All the Gardening Tasks to Tackle in April

The vernal equinox, marking the first day of spring, occurs in late March every year. Sometime around then, most planting zones encounter what is known as the last frost date, which is the experts’ best guess, based on averages, of when your last hard freeze will be. The cherry, plum, and peach blossoms are exploding on trees all around us and tulips are popping up from the ground. There are all kinds of markers that gardening season has arrived, but the most prominent one is the return of people to working on their front yards on sunny days, which should be happening now with some regularity. It is finally full steam ahead for this year, and there are tons of things you can be doing outside.

Cherry blossoms
Credit: Amanda Blum

Document the spring bloom

There’s an order to the way plants bloom in early spring: the crocus, the daffodils, then the tulips, the irises, and the peonies. Each year I try to take pictures every few days from the same angles in the yard so I can document where I might need more bulbs. You’ll forget by the time fall rolls around and it’s time to plant more. This pictorial documentation can help you visualize any bulb losses you have year to year, as well.

Tulips in bloom
Credit: Amanda Blum

Get your trellises clean and ready

Based on the plans I made for the garden over the winter, I now know where I’ll need plant supports for my tomatoes, peppers, beans, and cucumbers. I begin getting those trellises I have out of storage and sterilizing them, and I make plans to build or order any new trellises I’ll need.

Weed and dress with compost

With the nighttime temperatures starting to remain over 40 degrees, it’s time to clean out your beds and get them ready for planting. This means doing a thorough weeding, as best you can, and then top with compost. Clean away debris in the paths and beds, because that is slug food and an invitation for disease and pests. Check in on your own compost bins; they could probably use a good turn.

Check in on your flower perennials

Irises that need dividing
Credit: Amanda Blum

First, take an inventory of the perennials you have, and see if any need dividing. Plants grow into the space around them, but if they’ve run out of space, you can break them up, and either relocate these new plants or trade them for others. Irises and daylilies are an excellent example; hostas are another. This is also how you’ll take inventory of what did not survive this year. With the weather becoming more extreme year to year, even perennials can succumb to weather events.

Perennials have started to come out of hibernation in the greenhouses at your local nursery, so you can begin to replace any that will need it. Buying now, when plants are still small, will help save money.

Grab some early flowering annuals

It’s still early for most varieties of flowers, but pansies love the cold. At this point, begin checking the nurseries for snapdragons, sweet peas, petunias, and other early flowering plants. It’s a good time to get your hanging baskets and window boxes filled, too, so they’ll be in full bloom come May. In fact, many groceries and nurseries will help you fill your planters if you bring them in; some even plan events around doing so. 

Don’t forget edibles

Peas coming up from seed
Credit: Amanda Blum

If you’ve not yet planted peas, it’s go time. They can be direct sown outside and need to be grown against some support. This time of year, I grow shelling pea and sugar snaps on tall vines that climb arches in my yard. I also take stock of my strawberry plants, thinning them so they’re spaced at least six inches apart. Give away extras, or ask your neighbors for their extras if you need them.

I look for my perennial edibles to make sure they’ve survived the winter. The horseradish has been staking it’s claim, poking up leaves from its usual plot. I’ve already replaced a few artichokes that didn’t make it through the last ice storm. The first tiny stalks of asparagus made an appearance this week, which means in a few weeks we’ll be drowning in spears. Now is the time to plant more asparagus crowns, too. I try to add a few crowns each year—they’re usually a dollar or two at the nursery, and in this way, you can establish them in more places. I’ve been waiting with bated breath to see if all the rhubarb I planted last year will return, since last year I lost my fifteen-year-old specimen, but I saw the first leaves begin to poke out of the ground this week. If you need to replace yours, you’ll find rhubarb at your nursery.

Fiddleheads and ramps (which, as a reminder, you can grow at home) should be emerging. It’s also the time to plant your summer potatoes: Your nursery has potato starts, but if you’ve got grocery store potatoes that have sprouted at home, those can go right into the ground.

carrots, radishes, beets and lettuce planted two weeks ago
Credit: Amanda Blum

I’ve already planted a few rounds of radishes, beets, carrots, and lettuce in the garden, and will continue doing so every few weeks through summer. The spring rain is excellent for helping these seeds I direct sow to germinate.

You can continue to plant spring edibles like spinach, kale, chard, and mustard greens, but if you don’t get broccoli and cauliflower early in the month, you’ll miss your window. These are short crops, but you want them to finish and harvest before you need the room for summer crops like tomatoes. 

You also want to get three long crops in now, starting with parsnips, which need 180 days to grow. Plant them from seed now, and you’ll have enough of this root vegetable to cook all fall. Brussels sprouts also need that long summer to grow if they’re going to be ready for Thanksgiving. Finally, your nursery will have all your onion sets to get into the ground. Keeper onions and leeks need the season to be ready for harvest in late summer or early fall.

Inspect your systems

Check your water systems
Credit: Amanda Blum

It’s also time to turn the irrigation and sprinkler systems back on for the year, so schedule any inspections like backflow testing. Once the water is on, test your controller and look for signs of any leaks in the lines. You can safely reconnect hoses, and put out manual timers if you use them. Be sure to give all your tools a good spray down with vinegar or bleach to sterilize them, and remember to keep a spray bottle with the same on hand for your pruning shears as you move about the garden. Spray them between plants so you are not transferring disease.

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