HTML Copyright © 2001-2002, awsltd.netGARDENING
Jack Hardy
April signifies the end of the winter growing season and is the month when we must turn our mind to summer crops.
It’s a good time to plant okras as they produce well in our summer heat. They come in dwarf and tall plant varieties: dwarf okra bushes produce earlier but die off sooner; tall varieties will give a much more dependable crop.
Sweet potatoes can be grown in areas that are too infertile for regular vegetables. Poor sandy soil is best. You can take 8” slips - fleshy sprouts from a mature plant set half in water - or pieces of sweet potato with growth under way. Once established, the sweet potato leaves make a fine ground cover.
Red beans, black beans and blackeye peas love warm weather. Plant them where they can run on fences, shrubs or trees (they won’t harm the host support) or plant them in a neglected corner. The sooner you get them into the ground the longer your bearing season will be.
Malabar spinach is a wonderful summer substitute for the real thing during the summer months. It grows at a prolific rate and can colonise large areas of the garden. Use it as cooked spinach - it does not taste good when eaten raw.
It’s also time to plant summer annuals. Cosmos, petunias, vincas and zinnias all fit the bill. If your budget is healthy you may also like to make beds of Transvaal daisies and gerbera. You can grow your annuals from seed or buy starts from Pinewoods nursery. If you have a snail problem in your yard you will need to sprinkle snail bait at the same time you sow your seeds or you may lose your whole crop overnight.
There are lots of bulbs and tubers that can be planted to give years of “come and come again”. Any bulbs the nursery has will be suitable for sowing right now. For shaded areas, buy caladium tubers for a bright, tropical effect.
It is springtime so your fruit and citrus trees need to be fertilized. Water the ground well before applying the fertilizer and don’t forget to treat each tree to a micro nutrients spray.
This is a good time to make cuttings from your favourite shrubs. Make sure your cutting come from healthy plants and use the areas which have bark. Cuttings do not have to be longer than ten inches and can be set out in pots or placed in the ground in their permanent. Remove most of the foliage before planting. Coleus and crotons can be rooted in water.
April is the perfect time for pruning. Remember that when you prune a flowering shrub you will cut away the next couple of month’s blossoms. Prune only when really necessary and never prune more than one-third of a limb.