoods, magnolias, and evergreens with cottonseed meal to make the soil acid. Use 1 pound cottonseed meal per foot of height for vigorous growth.

 •Spread lime around the base of lilacs, boxwoods, clematis, sweet peas, pink hydrangeas, dianthus and phlox to promote a higher pH and better growth.  Do a soil test first in your garden or lawn to determine if lime is needed in these areas.

 •Apply Milky Spore to naturally control Japanese beetle grubs for 10 to 20 years in your lawn and flower beds.