April is time to restart the garden
Mona Lacenders' flowers partner well with hot pink blooms from hydrangeas or in this garden the bright pink impatiens. Credit: MCT
In the 1500s, when the switch occurred from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian, the New Year celebration was moved from April 1 to Jan. 1.
Legend has it those who continued to celebrate the old holiday were labeled "April fools." Here are some tricks to get your spring garden off to a good start:
1. Install a drip-irrigation system before the warm weather sets in.
2. If you haven't planted peas yet, you still can do so.
3. Mix a generous helping of compost into garden beds to help plants thrive all season long.
4. If you remove the yellow anthers from the center of Easter lily flowers, blossoms will last longer, and your tablecloth will remain clean.
5. Let's talk dirt! Join me in a live chat at noon today at newsday.com/gardendetective.
6. Prune rose of Sharon.
7. As peony eyes emerge, set hoop supports or lampshade frames over them to hold plants upright.
8. Water and fertilize canna, banana and other bulbs started indoors weekly until outdoor-planting time next month.
9. Plant bramble fruits now.
10. Pinch back the growing tips of vining houseplants to keep plants full.
11. Plant strawberries in a sunny spot, but not where tomatoes, peppers or potatoes have grown during the past three years.
12. Uncover fig trees and water if the ground is dry.
13. Plant grapevines.
14. Aerate the lawn and clear debris with a rake. Only lime if indicated by a pH test.
15. Today is the average last frost date on Long Island, which means it's safe to plant perennials, vines and ground covers.
16. Trim brown tips from leafy houseplants.
17. Scratch a half cup of Epsom salts into rose beds for fuller plants with more flowers.
18. Pull up chickweed, clover, dandelion and plantain as soon as you spot them. Be careful to get all the roots.
19. Plant perennial ornamental grasses.
20. Plant zinnia seeds right in the garden.
21. Harden off broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale and lettuce seedlings by setting them outdoors in a shady, protected spot for a few hours a day. Next week, you can plant them in the garden.
22. It's Earth Day: Start a compost pile. (Instructions at newsday.com/lilife)
23. Want to turn your blue hydrangeas pink? Test the pH and incorporate lime into the soil around plants to raise the level to 6.0 - 6.2.
24. It's Arbor Day - plant a tree.
25. To control crabgrass, watch the forsythia on your block. When it blooms, apply a pre-emergent herbicide. Never aerate the lawn after applying, and don't use on newly planted grass.
26. Plant seeds of annuals like zinnias directly outdoors.
27. Begin mowing the lawn when grass is 3 inches tall. But don't fertilize until Memorial Day.
28. Deadhead rhododendrons just after the flowers fade.
29. Prune azaleas after they bloom.
30. Divide chrysanthemums when they're 4 inches tall.
Sarra Sounds Off Ep. 35: EI baseball, girls lacrosse and plays of the week On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," we look at East Islip baseball's inspirational comeback story, Jared Valluzzi has the plays of the week and Tess Ferguson breaks down the top defensive players in girls lacrosse.
