April is an amazing time of year to get in the garden. The weather is better, the soil is warming up, and the plants are coming alive from their winter rest. April is the time of year when gardeners need to be going full speed agead to prep their Zone 7 gardens before the heat of summer arrives. Here in TN that comes sooner than we would like! Below is a list of chores and tasks that you can do to help prep your garden for the garden season. There’s a lot that you can do in the garden and I limited this list to just 15 items to get you started!
The Vegetable Garden
- Direct Sow Cool-Season Successions: Plant second rounds of radishes, lettuces, and spinach early in the month. This ensures a continuous harvest before the late-spring heat causes them to bolt.
- Plant Your Potatoes: If you haven’t already, get your seed potatoes in the ground. Use the “hilling” technique (adding soil or mulch around the stems as they grow) to encourage more tuber development and protect them from light.
- Harden Off Transplants: Gradually introduce your indoor-started tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants to the outdoors. Start with an hour of dappled shade and slowly increase their exposure to wind and sun over 7 to10 days.
- Bury Tomato Stems Deeply: When the risk of frost has passed (here in our area its April 15th but check your local last frost date), transplant your tomatoes. Remove the lower leaves and bury the stem up to the first remaining set of leaves; this encourages a massive root system along the buried stem. I generally will wait until the very end of April or beginning of May to put my tomato transplants in the garden.
- Protect Brassicas: Use floating row covers over broccoli, cabbage, and kale. This provides a physical barrier against the cabbage moth, which begins laying eggs as soon as the weather warms. I’ve noticed that the more frilly the leaves the worse the issues are with kale and brassicas. It gives the pests places to hide that are hard to see. If you plant leafy greens with fewer frills you can see those pests better!
Propagation Projects
- Divide Summer/Fall Blooming Perennials: Dig up and divide overcrowded clumps of Hostas, Daylilies, and Coneflowers (Echinacea). Use a sharp spade or garden knife to ensure each section has a healthy set of roots and “eyes” (buds). Check out my latest YouTube video on Dividing Perennials!
- How to Root and Grow Russian Sage from Cuttings (Plant Propagation)Take Herbaceous Stem Cuttings: April is a great time to take softwood cuttings of herbs like lavender, rosemary, and sage. You can also do the same for ornamentals like Russian sage, salvia, and many others! Select non-flowering shoots, dip the ends in rooting hormone, and keep them in a high-humidity environment until roots form. This depends on the matruity of the stem cutting to some extent. Look for firm shoots to make the best stem cuttings.
- Separate “Pups” or Offsets: Check for natural plantlets around the base of plants like Spiderwort or Sedum. These can often be gently teased away from the parent plant and potted up immediately. I seperated out several ‘Husker’s Red’ Penstemon offsets just yesterday like this!
- Propagate Berry Canes: If you have raspberries or blackberries, look for “suckers” emerging away from the main row. These can be dug up with a portion of the root attached and moved to a new location.
- Root Chrysanthemum Cuttings: For a massive fall display, take 3-inch tip cuttings from your mums now. They root quickly in a light potting mix and will produce a much fuller plant by autumn than the original clump.
Technique & Maintenance Chores
- Perform a “Pinch Back”: Pinch off the growing tips of leggy annuals and herbs (like basil) to encourage branching. This results in bushier plants and higher yields later in the season. I also do this with younger shrubs that I want to encourage a more bushy habit.
- Edge Your Beds: While the soil is moist and workable, use an edging tool or sharp spade to create a clean “V” trench between your lawn and garden beds. This prevents grass from creeping in and gives the garden a professional finish.
- Install Vertical Supports Early: Put your pea trellises and tomato cages in place before the plants actually need them. It is much easier to train a small plant upward than to try and wrangle a sprawling, heavy vine later. Vertical supports really help give your “peas a chance!” Sorry bad garden dad joke there!
- Apply “Pre-emptive” Mulch: Once the soil has warmed up slightly, apply a 2–3 inch layer of mulch. This suppresses the first flush of spring weeds and locks in the moisture from April showers. Mulch sales are in full swing at many stores so shop around for the best deal!
- Sterilize Birdbaths and Containers: Before the peak of the nesting season, scrub your birdbaths and any empty decorative pots with a mild bleach solution (1 part bleach to 9 parts water) to eliminate overwintering pathogens.
So go get out there in the garden and get those tasks done! By tackling these tasks this month, you are setting a strong foundation that will pay off with a more productive and manageable garden as the summer heat sets in. Remember the more you get accomplished in April, the better the rest of your garden season with grow!
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