Wrong!

April 2018

PICKAWAY TO GARDEN

Wrong!

By Paul Hang

Remember those sunny relatively warm days early last month? No? It does seem long ago so I’ll forgive you. We were all commenting how great it was that winter was over and spring was surely here. Wrong! We exhibited that all too human tendency to believe something simply because we wish it were true. I was premature in chronicling the signs of spring. Spring weather has been coming early the past few years but not this year. True, daffodils are blooming, kind of. Some trees are showing buds swelling and breaking. However, most trees still look bare and wintry, not at all like they will leaf out soon. Evidently what I thought was Mother Nature awakening was her just rolling over to catch a few more winks.

There is good news for us procrastinators. Postponing some spring cleanup chores is beneficial for native pollinators and all kinds of critters. If you want butterflies to visit your yard don’t cut back perennials and ornamental grasses until they start to green up. The eggs and larvae of butterflies and moths are still attached to the stems. Those and overwintering insects can be hard to see and inadvertently destroying them is all too easy. If you must cut back the stems of perennials (you did leave them over winter didn’t you?), store them until the weather warms or place them loosely on the compost pile. Check out https://savvygardening.com/spring-garden-clean-done-right.

This is my 100^th column. How time flies! You can read prior columns at pickawaygardener.blogspot.com

The following are some hints and resources: Read the labels of purchased plants and the instructions on seed packets for site recommendations (Right Plant in the Right Place) and planting instructions. Have a question? Check with the OSU Extension Service. The Helpline can be reached at 740-474-7534 or www.pickaway.osu.edu where there is a link to “Ask an Expert.”

To find out how much warmth it takes to bring on the bloom of certain plants you can go to www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/gdd. Sites to search for gardening information for Ohio and surrounding states are: www.ohioline.edu.osu, (Michigan) www.migarden.msu.edu, (Kentucky) www.uky.edu/hort, (Pennsylvania) www.extension.psu.edu, (Indiana) www.extension.purdue.edu, (West Virginia) www.ext.wvu.edu. If you use “You Tube” make sure the video you’re watching is coming from a university. Go to the Buckeye Yard and Garden Line at http//bygl.osu.edu. There, local state experts discuss gardening issues which are in the form of a newsletter. You can even choose to have it emailed to you.

 

Dr. Bob Liggett, champion giant pumpkin grower, says to start your giants indoors on or about April 20^th depending on the weather forecast. If colder, start later. If warmer, start earlier. They germinate the seeds at 85 to 90 degrees. It takes 3 to 4 days and then in a week, depending on the weather, they acclimate the plants before planting outdoors.

April 10^th is Ralph C. Starkey Community Action Day. One of the activities will be held at Mary Virginia Crites Hannan Park at 9am.  Volunteers will work to remove as many invasive plant species growing in the woods as we can. Come join students from Ohio Christian University, local high schools and others. Bring loppers and pruning saws if you have them.

Things to do in the garden:

Time spent on your lawn now will benefit it the rest of the year. Fertilize lightly. The time to re-seed is when night time temps consistently reach 50 degrees and above. This is also the time to aerate lawns. To prevent crabgrass a good target event for applying a pre-emergent herbicide (but not if you plan to seed) is when the first bloom appears on Bradford Callery pear. When common lilac or Ohio buckeye begins to bloom it is too late for a pre-emergent herbicide to be effective and too early for a post-emergent. Leave clippings on the lawn. Their nitrogen content is high and will reduce the need to fertilize. Mowing height of at least three inches will retard the growth of crab grass and other weeds.

Unless you are prepared to cover plants in case of frost, don’t put out those tender plants such as tomatoes and peppers until mid-May or later when the soil warms up. The average last frost date is now April 23rd. There is a 50/50 chance of frost then and the chance decreases about 10% per week after that. Spring flowering bulbs should be fertilized after they bloom. Remember to leave the leaves of bulbs until they yellow. Brown is better. Also prune spring blooming shrubs after they bloom.

If April brings its overhyped showers don’t work the soil if it is too wet.  Wait until it dries out a bit. If it seems wet enough to make a clay pot, wait. Squeeze a ball of earth about the size of a golf ball and let it drop from waist high, if it breaks apart it’s ready to be worked. Don’t apply mulch until May. Allow the soil to warm.

Cut back your ornamental grasses to six inches. Cut back your butterfly bushes (buddleia) to a foot or two and apply a balanced fertilizer. Now is the time to prune roses. Depending on the variety, you may prune back to a foot in height. Cut off those bagworms from shrubs and trees. Do it now before the worms hatch out (shortly after the Snowmound Spirea blooms). Dispose of the bags in the trash or bury them. One bag left equals a hundred plus new bags that won’t show themselves until this fall.

Tomato and pepper seeds should be started indoors. The seedlings should be moved from the cells after 4 weeks into larger pots. Move into the garden only after hardening them off and the danger of frost is past. As usual make sure you water in the transplants. When you water, water deeply (top six inches wet) and water the base of the plant not the foliage. Water when the plants need it, not every day. Most plants require 1 to 1 and a half inches of water per week.