Growing Warm Season Vegetables in April: 8 Tasks
Growing warm seasons vegetables this season? Put these eight tasks on your April to-do list and look forward to enjoying your harvest!
- Start seeds and transplant seedlings outdoors for most warm-season crops,
- Irrigate new garden beds, wait 7 to 14 days prior to planting to flush weed seeds, and remove or till in weed seedlings.
- In new beds or compacted soils, double-dig or loosen soil with a spading fork and remove stones and obstructions shortly before seeding new crops.
- Amend soils prior to planting by surface dressing and/or gently working in compost, organic matter, manures, and other amendments, with caution in active beds and near plants as nitrogen may activate heat-generating processes in soils.
- Monitor new starts and seedlings daily to minimize plant losses during establishment. Seed or transplant crops successively for successive harvest, especially of crops that you eat regularly or in large quantities.
- Spot-plant in bare garden areas.
- Add organic amendments and 1 to 1 1/2 inches of fine mulch after vegetable-and-herb starts are 3 to 6 inches tall.
- Consider growing cover crops in dormant garden beds. Plan summer plantings of heat tolerant vegetables and herbs in well-drained, reasonably fertile, uncompacted soil with sunny southeastern to western exposures.
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The greatest benefits from testing soil pH at home are often realized when testing before planning a new landscape or garden, before each season or new planting, before and after treating soils for alkalinity, or at various intervals depending upon plant species and planting purpose. Before planting, consider testing the pH of your soil. Here are two articles that may be helpful: