What to do in the Garden in April

Primrose Primula vulgaris

 Planning                                         

 - Prepare raised beds for vegetables if drainage is a problem.  Soil can just be dug from paths into the beds to raise them, but a structure helps to keep it tidy.  Often, raised beds aren’t necessary.    
-Vegetables that can be planted outside now include broccoli, Brussel’s sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, chives, endive, leeks, lettuce, peas, radishes, rhubarb, rutabaga, spinach, and turnips.  Click here for planting dates.

- Now is a great time to start pepper, eggplant, and tomato seeds indoors for planting out later.





Maintenance and Clean Up

-Allow foliage of spring-flowering bulbs to brown and die down before removing.



-Apply compost to berries and perennial vegetables.  Mulch to prevent weeds and moisture loss.

 

-Continue dividing herbaceous perennials until soil dries out if you want to spread or share them.  

Fertilizing sustainably
-Avoid chemical fertilizers.

-Make your own compost from yard debris and kitchen waste.

-Mulch with leaves, clippings, wood chips, or straw.

-Don’t fertilize when heavy rain is likely. Fertilizer can wash into streams or ground water where it becomes pollution.

-Many gardens are over fertilized.  A soil test shows which nutrients and amendments would be most helpful.  https://cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/cal/testing-your-soil

Red Flowering Currant Ribes Sanguineum

Slugs                 

Use traps or safer iron phosphate baits for slug control near susceptible plants.  https://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/less-toxic-iron-phosphate-slug-bait-proves-effective

From Benton County Master Gardeners -

Membership meetings:  3rd Monday of October to May 7:00pm Benton County Extension office.

Plant sale:  May 4 9:00-3:00 at the Benton County Fairgrounds