April Gardening Tips

• Remove weeds from the garden and ornamental beds early.
• Start a new compost pile for use later in the season.
• Plant semi-cool crops such as cauliflower, carrots, beets, lettuce, parsley, parsnip, salsify, endive, potatoes and Swiss chard.
• Start an asparagus bed in a trench composed of the existing soil mixed with organic matter and an all-purpose fertilizer.
• Aerate the lawn to promote air and water movement, decrease thatch, increase fertilizer penetration and prepare to apply pre-emergent.
• Apply a pre-emergent to turfgrass the first of April, and again the first of June, to control crabgrass and spurge.
• Wait to cut back foliage of spring blooming bulbs such as daffodils and tulips until the leaves turn yellow or die back.
• Prune shrubs that bloom after June 1^st.
• Get some new strawberry plants for the berry patch. 
• Set mower height to 2-2 ½” tall.
• Harden off early tomato seedlings by exposing them to temps 40-50’F for three hours per day, second week of April.
• Pansies and cold tolerant flowers become available at local nurseries.
• Sow squash, melon and cucumber seeds indoors.
• Aerate turf grass.
• Transplant early tomatoes into walls of water or other protected environment.
• Prune and fertilize roses.
• Prep garden soil for planting if you haven’t already.
• Plant a tree to celebrate Arbor Day on April 26.
• Plant gladiolus and dahlia bulbs outside