April showers bring May (and June) Flowers. Snow drops have been showing for a few weeks and daffodils are soon to blossom.  This means we gardeners have lots to do to get the season started. Along with early pruning and planting there is the necessary clean-up and garden preparations. In this article we will cover details of these renewing tasks and offer a couple reminders about why we garden.

Mostly we garden because we enjoy growing plants for flowers and for food.  It is a genuine satisfaction to bring in food & flowers that you grew yourself.  My suggestion is that you do this mostly using organic practices.  Perhaps you also buy organic foods when you can.  If you feel that organic foods tend to be too expensive to buy all the time, you might like to watch this short (3 minute) video published by PBS on the true cost of organic foods (and, why is cheaper factory food so cheap!?!).  This is a very brief introduction to the important issue of what food really costs and well worth thinking about when you make food purchase choices.  Please feel free to send in your thoughts!

Late March through mid-April is the best time to start peppers (sweet or hot), tomatoes, and cabbage.  Broccoli, cauliflower and many annual flowers (zinnias, snapdragons, cosmos, marigold, etc.) seeds can be started in mid to late April.  Johnny’s has a very good seed starting calculator online that covers every vegetable and flower you might plant.  You simply enter your spring frost free date (I use May 22 in Mount Holly) and the table tells you when to start the seeds and when to transplant them.  Here is a good video about starting your own seeds.  Remember to label every container you plant, including the variety, so you know what’s what at transplant time.

Spring Pruning

What can I do outside now?  When the snow is gone use the nicer days to your advantage and get your pruning and cleanup done.  Pruning is best done while woody plants are still dormant, before their buds swell (usually about mid-April).  In general, prune out all dead, diseased or damaged stems and branches.  Make your pruning cuts of side branches close to the main stem, just outside the enlarged “collar” or just outside lateral buds so they can grow new branches.  This is a great time to manage shape & size by cutting off those drooping or too long branches and downward growing branches.  UVM Extension has helpful videos online to show the basics of good pruning practices.  A few of my own suggestions: 

Raspberries & Blackberries – cut out all the old canes that fruited last season plus any short, spindly canes at ground level.  Also, you can cut back young canes to 5-6 ft. to reduce floppiness or excessive height.  If you have an everbearing variety that tried to bear a second fall crop you should cut those canes down just below the lowest fruit bunches as they won’t repeat fruiting on that top area.

Blueberries – cut out any dead or damaged branches.  In mature bushes (over 5 years old) select a mix of young and mature healthy branches to leave and thin out over-crowded branches to allow sunlight and air flow through the bush.  This year’s flower buds are already set on blueberries so don’t shorten saved stems or you may remove this season’s berries.

Apple & Pears – remove all dead or damaged branches and any “suckers” (branches that grow straight up from the main trunk or side branches.  Remove branches that cross, grow downward or head centrally.  After pruning, apply a dormant oil spray covering all surfaces well (especially the buds) from the ground up to the top to smother over-wintering pest insect eggs.  Do this on a calm day when the temperature is above 40.  We’ll repeat this application after the leaf buds swell and again after they just open but before blossoms open to get most of the larvae hiding in the bark and buds.

Hydrangeas – in Mount Holly we mostly have smooth or panicle hydrangeas that bloom on new wood. (Big white blossoms) They don’t require pruning, but you’ll get bigger blossoms if you cut all of last year’s canes back to the ground.  I leave a number of strong young canes (straight and gray colored) for early greening and to provide support for new canes that will grow.

Do not prune forsythia, rhododendron, spiraeas, clethras, viburnums, or lilacs until after they have finished blossoming (except to remove dead or damaged branches). Their flower buds are already present on last year’s wood and pruning them now would remove this year’s blossoms!

Lawns – Despite the commercial push for chemical lawn fertilizers and weed killers in the spring, this is not the best time to feed your lawn.  Spring fertilization stimulates top growth (more mowing!) at the expense of root growth.  This results in overgrowth early in the season and a lawn that will require extra watering in late summer.  Spring is a good time to apply limestone if your soil pH is lower than 6.5.  This prepares your soil for fall feeding, which stimulates strong root growth and healthier grass.

Composting is always a good idea and one of the most important things any gardener can do.  Compost is good for your soil and plants, keeps climate warming carbon out of the atmosphere, and reduces the waste volume going to landfills.