Hopefully your choices are made and materials gathered for another month of starting and more direct planting of seeds. Some of your starts can go into the garden now. April is usually a few degrees warmer than March, and some gardeners will plant seeds that others will not plant until May.
Lingering frost danger continues in April clear to mid-May, so we suggest being ready to plant but holding off on less-hardy plantings until at least May 1.
| Planting |
Sow for Transplanting |
Sow Seeds |
Transplant Plants |
Fertilize and Prune |
| Grapes |
Basil | Beets | Broccoli |
Artichokes |
| Cantaloupe | Carrots | Cabbage | Blackberries | |
| Cabbage | Chervil | Cauliflower | ||
| Celery | Chives | Chinese cabbage |
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| Cucumbers | Cilantro | Endive | ||
| Eggplant | Collards | Escarole | ||
| Peppers | Sweet corn |
Jerusalem artichokes |
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| Squash | Dill | Leeks |
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| Tomatoes | Florence fennel |
Tomatoes |
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| Watermelon |
Kale | Lettuce | ||
| Leeks | Onion sets | |||
| Kohlrabi | Oriental greens | |||
| Lettuce | Pak Choi | |||
| Parsley | Parsley | |||
| Parsnips | Rhubarb | |||
| Peas | ||||
| Potatoes | ||||
| Radishes | ||||
| Salsify | ||||
| Scallions | ||||
| Swiss chard |
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| Tomatillos |
Where the Flowers Grow:
- Prune ornamental plants to keep fungus at bay and promote air circulation.
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Keep an eye on those roses. If you see diseases cropping up, remove affected leaves and break out the sprays and fungicides.
Rogue Valley Gardener - Prune brown foliage from spring-blooming bulbs AFTER it's all died back. This is to allow the bulbs to recharge and gather enough energy to bloom next year.
- Plant your first round of flowers! This includes lovelies like marigolds, sweet peas, phlox, alyssum, gladioli or snapdragons.
Veggie/Fruit Gardens:
- Get planting! Check the guide above for what to plant or start indoors.
- Fertilize your perennial producers with rotted manure or compost.
- Start tentatively thinking about how you'll store produce when it arrives.
- Get ready...fresh veggie season is coming!
Trees:
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- When your spring-blooming trees have faded, it's time to shape and thin/prune. Get someone to stand around and watch you (to make sure you don't lop off any important branches).
- Apply copper fungicide to dogwoods to protect against anthracnose diseases.
- Spray your pear and apple trees against codling moth, scab and mildew.
Lawn Care:
- Apply overseed (perennial ryegrass and fescue) if your lawn is looking pathetic and patchy.
- Give your lawn a boost with an application of fertilizer.
- Get a composting mower! Quit bagging up your grass clippings and let your lawn take advantage of its own natural fertilizer source!
- Read our article about alternative lawn mowers.
We get our info from a variety of sources; some of them are: OSU Extension Service; Jackson Co. Master Gardeners; Grange Coop
