Gardening Month by Month: April & May
My gardening got away from me so much these past 2 months that I forgot to even write about them. I am pretty sure y’all stumbled along without me…but just so you have the information handy, in case you need to check something or verify a timetable or two I thought I would include both months at once. I will also post a June to-do list on about a week, so you have it early!
Here is your to-do list for April:
From planting to deadheading, there’s plenty to do in the garden this month. So grab your garden gloves and have a little fun!
Planting Trees and Shrubs — Continue to plant container-grown trees, shrubs, perennial herbs, ground covers, and perennial flowers. However, in the desert, finish planting this month.
Planting Nursery Plants — Continue to plant warm-season annual flowers and vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, marigolds, petunias, and the like) as long as all danger of frost has passed and as long as you have enough time for them to beat the summer heat. (However, in hot desert areas, for example, that means no later than late February.) If in doubt, give a quick call to the garden center nearest you.
Planting Nursery Plants:
- If you haven’t already and as long as you’re a couple of weeks past your region’s last average frost date, you can plant seeds for corn,green beans, melons, squash, cucumbers, okra, sweet potatoes and other heat-lovers.
- Keep mowing regularly — about once every week or two — and at the right height. It’s the best thing you can do to control weeds and keep grass thick and healthy. In areas where it’s hitting the 90s F, mow cool-season lawns such as bluegrass, ryegrasses, or fescues at 3 inches or so (2 inches in cooler weather). Mow warm-season grasses such as Bermuda, St. Augustine, and zoysia at about 2 inches all growing season long.
- Dethatch warm-season lawns, if necessary, once the lawn starts to grow.
- Fertilize your lawn.
- Fertilize roses, citrus trees, fuchsia, avocado trees, and irises.
- If conditions are dry, spider mites may well be starting to take hold. Control them by giving affected plants a strong daily blast with the hose, being sure to get underneath the leaves. This has the nice side effect of also reducing aphid populations.
- Keep up with watering, paying special attention to newly-planted plants, containers, roses, lawns, tomatoes, and globe artichokes. For best use of water, water around established plantings once the soil is dry about 6 inches below the surface. If you don’t already have a drip irrigation system set up for your containers, check out the many types available at your garden center.
Deadheading 101 — Deadhead fading flower blossoms. You’ll keep your garden neater and flowering better longer.
Stakes and Supports:
- Continue to control snails and ants as needed. (my most favorite way to do this is with beer and a tuna can…they die happy!)
- When the blossoms on your potatoes start to bloom, it’s time to harvest.
- Harvest vegetables when they’re young and tender.
- In low desert areas, provide shade for tomatoes when daytime temperatures reach 100 degrees F.
Here is your best planting dates for Southern California Zone 9
| Crop | Start Seeds Indoors | Moon-favorable Dates | Set Out Plants/ Start Seeds Outdoors |
Moon-favorable Dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beans | Mar 8-29 | Mar 8-16 | ||
| Beets | Feb 15-Mar 8 | Feb 15-28 | ||
| Broccoli | Jan 18-Feb 1 | Jan 30-Feb 1 | Feb 8-15 | Feb 8-14 |
| Brussels sprouts | Jan 18-Feb 1 | Jan 30-Feb 1 | Feb 1-22 | Feb 1-14 |
| Cabbage | Jan 4-18 | Jan 4-15 | Feb 1-15 | Feb 1-14 |
| Carrots | Jan 25-Feb 8 | Jan 25-29 | ||
| Cauliflower | Jan 18-Feb 1 | Jan 30-Feb 1 | Feb 1-15 | Feb 1-14 |
| Celery | Dec 21-Jan 4 | Jan 1- 4 | Mar 8-22 | Mar 8-16 |
| Collards | Jan 18-Feb 1 | Jan 30-Feb 1 | Feb 1-22 | Feb 1-14 |
| Corn | Mar 1-15 | Mar 1-15 | ||
| Cucumbers | Feb 1- 8 | Feb 1- 8 | Mar 15-22 | Mar 15-16 |
| Eggplant | Dec 21-Jan 4 | Jan 1- 4 | Mar 15-22 | Mar 15-16 |
| Kale | Jan 18-Feb 1 | Jan 30-Feb 1 | Feb 1-22 | Feb 1-14 |
| Kohlrabi | Feb 1-22 | Feb 1-14 | ||
| Leeks | Dec 21-Jan 4 | Jan 1- 4 | Feb 1-15 | Feb 1-14 |
