While we were a bit spoiled by the unseasonably warm weather in early spring, as we noticed in early April, frosts can still occur as we saw in late April. On average, the last frost of the season in the Indianapolis area comes in May, so it’s still best to remain vigilant this month and note weather forecasts. Plan accordingly by having covers ready to go for the night and remember to remove them during the day so plants won’t cook (save that for after the harvest, if desired).
In general, in early May it’s possible to plant crops such as lettuce, spinach, peas, and beans, early sweet corn, root crops such as carrots and onions, and cold weather crops such as Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower.

About ’500 time (Memorial Day weekend) is a good time to put in warm-season transplants such as peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, and flowers such as marigolds. Likewise, late May is a good time to sow seeds for squash, cucumbers, and other vegetables that need warm soil to germinate.

Weather permitting, you’ve got the green flag. Get ready, get set, grow!

To appreciate the scope of the problem, it’s important to remember that weeds are some of nature’s best survivors. And even though broadleaf weeds can be easy to control, completely eradicating them is not always possible. Broadleaf weed seeds occur naturally in all soils, can persist for decades, and are usually found in any new topsoil added to a landscape. What’s more, most broadleaf weeds are very prolific in terms of seed production. Many species can produce thousands of seeds per plant, and these seeds can be carried by the wind, and even people and animals, for many miles. What’s a person to do?

Putting down a single application of a broadleaf herbicide in late May will help control many species, but it may not control all of the weeds in your yard.

The most common long term control method recommended by turf specialists is to follow good cultural practices. Some of those measures include:
• Mowing at 3.0 to 3.5 inches.
• Mowing frequently so that no more than a third of the leaf blade is cut. This could mean mowing twice weekly in spring, but just every other week in summer.
• Irrigating deeply and infrequently. Water to wet the soil to the depth of rooting and then don’t water again till you see the first sign of drought stress. The first sign of drought stress can be bluish-grey color of the grass, and/or when impressions such as footprints stay in the grass.
• Fertilizing to create a dense lawn by adding 2 to 4 pounds of nitrogen per 1000 square foot each year.
• Growing shade-tolerant turf grasses such as fine fescues and prune tree branches to maximize the length and amount of sunlight that reaches the lawn. Many broadleaf weeds thrive in the shade.

If you are using an existing garden bed, it’s important to rotate plantings. This simply means not to plant the same family of crops in the same spot you planted them last year. You’ve likely noticed this on crop land where one year a field may be planted in corn and the following year in soybeans. This is done in large part to help add nutrients back to the soil taken up by the previous year’s plantings. This same practice applies just as well to gardens and helps to control diseases and pests, as well.

Space – the Final Frontier
While everything in the garden starts small, it can become apparent very quickly that plants grow at various rates and mature to various sizes. For that reason, it’s important to consider the mature size of the plants you wish to cultivate. If shading is not desired, make sure to plant tall plants such as sunflower or corn where it will not overshadow other smaller growing plants. If you plan on putting in crops that tend to sprawl, such as squashes, make sure to leave plenty of horizontal space. Where horizontal space is a premium, keep in mind that some crops that grown on vines, such as cucumbers, can be trained to grow vertically onto a wire fence.

Yes, cool weather grasses got quite a jumpstart in March with a long stretch of unusually warm weather and adequate amounts of rainfall. And the plants should continue to flourish through the month of April. So if you haven’t already done so, now is the time to prepare the mower by cleaning and sharpening blades and setting the deck height, if necessary.

When mowing, remember to set the deck fairly high (think ‘trim’, not ‘buzz cut’). The roots of Kentucky Blue Grass, for example, grow only about as deep as the blades are long. When you allow for the roots to grow deeper, the turf will allow a little more water to be absorbed into the soil, making for a more drought-resistant lawn that can stay greener longer into the summer.

Don’t Overlook the Little Guy
When visiting the garden store, keep in mind that it isn’t always best to purchase plants that are already in bloom in the container. Some flowers that bloom in the package are often root bound or overgrown and, when planted, will be set back for several weeks. Plants with no blossoms in the store usually bloom sooner and grow better when removed from their containers and planted at home.

Go Wild!
Wildflowers native to Indiana can make a striking color and textural contrast to more “garden variety” species. Many bloom throughout the summer and into fall. For variety, consider scattering annual poppy seeds along flower borders. The tiny seeds don’t need to be covered, the plants grow quickly and they produce intensely colored flowers in late spring and early summer.

Cut Backs
Cut backs can be a good thing when it comes to flowers. As the flowers fade on spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils, cut the flower stalks back to the ground, but don’t cut the leaves until they die on their own. This is because the leaves are needed to help produce hardy bulbs that can flower again.

Gladiolus You Did
One way to lengthen the blooming period of the showy gladiolus is to plant early, middle and late season varieties every week until about mid-June. Pick a sunny spot and plant the bulb-like underground stems (known as corms) about four to six inches deep and about six to eight inches apart. You’ll be glad you did!

And if you need some extra incentive, keep in mind that the last Friday in April in Indiana is Arbor Day. The event began in Nebraska in 1872, in part to encourage pioneers there to plant and care for trees. Indiana began celebrating Arbor Day in April 1884, and it took root as an annual event in the Hoosier state in1896.

