This Month In Your Garden

by Cecilia Rice

Much of March felt more like April. I am hoping that we can enjoy some nice April weather and not lurch right into summer. We all seem to enjoy the awakening of plants in the spring after the drabness of winter. People who love to garden can hardly wait to get outside and “play in the dirt”. There are some specific things that should be done in April.

Most bulbs have finished blooming by now, and tall green foliage is left behind. If there is time in your busy schedule to pull off the dead flowers, it would be best to do that. If you can’t it is not a big worry. But, poor as they may look as they age and begin to yellow, do not cut that foliage off. They must go through their whole cycle to be able to create new bulbs. They should not be tied into neat bundles to make things look better either, because the foliage in the center of the bundle cannot get sunlight and will be unable to help replenish the bulbs. They will become yellow and dry before long and will rake up easily, so please be patient.

This is a very good time to plant ground covers from flats. Since they have a small root system, they are best planted before the weather becomes hot. They will establish themselves more easily and with less watering. Using compost around them when planting will help to keep them moist. After they have been planted for about two to three weeks, fertilize them lightly. A slow release fertilizer or a soluble fertilizer with a hose end sprayer will work well. That can be repeated a time or two to help them become weel established.

The early spring-like weather really seems to have people eager to get started planting their vegetable gardens. We have had people asking for vegetable since early March. We finally started offering them in mid March and they were selling well. The weather is usually quite variable at this time of year- something to keep in mind. It can get suddenly cool enough to stunt the small plants. That doesn’t bother some folks and they are willing to risk the chance that they might lose a few plants. But, on the other hand, they might not, and then they are ahead of many of the rest who diligently wait a while longer to start planting vegetables .

Bare root season was very good this year – at least it was for our nursery. Anyone who planted bare root trees should paint the trunks of those trees with tree trunk paint. If that isn’t easily available, white or other very light colored interior latex paint can be used. Most of those interior paints are quite thick and should be diluted with about 1/3 water. The trunk should be painted far up far enough to cover areas that are not shaded by limbs above. That will prevent sunburn that can cause small cracks in the thin bark on the trunks of these young trees which can allow entry points for insects or other organisms.

An application of chelated iron applied to citrus trees and to rhododendrons, azaleas, and camellias will help to insure that the new leaves that they are putting on will not be yellow due to an iron deficiency. That is a condition called “chlorosis” which will cause the leaf to show yellowing with the veins still looking green. It is much like anemia in people. While doing that, be sure to check for Mealy Bugs on citrus and get rid of them right away because they will multiply. I think I mentioned them last month. I guess you can tell that I don’t like Mealy Bugs! It is easier to get rid of them early than to let them get well established.

I have begun to feel that there is no truly “normal” year. It seems that every year brings comments on something unusual about the season which points out that Mother Nature is not set in her ways! She throws all kinds of curves and we have to adjust. This year, of course, it is all about how dry our weather is with only 12% of the normal (there’s that word again) snowpack in the mountains which further limits water the available for all kinds of activities. I have never understood how they come up with the norms, but we really don’t need to know what the norm is to realize the wet years and the dry years and adjust as best we can. This year, as last year, we suggest mulching things well. A 2” depth of mulching material is suggested to slow down the evaporation of moisture in the soil. That is especially useful during the hottest months of the summer, but is good all year because it encourages the growth of worms that tend to till the soil for us when it is moist, and add worm castings at the same time. The mulch should be kept several inches from the trunks of trees so that the trunk does not stay too wet, but the general area will be damp. Drip systems are the most efficient ways to irrigate trees and shrubs, but they do need to be checked routinely to be sure they are working properly and providing adequate moisture for the plants needs. That can be accomplished by the number of emitters used on the various plants. Be sure that you know how much water is delivered by the emitters. Many of the small emitters deliver only a gallon an hour, some 2 gallons an hour. But, if the system is only running for 15 or 20 minutes, that is probably not enough to sustain things when the temperature reaches 100-105 degrees in the middle of the summer. Though it may take a while to get all the fine tuning done, they can be a time saving and efficient way to do your irrigating. Keeping smaller areas devoted to lawn, and planting some low growing water wise plants in what had been lawn can be an attractive way to cut down water consumption. As areas become more densely populated there is more demand for what water is available and it only seems prudent that we should all be aware and willing to do our part.

Cecilia Rice and her son Jeff Rice are co-owners of Bald Mountain Nursery on Bald Mountain Road in Browns ValleyWe are “ the unexpected nursery on a little country road”. www.baldmountainnursery.com
Tel. (530) 743-4856