ROOTS & HEARTH

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Roots & Hearth Garden ~ April Garden Chores

Maria (Angie) B.

Hello, April! You are finally here and it is not what I was expecting. Here we are in April and already thinking about garden chores. Here in Minnesota, this is not something we think about until the end of May because the winter is so long. But here we are in the warmest winter that we have had since I moved here eight years ago.

To give you an idea, up until now, our grass never turned brown; most of our grass is still green and didn’t go dormant in winter. My potted that are in the garage are already growing, as are the ones I planted on the ground. My potted Japanese maples that are also in the unheated garage are developing buds— it’s wild. But this is Minnesota, where it’s been known to have a snowfall in May. But just in case, I will be working on some chores. The thing with chores in April is that it’s like gambling— you never know what you will get from one day to the next. So, even if the weather is beautiful, resist the temptation to go full steam ahead.

When it comes to garden chores, April is a ‘play it by ear’ month. I stick to a few chores that I may have forgotten to do in the fall, or chores that require minimum handling of the garden area. And I’m sharing those today.

No. 1 Clean Tools

Cleaning my garden tools is something I normally do at the end of the gardening season, but I was so busy with work that completely forgot to do so. I have my trusty tools I use all throughout the gardening season, but my one go-to are my Niwaki secateurs. I use these babies more than any other tool. And as such, they require a bit of extra care.

No. 2 Finalize Ordering Plants and Seeds I Need

As I mentioned in this post, my roses have been ordered and they will come in based on my hardiness zone. Next was deciding what I wanted to grow from seeds. Have to be honest, I am not crazy about growing plants from seed myself. But this year I really wanted to try a few.

I have had my eye on the Floret-bred zinnias, especially ‘Precious Metals’ and while they were pricey, I was so happy to be able to get them, as well as ‘Victorian Wedding.’ But this year I am focusing more on heirloom or natives to my area. And this year I was pretty fortunate that the Rochester Public Library had a seed vault where people can go and get free seeds. There were plenty, but I stuck to what really caught my eye, and what I knew I would ACTUALLY grow.

Aside from that, the only thing I have left is ordering my cherry tomato plants. Last year was my first year growing them and I fell in love with them. My favorite varieties were Sun Sugar Yellow Cherry Tomatoes and Super Sweet 100 Tomato. They were so sweet and delicious that most of the time, I ended up eating many of them on the way to the kitchen. :) This year I want to add the Black Cherry Tomato because it sounds delicious!.

No. 3 Clean Pots and Containers // Plan Big Containers for Front Porch

True statement— I still have pots in my back deck with dead plants from last fall. Y’all, I was not kidding when I said worked was so ridiculously busy, that I had to basically give up on gardening. It was just insane. Next Sunday is going to be 70F in Minnesota, so this is what I will be doing, as well as washing some rugs outdoors.

One of my new obsessions is big containers. And I blame The Impatient Gardener on her Instagram account sharing accounts with the most beautiful large containers. This year I was to add a big one in our front porch and other areas in the garden.

No. 4 Check on Bulbs Planted in the Fall

I planted about 400 tulip bulbs in the fall and cannot wait to see them bloom. Although I know that about 25 of them did not make it because a critter decided to feast on them. Ugh. But the rest seem to be ok. The varieties I planted four different varieties and they are progressing nicely. This year I decided to mulch the beds after planting them, and it seems to have done a good job.

No. 5 Start Rotating Outside all Containers in Unheated Garage

As I mentioned above, some of my potted plants have come out of dormancy and are starting to leaf out. And thus begins the container dancing— bring them out when the weather is nice, bring them in when it gets chilly. I am thankful for container dollies because otherwise, my back would not be able to handle it.

And that is it friends— my April garden chores in preparation for May and all that will come with it. What are some garden chores you do in April?

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