If haven’t already done so, now is a great time to make an inspection tour of the yard to determine placement for any new plants and to identify problem areas left over from the winter. For example, it’s important to replant any trees and shrubs that have heaved out of the soil from the freeze/thaw cycle. Also be on the lookout for bagworms that may have overwintered in landscaping trees or shrubs. Destroying these pests now is the best way to avoid their reappearance later on. For fruit trees, be sure to follow the recommended spray schedule to keep insects and diseases in check. While trees are still in bloom, however, be sure to use a pesticide containing only fungicide to keep from injuring the bees that are so vital to pollination.

New Beginnings

When planting new stock, remember to plant bare-root stock before new top growth begins. Balled-and-burlaped and container plants can still be planted later on in the spring.

Although it might seem like the right thing to do, it is not recommended to add extra organic matter to the soil when planting trees. Adding organic matter can actually prevent the plant from becoming established by creating conditions that encourage the roots to remain inside the planting hole rather than spread out to the surrounding soil. So, when digging a planting hole, just fill it in with the original soil.

One way to start cleaning up is to remove all mulch, compost, and any decorative plants left over from the winter. With the early spring, many weeds began cropping up in March. Many more will begin appearing this month, so weed early and often. Pulling out these plant pests by the roots now is much easier while the soil is still fairly wet. And if that seems like too much work, keep in mind that some weeds flower very early and their seeds will lead to many, many more weeds later on in the season. By the same token, placing a birdhouse near the garden now will attract birds that can help keep insect pests in check throughout the season.

When it comes to fact finding, consider testing your soil to determine whether the proper nutrients and pH levels are present to grow your plants. Here at Edgewood Feed and Seed, we can provide referrals to local testing services. We can also help you determine what nutrients may need to be added to in order to grow the plants you have in mind.

Slower growing flowers, such as petunias and pansies, can also benefit from an early start indoors.

The easiest way for the beginner to get into transplanting is with a kit available from a garden store. These include the proper soil and instructions for successfully germinating, watering, and ultimately moving the plant to the great outdoors.

Seeds can be started in peat pots, paper cups, clay ware, or even plastic egg cartons. Just remember to put a hole in the bottom of every compartment for proper drainage!

While frost-hardy vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and peas can be moved outdoors fairly early in the season, crops such as tomatoes and peppers will fare better if transplanted after the chance of a frost has past. Be prepared to be able to provide a suitably warm environment for your indoor seeds, as some plants are true “hothouse flowers”: Eggplants and peppers, and fruits such as cantaloupe and watermelon are recommended to be kept in 80 to 90 degree heat in order for them to germinate. Most other seeds will germinate if the temperature is between 60 to 80 degrees.

It’s a Hard Enough Life
Before seedlings make the move to the garden for good, it is important that they be hardened gradually by exposing them to outdoor conditions. This acclimatizing can be as easy as place the plants outdoors for a few hours each day, gradually extending these intervals as the time to plant nears.

The general rule of thumb is to finish pruning shrubs and ornamental trees before growth starts, except for spring flowering shrubs. Those woody plants that do bloom in spring should be pruned after they finish flowering. Any pruning now means cutting off some of last year’s buds.
In general, prune spring flowering shrubs just after they flower and summer flowering shrubs between January and March, prior to new growth. Pruning just before they come out of dormancy is often recommended.

Of course, pruning is made that much easier when the trees have no leaves, as is the case in late winter and early spring. Being able to view the bare branch structure can really help determine where to make some judicious cuts.

Hardwood trees that bleed, such as maple, should not be pruned until after the leaves are fully grown as the tree’s sap is actively coursing. Pruning has the same effect as tapping a tree for syrup: it causes sap to flow from the wound. Although the tree is not permanently damaged, the running sap can stain the bark.

A ‘Sweet’ Road Trip Idea
When the days are clear and sunny and the nights are still cold, usually about March Madness time, the folks who make maple syrup are at their busiest. It’s a labor- and fuel-intensive effort that makes one appreciate the lengths people once went to make their meals a little sweeter. There are several maple syrup festivals around the Indiana this time of year, so if you want to try a real, locally made treat and get a glimpse into “how they used to do it”, check out a Hoosier festivals calendar website and hit the road! Oh, and don’t forget to bring the kids.

Most types of grass commonly grown in Central Indiana will benefit from an application of fertilizer in March. While most grass plants remain dormant well into the month, they will spring to life very quickly and very noticeably over the next few weeks.

Fertilizer can be applied alone or as part of a weed-and-feed mix, aimed at preventing incursions by dandelions and a number of other broadleaf weed by killing their seeds. In any case, it’s better to apply a small amount of fertilizer in early spring after the initial growth stage of the grass and then apply a larger amount later in the spring.

Any dead or damaged patches of grass can be re-seeded starting in March. Even though spring in Indiana is a wet season, it’s still important make sure the seeds get enough water to germinate and develop properly.

One of the best treatments for helping to wake up an established lawn is to de-thatch it. This simply means removing the dead layers of grass and debris that can keep air, water and nutrients from reaching the roots. De-thatching can be done with a hand rake or with machine that can be purchased or rented from a garden supply store.

If crabgrass has been a problem on your lawn in the past, March is the best time to get the jump on this tenacious plant, since it will not have started actively growing yet. Crabgrass seed germinates when soil temperatures are in excess of 50 degrees, so March is the time to put down a pre-emergent herbicide before crabgrass can get the better of your spring and summer lawn.