Gardeners Almanac
Regional and seasonal gardening tips for where you live.
April/May 2005
Edited by Carol Mack
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Maritime Canada & New England
The snow-covered fields are giving way and the woodcocks have returned, calling out their familiar peent. Gardens may be too wet to till in April, but spinach and lettuce seed can be sown on top of friable ground and covered with compost. Or start them in flats indoors and set them out as soon as the ground is ready. In the greenhouse, it’s time to pot up the earlier seedlings that need more room and start quick-growing annuals like nasturtiums, four o’clocks, marigolds, morning glories, asters, cosmos and zinnias. Get a jump on the winter squash and hard-shell gourds by starting them in 3- to 4-inch peat pots or 1-quart yogurt containers with drainage holes punched in the bottoms. May brings a busy month of planting greens, carrots, beets, cilantro, favas, peas and much more. A diluted fish emulsion drink for each transplant helps ease it into garden life.
— Roberta Bailey, FEDCO Seeds, Waterville, Maine.
Mid-Atlantic
April is when the garden really takes off. Start peas, spinach, beets, carrots and lettuce every two weeks. (Choose a spring variety of lettuce like ‘Red Salad Bowl’ or ‘Blackseeded Simpson.’) Check overwintered greens for brilliant red and black harlequin bugs and handpick before they spread. If the weather is mild, take a gamble and transplant some early tomatoes under a row cover. Thin beets and carrots two weeks after they emerge for vigorous growth, and begin hilling potatoes when they are 8 inches high. Sow watermelons, cucumbers and cantaloupe to get a jump on the season. When May comes around, switch to heat-resistant lettuces like ‘Thai 88’ and summer greens such as ‘Rainbow’ chard. Add beans, corn, cucumbers and squash to succession plantings. When the soil warms at the end of May, sow peanuts, okra, edamame (green soy beans), sweet potatoes and other hot weather crops.on’t forget to eat lots of strawberries!
— Ira Wallace, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Mineral, Va
Southern Interior
After the last frost has passed, those heat-loving vegetables you started indoors can be moved outside. Many Southern gardeners say April 15 is the last chance for frost but check with your neighbors if you are new to the area. It’s time to plant seeds of warm weather crops, including beans, corn, squash, peanuts, okra, sunflowers, zinnias and marigolds. Plant fruit trees and don’t forget to label and feed them. Keep them watered during summer dry spells. On established trees, thin apple and pear fruit 6 inches apart, 4 inches for peaches and plums. Hoe and pull weeds, and start gathering grass clippings, straw or other organic materials to use for mulch. As summer heat approaches, these will serve triple-duty by providing slow-release fertilizers, keeping roots moist and cool, and suppressing the weeds
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