Enjoying the snow-white beauty of the dogwood
As we move past the middle of April, the beauty of dogwoods still have blooms and we have several remaining days to enjoy them before their petals begin to fall and we begin a few days of what is known as “Dogwood winter.” When this occurs, we usually end April with some nippy nights, cool days and maybe a touch of frost. It’s still not wise to set out tomatoes or peppers or sow the seeds of warm weather vegetables until the soil gets warmer in the days after the first week in May. If you do set out a few Early Girl tomato plants, cover them each night in April for protection during the nights of Dogwood winter.
Dealing with the yellow pollen dust
If you seem to be sneezing and wheezing during the middle of April, it is because of dusty pollen from trees and grasses that are unloading their pollen that covers the lawn, carport, vehicles, porch and driveway with the yellow dust. You may consider wearing protective glasses or even a mask during the season of pollen that will be around until late May as one tree after another unloads its pollen. Once they finish their loads of pollen, the grass and spring flowers will release their pollen. Keep the hoses connected and rinse the vehicles and carport and driveway and keep windshields cleaned of pollen. Check for pollen under the hood of the vehicles and wipe it off the engine and from the doors inside the car and dashboard. Wipe the headlights and wiper blades.
Hoping for an abundance of April showers
April showers are missed and hopefully, we will see a productive amount of them as the month moves a long. April showers have many hidden benefits, and several of the attributes of April showers is that they wash a lot of pollen from the trees and prevent it from blowing around. The showers also freshen the air with an April-fresh aroma. April showers are great for walking in them but not getting soaking wet. The pitter-patter of an April shower on an umbrella is an unforgettable experience on a spring day. There is a certain amount of grace in an April shower that makes the month special and unique.
Four o’ clocks can now be planted
A bed or row of four o’ clocks can produce flowers and foliage from late May all the way until frost arrives. They come in colors of red, yellow, white, pink, wine, and burgundy and as a bonus, they have a deep emerald background of lush foliage that accents the blooms. Four o’ clocks can be sown in a row, bed, or on the edge of the garden to form a border. Packets of four o’ clocks cost about $2 and come in assorted colors. The seeds are shaped like tiny barrels and are solid black. Sow the seed in a furrow with a layer of peat moss in the bottom of the furrow. Place three seeds about a foot apart and cover with another layer of peat moss and apply a layer of Flower-Tone organic flower food before covering them up on each side of the furrow. When they sprout and develop two leaves, thin each hill to two plants and keep soil hilled up on both sides of the row. Side-dress with Flower-Tone organic flower food once a month. Use the water wand in shower mode and water every week when no rain is in the forecast.
Making a tray of Coney Island hot dogs
Nathan’s beef bun-length hot dogs are the best and this Coney Island sauce will kick them up a few notches. For this recipe, you will need one pound of ground round or ground chuck, one medium onion finely diced, one eight-ounce can of tomato sauce, one teaspoon McCormicks chili powder, one teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, half teaspoon French’s mustard, two tablespoons catsup, half teaspoon Texas Pete hot sauce, one ten-count pack of Nathan’s bun length hot dogs, one eight-pack hot dog rolls. Cook the ground beef and diced onions in a frying pan, stirring often until beef is browned. Add all ingredients and bring to a slow boil, add the hot dogs, lower heat and simmer ten minutes. Place hot dogs in a baking dish on the buns, pour sauce over the buns and toast for one minute.
Recycle potting medium
Old potting medium can be recycled as you prepare hanging baskets for setting out summer annuals such as impatiens, portulaca, petunias, begonias, verbena, and a host of others by mixing new and old mediums with peat moss and plant food. Pour all the old medium into the wheelbarrow and stir it to a fine texture, add a few pounds of peat moss, one 25 pound bag of Sta-Green potting medium, one 25 pound bag of Miracle-Gro Flower potting medium and six cups of Flower-Tone organic flower food. Mix all these ingredients together and stir well. Clean the containers and hanging baskets and fill with the recycled medium. Set them on the deck or outside and then let a few April showers fall on the recycled medium. By the time May arrives the medium will be seasoned and ready for summer’s annuals.
The Christmas cactus soon ready for porch
After spending late autumn, winter and early spring in the semi-sunny living room, the four Christmas cactus are now ready for their move outside where they will spend mid-spring, summer and early autumn in a semi-sunny location the front porch. This is the formula for having the cactus produce blooms before Christmas. Two of these cactus are ten years old and they are in large containers. They are both pink. We have one white cactus and one red cactus. We add extra cactus medium to the containers each autumn when we bring them inside the living room.
April is month to plant roses
April is one of the best times of the year to plant rose bushes. There are many varieties of roses and one of the best and most carefree is the Knockout roses which have no long canes and come in colors of red, yellow, pink, and white. They come in trademarked mint green containers and stay green almost all year long. They don’t grow tall, and are bush-like in appearance. They survive well during harsh winters. They come already well-rooted in their metal containers. To set out the knockout roses, dig a hole twice the size of the container. Fill the hole with peat moss and pour water in bottom of the hole and slip the rose from the container add the soil mixed with peat moss and a cup full of Rose-Tone organic rose food. Add more water and allow it to soak in. Add more soil and top with soil mixed with peat moss. Top with another handful of Rose-Tone organic rose food and more peat moss. Water once every week and tamp down the soil. Feed once a month with Rose-Tone.
Expecting the last of the season’s frost
With around ten days remaining in April, the chances of frost get more rare each day and even if we do see some frost, it will be short-lived. If a frost warning occurs, spread a towel or sheet over any vulnerable plants and remove later next morning. As long as your furnace puts out heat each night, don’t plant more warm vegetables than you can cover and recover each day and night.
A crop of early spring greens
April is past the halfway point and the cool soil of the mid-month will be receptive for a crop of tender mixed early spring greens. You can select from a mixture of curly mustard, Florida broad leaf, curly kale, tender green, turnip greens and spinach. In the cool April soil, the tiny seed will sprout in less than 10 days. Plant the seed in a furrow, sow the seed and add another layer of peat moss and spread an application of Garden-Tone organic vegetable food in the furrow before hilling up the soil on each side of the furrow and tamp the soil down with the hoe blade for solid soil contact.
Keeping the hummingbird feeders full
The hummingbirds are increasing in number as we reach the middle of April. Keep the feeders filled with nectar because many flowers are not blooming during April. Your feeder can be an important source of nutrition for them. You can purchase the nectar ready-made in quart bottles, liquid concentrate that you mix with water, powder envelopes, or you can prepare your own with a half and half mixture of water and sugar.
Hoe hoe hoedown
“Quack doctor.” A man with a cold went to the doctor. After the exam, the doctor said he had a cold. The man said, “I know that doctor, that’s why I came to you.” The doctor said, “You go home, take off your shoes and shirt, go out on the north side of the house and stand in the snow for an hour and a half.” “Doctor,” said the man, “That will give me pneumonia.” The doctor said, “I know, you see, I know how to cure pneumonia, but I don’t know how to cure the cold.”
Money Honey! The man had been married for two years, went to his pastor and said, “I’m in trouble with that woman you married me to.” The pastor asked him what the trouble was. The man said, “It’s about money, she is always wanting money.” The pastor asked, “What does she do with all the money you give her?” The man said, “I don’t know, I haven’t gave her any yet.”
“Always look twice.” “How come you never got married?” a man asked an old friend. “I really don’t know,” said the bachelor. “I have come close many times, why, even yesterday. I fell in love with a girl at first sight.” The friend said, “Are you going to marry her?” The man said, “No, I took a second look.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0