tips for tuesday
in the garden: april



The subtle signs of the season are springing up around the Texas Hill Country. Chilly mornings warm to sunny afternoons.  Tender green-leafed branches provide the perfect stage for birdsong. Winter's thaw yields a riotous profusion of color soon-- the bluebonnets are already dotting roadsides, to be accompanied by wildflowers of yellows, oranges, reds, and purples so vivid they seem to have been handpainted.  

It promises to be another glorious Texas spring. 



In the Garden: April 


Below, find information about gardening in Zone 8.  To find the USDA zone in which you garden, visit usda.gov, and adjust planting dates accordingly.  

Fertilize: Tomatoes and peppers should be fed with a liquid fertilizer. Feed crape myrtle beneath the branch spread with 1/3 cup complete fertilizer per sq. yd. After second mowing, fertilize lawn with 3-1-2 ratio product; aerate first, if needed. Fertilize all houseplants with complete fertilizer.

Mulch trees, shrubs, vegetable garden and flower beds (after soil has warmed) with 2-4 inches of mulch. Pine needles and oak leaves make a good mulch for acid-loving plants. Spread coffee grounds around azaleas and other acid-loving plants.

Water: Water as needed.

Transplant: Divide and transplant late summer-and fall-flowering bulbs. Container-grown plants (almost any kind) can go into the ground now. Plant summer annuals to get their root systems established before the extreme heat arrives.

Lawn Care: Plant grass sod or plugs. Water daily for one or two weeks to establish. Begin regular lawn care. Mow every 5-7 days, leaving the clippings on the lawn. Keep St. Augustine grass at 2-1/2 to 3 inches.


©from maggie's farm

Things To Plant In April


Flower Plants: Ageratum, ajuga, joseph's coat, balsam, wax begonia, blue daze, blue cardinal flower, boltonia, scarlet bouvardia, calico plant, chocolate plant, cigar plant, cockscomb, coleus, columbine, coneflower, copper plant, coreopsis, cosmos, dahlia, shasta daisy, feverfew, geranium, gomphrena, hibiscus, hollyhock, impatiens, jacobinia, lantana, marigold, nierembergia, penta, periwinkle, persian shield, plumbago ,phlox, portulaca, purslane, rudbeckia, salvia, sedum, stokes aster, sunflower, wishbone flower, yarrow, zinnia.


©from maggie's farm
Flower Seeds: Ageratum, balsam, castor bean, celosia, cleome, cockscomb, coleus, coral vine, cosmos, cypress vine, dahlia, coneflower, feverfew, four-o'clock, globe amaranth, gourd, impatiens, linaria, nasturtium, marigold, moonflower, morning glory, periwinkle, petunia, pinks, portulaca, scabiosa, sunflower, sweet pea, tithonia, torensia, vinca, zinnia.

Bulbs: Achimenes, acidanthera, allium, alstroemeria, amarcrinum, amaryllis, ground orchid, caladium, calla, canna, crinum, dahlia, daylily, dietes, ginger, gladiolus, gloriosa daisy, host, spider lily, hyposix, liriope, monkey grass, rain lily, society garlic, tigridia. 


©from maggie's farm
Vegetables: Early—Mid Month: Pepper, Radish, Squash, Tomato
All Month: Amaranth, Bean, Corn, Cucumber, Eggplant, Muskmelon, Okra, Peanuts, Pumpkin, Southern Pea, Sweet Potato, Tomatillo, Watermelon


©from maggie's farm
Herbs: Anise, star anise, basil, bay, borage, bouncing bet, caraway, catnip, chives, comfrey, costmary, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, scented geranium, germander, horehound, horseradish, lamb's ear, lavender, lemongrass, lemon verbena, mexican mint marigold, monarda, oregano, perilla, rosemary, sage, santolina, summer savory, winter savory, sesame, sorrel, southernwood, tansy, tarragon, thyme, common wormwood, roman wormwood, yarrow.

Fruit: Container grown fruit and nut trees, Vines, Bushes


©from maggie's farm

Happy Gardening, friends!
In the Garden information courtesy of the Garden Guide for Austin & Vicinity, published by the Travis County Master Gardener Association, copyright 2000-2002, through Central Texas Gardener



9 comments:

  1. Beautiful! I'm a going to be pulling my potatoes this weekend to get that bed ready for other delicious veggies. Your gardens are beautiful. Annie looks so happy! I'll keep an ear open for lemondrop never heard of it. Have a blessed day on your farm Maggie!

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    1. I love this time of year. I'm always renewed right along with the gardens. When the less than Martha Stewart-like surroundings bum me out, I just turn to the animals and gardens and remind myself of the bounty we get to experience by virtue of sacrificing fancy for function.
      Annie is a really happy puppy. Smart and obedient, and loves her fellow animals, enthusiastically romping around with chickens and ducks and goats, all appropriately wary of her, growls at cats (why is that cat WAY up there?) and follows her fellow pups everywhere. Happily, she loves her human parents, and has Tom absolutely wrapped around her little paw.
      Have fun working in your garden, and take some ibuprofen! lol

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  2. Wonderful pictures! Your garden sounds AMAZING! We are still working on building our garden, so we might not be able to plant tomatoes this year. Hopefully, we can still plant some herbs and maybe some okra and squash. This will be my first veggie garden. So I have NO idea what I'm doing:)

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    1. Steph, I bet you can make the second season of Tomatoes, planting in July. In fact, with our hot hot summers, I have had better luck with second season. Occasionally, there are loads of green tomatoes on the vine when the first frost hits, and I'm not around to cover them, and on those occasions, I just pulled the entire plants the day before, (when I worked full time I had little time for fussiness! lol), and let the tomatoes ripen inside. It worked!
      Good luck with your gardens! It's a whole lotta work, isn't it! lol

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  3. Oh what I've been missing!! This is SUCH a beautiful blog! Who knew that behind my cherished Farmstress Maggie was such a wealth of information and beauty.
    I am sooo frustrated. Every time I think I'm going to have two hours to rub together to weed the dang rhubarb/raspberry/asparagus/peony patch (which is being eaten alive by mint), I have to take some kid or other somewhere. And on and on it goes, and grows.
    Anyway, I'm so glad I've found you at last, and I'll be back. Had a looong yak with Timmeh last night!! What fun!

    JZ

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    1. Well I am absolutely flattered. Thank you so much for your kindness. Made my day.
      So, see, you have a common problem. Finding TIME for gardening. I find it hard, too, and I do it for our living. It IS time consuming. I've learned to live with the weeds, and the house has learned to be a little messier, but somehow I manage, imperfectly. If I had kids at home, I can't imagine carving out 10 minutes, much less 2 hours.
      I'm so happy to have you 'stop by' and so happy you'll be coming back.

      I love my Timmy!

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  4. What a beautiful blog. I am glad I found you on BlogHer. It is still cold in NYC, so no veggie garden yet...Do have some pretty flowers starting...

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    1. Hi Winnie!
      I'm so glad you took the time to stop in and comment. I appreciate you! So happy to hear you have spring flowers--they make me so happy. Maybe veggies just around the corner?
      Best Regards,
      mags

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  5. Wow, it's like summer now in my house......your blog is so sunny and happy....

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