April Yard and Garden Calendar

HOME (Indoor plants and activities)

Start seeds of warm-season plants, including tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, marigolds, zinnias and petunias, indoors for transplanting later to the garden.

Harden off transplants started earlier in spring before planting outdoors - gradually expose the young plants to outdoor conditions of wind, brighter sunlight and lower moisture.

YARD (Lawns, woody ornamentals and fruits)

Plant a tree in celebration of National Arbor Day, April 27. Bare-root stock should be planted before new top growth begins. Balled- and-burlapped and containerized stock can still be planted later in spring.

Fertilize woody plants before new growth begins. Two pounds of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet should be sufficient.

GARDEN (Flowers, vegetables and small fruits)

Plant seeds of cool-season crops directly in the garden, as soon as soil dries enough to be worked. When squeezed, soil should crumble instead of forming a ball. Cool-season crops that can be direct-seeded include peas, lettuce, spinach, carrots, beets, turnips, parsnips and Swiss chard.

Plant transplants of cool-season crops, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi and onions.  <Read More>

Insects: Could They Be What's for Dinner?

Back in biblical times John the Baptist was a participant. Long before European settlers showed up in the so-called New World, so were Native Americans. Ditto the ancient people living in the Orient. We're talking about entomophagy - eating insects.

Yes, according to Old Testament biblical accounts, John the Baptist wandered in the wilderness and chowed down on locusts and wild honey. I suppose one could argue that John didn't have much in the way of food choices available so he had to make do. Locusts, called grasshoppers here in the U.S., would have been plentiful. These insects were so common and numerous as to constitute one of the biblical plagues inflicted on the Egyptians of the time.  <Read More>

Cool Season Planting is Hot

Cool-season crops such as lettuce, potatoes, peas, cauliflower and onions actually prefer the cool, moist conditions of spring. With the extended mild winter, coupled with unseasonably warm conditions just at winter's end, our cool-season crops may be in fast-forward mode!

By March 13, soil temperatures under bare ground have already reached the upper 40s to mid 50s F in northern Indiana and in the 60s in southern Indiana. These temperatures are in the optimum range for germination of most cool-season crops and are nearly a month ahead of last year's.  <Read More>