Actually now is a great time to think about your garden...with daylight savings time and longer daylight hours in the afternoon and April quickly approaching, think about these helpful hints to get a jump start on your gardening this year!
April is a good time to begin planting perennial plants. They may be bought bare-rooted or in containers:
* Bare-root plants are usually packed in a moist, loose material which should be kept moist, not soggy, until planting. Spread out roots, and plant so that the growth buds are about one inch below the ground.
* Plants in containers must be removed carefully: invert the pot and tap it with a spade or shovel if the plant does not come out easily. If the roots are wrapped around the plant, gently pull them apart. If they are tightly wound, cut them with a sharp, clean knife. Spread the roots and then set the plant at the same level as it was in the pot. Once the bare-root or container-grown plant is in the soil, firm the soil around the plant and water it well.
Late afternoon or evening is the best time for planting. New transplants will get off to a good start if they have the cool of the night to become used to their new homes. Planting on a cloudy day is the next best choice. Be sure to water them well. If the next several days are sunny, they’d appreciate some shading–shingles, sides of cut-up milk cartons, or any temporary material-- will do just fine.
Vegetable tips for early spring; For gourmet salads, thickly sow mixed varieties of lettuce and cut with scissors one-half inch above the ground when the plants are three inches tall. They'll re-sprout for another harvest or two. Swiss chard planted now will produce greens for salads and cooking from July to November. Shorter, stouter, or "half-long" carrots with strong tops are easiest to grow and harvest in our heavy soils. Choose a regular cabbage variety; early varieties produce smaller heads that tend to burst.
Happy planting!
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