Monthly Gardening Guide – April

Welcome to your Monthly Gardening Guide for April!  Below you will find information on what I will be doing, (or trying to do) for the month of April.  These are goals, not standards and some months I am on top of it and other months I blow it.  But somehow, and thankfully, the garden is forgiving. Your garden to-do list may look different than mine, and that’s okay.  Perhaps you will glean something from my list and please, if you have any suggestions, opinions, or tips & tricks feel free to contact me!  I would love to hear from you.  Now, let’s get our hands dirty and get growing!

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Main Goal

Texas can still throw a wrench in your well laid gardening plans this month so keep those row covers handy just in case of a nighttime cold snap—but otherwise gardening should be getting into full swing.

Prepare

Check soil temperatures regularly with your thermometer. When it consistently registers at 60ºF or above, you have the go-ahead to plant some warm-season crops.

Make sure you harden off your little plants so they have the best chance at thriving!  Here is a great article from Mother Earth News.

 

Also make sure you have already laid in a stock of mulch.  What kind are you using this year?  Maybe 1 or 2 different kinds for different purposes?

 

 

 

Plant’em

 

 

Warm Season Crops: Tomatoes, peppers, corn, beans, squash, cucumbers, melons and eggplant early in the month.  AVOID LARGE FRUITING TOMATOES, THEY DO NOT SET WELL IN TEXAS. Use small and mid-size. Try to pick an overcast day to minimize transplant shock—the stress that occurs when plants are moved from a cushy indoor greenhouse environment to the harsh real world. Be sure to water well at planting time. When finished, add 2-3 inches of mulch to suppress weeds and keep in moisture.

**UPDATE 04/03/23-Y’ll, I cant seem to grow a good tomato for the life of me.  After 7 years of trying and failing I finally ran into an angel at Lowe’s! A kind hearted lady who was much wiser than me, had been gardening here for ages, her family was from New Jersey and her Dad ran a nursery and she agreed with me that it was just plain hard to grow certain things in Texas.  Here is her words of wisdom and of course (not one to give up – obstinate is me) I took her advice, bought 7 plants, planted them and am crossing my fingers. 

***Buy transplants at the nursery or big box stores and plant by The last week of March (if no freezes) or the first week of April.  Purchase Celebrity or Early girl.  NO BIG TOMATOES, like I have said before they will not have time to set before our heat kicks in.   

Herbs: Sage, basil, parsley, rosemary, mint and thyme.

Summer annuals: plant from 4 inch and quart pots now. Sun: moss rose, hybrid purslane, trailing lantanas, Dahlberg daisies, cleome, pentas, firebush.

Perennials from quart or gallons pots can go in now.

Roses from containers in bud and bloom can also go in now, sometimes I like waiting till now anyway because then I can see what color of blooms I am getting and also how healthy is the plant?!

Prune’em

Not much pruning this month, everything is growing.

• Keep the lawn mowed down, letting it grow tall weakens it…doesn’t help it.
• Spring flowering shrubs and vines AFTER they bloom (again), use hand shears for a more natural and flowing feel.
• Trees (again)
• Fall Perennials to encourage branching.

Feed’em

It’s time to institute the “Monthly” feedings for your whole garden.  Just mark it on your calendar folks!

• Lawn
• Trees, shrubs, vines, groundcovers
• Veggies and Flowers
• Container plants

The Look Out For’s & To-do’s

The name of the game right now is water, water and weed, weed. Until newly transplanted seedlings develop root systems, make sure they don’t dry out or you’ll lose them. And stay on top of weeds, catching them before they begin to spread.

The pests are coming, the fungus is coming!!

• Take All Root Rot
• Black spot on Roses
• Snails, slugs and pillbugs
• Thrips
• Caterpillars
• Alert-Alert – Check for Rose Rosette Virus!!!

Check out this article from Farmers Almanac: Controlling Pests in your Organic Garden

Companion Planting helps with deterring pests and diseases.  Here is a great Companion Planting Chart for Vegetable Gardens.

April’s Monthly Gardening Check-list

 

 

 

 

 

May you find joy & wonder in your garden, and may your hands always be dirty,

 

 

 

Dig in to more Gardening Posts here:

Monthly Gardening Guide – November
Monthly Gardening Guide – October