| Lettuce | Jan 18-Feb 1 | Jan 30-Feb 1 | Feb 15-Mar 15 | Mar 1-15 |
| Melons | Feb 1- 8 | Feb 1- 8 | Mar 15-Apr 5 | Mar 15-16 |
| Okra | Mar 15-29 | Mar 15-16 | ||
| Onion sets | Feb 1-22 | Feb 15-22 | ||
| Parsnips | Feb 8-Mar 1 | Feb 15-28 | ||
| Peas | Jan 18-Feb 1 | Jan 30-Feb 1 | ||
| Peppers | Dec 21-Jan 4 | Jan 1- 4 | Mar 15-Apr 5 | Mar 15-16 |
| Potato tubers | Feb 22-Mar 15 | Feb 22-28 | ||
| Pumpkins | Feb 1-15 | Feb 1-14 | Mar 15-Apr 5 | Mar 15-16 |
| Radishes | Jan 4-18 | Jan 16-18 | ||
| Spinach | Jan 18-Feb 8 | Jan 30-Feb 8 | ||
| Squash | Feb 1-15 | Feb 1-14 | Mar 15-Apr 5 | Mar 15-16 |
| Sweet Potatoes | Feb 1- 8 | Mar 15-Apr 5 | Mar 17-29 | |
| Swiss Chard | Jan 18-Feb 1 | Jan 30-Feb 1 | Feb 8-15 | Feb 8-14 |
| Tomatoes | Jan 4-18 | Jan 4-15 | Mar 8-29 | Mar 8-16 |
| Turnips | Feb 1-15 | Feb 15 | ||
| Watermelon | Feb 1- 8 | Feb 1- 8 | Mar 15-Apr 5 | Mar 15-16 |
Planting Nursery Plants — Continue to plant warm-season annual flowers and vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, marigolds, petunias, and the like) as long as you have enough time for them to beat the summer heat. (However, in hot desert areas, for example, that means no later than late February.) If in doubt, give a quick call to the garden center nearest you.
Planting Nursery Plants:
- If you haven’t already, plant seeds or seedlings for corn, green beans, melons, squash, cucumbers, okra, sweet potatoes and other heat-lovers.
- Keep up with watering. Even highly drought-tolerant plants can need irrigation. Water large cacti, for example, once a month and agave and yuccas every three weeks.
- Prune winter- and spring-flowering trees and shrubs once they stop blooming.
- Limit pruning of desert legume trees such as palo verde and mequite, just removing dead or very small limbs as necessary. Heavy pruning, to stimulate new growth which will be stressed by oncoming heat, should wait until later in the summer.
Deadheading 101 — Deadhead fading flower blossoms. You’ll keep your garden neater and flowering better longer.
Mulch Matters — If you haven’t already, apply a layer of mulch on flowerbeds and around trees and shrubs 2-3 inches around the base of plants. It reduces weeds, conserves moisture, and prevents disease. Great stuff!
- Keep harvesting vegetables when they’re young and tender.
- Fertilize your lawn.
- Fertilize roses, citrus trees, fuchias, avocado trees, vegetables, and flowers.
- Keep an eye out for yellow or pale leaves with green ribs — a sign of iron chlorosis. Apply chelated iron according to package directions.
- Clean up fallen fruit from citrus and other fruit trees.
- Keep mowing regularly. It’s the best thing you can do to control weeds and keep grass thick and healthy.
Gardening by the Moon for May
11th-12th Excellent time for planting corn, beans, peppers, and other above ground crops. Favorable for sowing hay, fodder crops, and grains. Plant flowers.
13th-14th Favorable planting days: First day excellent for planting aboveground crops. Last day good for carrots, beets, onions, turnips, and other root crops, and also good for transplanting. All days good for starting seedbeds and planting leafy vegetables.
15th-16th Do no planting.
17th-18th Plant late beets, potatoes, onions, carrots, and other root crops.
19th-21st Barren days. Do no planting. First day is good for cultivating, spraying, and general farm work. Second day good for killing plant pests.
22nd-23rd Favorable time for planting late root crops. Also good for vine crops that can be planted now. Set strawberry plants. These are good days for transplanting.
24th-25th These are poor planting days and fine for killing plant pests, cultivating or spraying.
26th-27th Root crops that can be planted now will tend to yield well. These are good days for transplanting.
28th-30th Any seed planted now will tend to rot.
31st This is a most favorable day for planting corn, cotton, okra, beans, peppers, eggplant, and other aboveground crops. Also a good day to plant your seedbeds and flower gardens.
Happy Gardening and I’ll see you next month!
Remember…a weed is but an unloved flower!
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