The second month of spring marks the full beginning of the summer season, so you will always have something to do in April in the garden, vegetable garden, flower garden. Finally, after a long cold winter, nature awakens, the snow has almost completely melted, the beds in the garden are awakening to life again, the plants are actively starting to grow. For gardeners, the most labor-intensive season has begun, including the main types of work, except, perhaps, harvesting.
In order to do everything and not lose sight of anything important, it is better to draw up a clear work plan in advance, because there are so many important things to do: keep water, loosen the earth cover, transplant perennials and protect them from pests. The main work, as in March, will concern seedlings, the time of which continues.
The main work in April is closely related to seedlings, which must continue to be carefully looked after:
- Gradually increase watering.
- Ventilate seedlings more often to accustom them to the open air.
- Tomato seedlings can be left on the balcony all night. If the air temperature drops below zero, the seedling boxes should be covered with a film or textile cloth. The first days of such addiction, protect young plants from the sun. In the first week of the month, the sowing of early-ripening varieties of tomatoes is already being completed.
Gardening in April: when nature wakes up
Most of the preparatory work is being carried out on the site. To help nature wake up from a long sleep, our tips will help:
- It's time to take a detour around the suburban area. In April, usually, there is practically no snow left, only in the most shaded and underestimated areas it still lies. In order not to trample damp soil in vain, move exclusively along the paths;
- there is still an opportunity for pruning fruit and berry crops in the country, where it is needed. This work must be done before the sap flow begins. As a rule, in many regions of Russia, it begins in the second half of the month, so have time to do the necessary pruning work in the garden in a timely manner. Remove damaged and weak shoots of raspberries and blackberries, cut off the frozen tops of berries, form bushes of currants, gooseberries, thin out the crowns of trees, removing dry, diseased and damaged branches;
- remove covering material from strawberries, provided that this was not done in March;
- do a big cleaning of the garden and garden - rake dry leaves and tops into a pile with compost, take out inorganic garbage, eliminate the ice crust on the ground left after the snow cover melts by loosening;
- attention to blackcurrant bushes, noticing swollen buds - they are affected by a bud mite. Cut them off and burn them in the oven or on the grill, if necessary, remove the entire branch;
- treat fruit trees and berry bushes in the country with protective compounds (for example, a solution of aromatic herbs, followed by dusting with sifted ash) before bud break to protect against diseases and pests. If you are for organic farming and do not use pesticides on the site, pour hot water over the bushes with a prepared infusion of garlic or onions, or purchase green soap at the garden store.
- Garden work includes protecting plant boles from damage by the spring sun. You can use both whitewashing trunks with freshly slaked lime mixed with clay or mullein, and garden bandages;
- seal cracks and hollows on tree trunks;
- fertilizing garden plantings, because in spring they really need it for active growth. Trunk circles of fruit are loosened shallowly, powdered with ash, fertilized with compost, peat or rotted manure. Similar measures will appeal to berry bushes. Apply half a bucket of fresh compost under each bush, and 1-2 buckets of this “life-giving” fertilizer under a fruit tree;
- engage in planting berries and fruit trees at steady positive temperatures. When planting, seedlings need to be well watered and fixed to the supports.
- to purchase young seedlings, if they have not been dug since autumn, is also a good period for carrying out work on the propagation of currants and gooseberries by pinning.
- it's time to open the grapes for ventilation. In the southern regions, in early - mid-spring, the shelter is completely removed.
So, first of all, in the garden, you should remove the winter strapping, remove dry branches, leaves, rotten fruits, as well as last year's mulch. Do not leave the collected organic waste on the site, but immediately compost it.
By the way, cut large branches of trees are great as a base for high beds, which are so fond of heat-loving crops. To do this, a trench is dug 40-50 cm deep along the width of the future bed, or only along its central part along and large and small branches are laid there, as well as straw, old lawn hummocks (roots up), from above it is covered back with earth mound. It is poured abundantly with water and after a couple of weeks the bed is ready for planting seedlings of cucumbers, pumpkins, zucchini, eggplant, peppers and everything your heart desires.
The middle of spring is the best time to work in the garden with the grafting of fruit trees. The video below explains in detail how to perform this operation correctly.
Works in the garden
In the garden, the main work and vigorous activity can be planned after the snow cover has melted. The soil in the country should dry out, otherwise it will stick to shoes and a shovel. We offer an approximate work plan, the implementation of which you can start in the country:
- to begin with, it is worth taking care of preparing the soil in which you will plant seedlings of vegetables. To keep the maximum amount of moisture, loosen the soil in the beds. After that, it is already possible to start organizing and planning future plantings, taking into account the rules of crop rotation;
- in the first days of the month, cold-resistant crops such as radishes, carrots, radishes, onions, lettuce, peas and others are sown in open ground. Since it is still quite cold outside, it is necessary to cover it with a film or non-woven material for the night of planting. Many green crops can already be planted, for example, spinach, parsley, cilantro, dill and others. The use of a film shelter will speed up the emergence of seedlings;
- before planting, potatoes are vernalized - for a month and a half they are placed in a bright place, but not in direct sunlight. In a region with a warm or hot climate, sprouted potatoes can already be planted under a film shelter;
- in the garden, it's time to prepare the beds, which are covered with foil to preserve heat and moisture. Be sure to disinfect greenhouses and hotbeds with boric solution, wash them, thoroughly loosen the ground;
- it is already possible to sow cabbage, broccoli, and herbs in greenhouses. For a great harvest, choose the right planting time, guided by the gardener's lunar calendar for April;
- rake off the mulch from winter plantings, loosen and feed the earth with organic matter;
- After the snow melts, take care of strawberries in the country. Move the mulch away from it, cut off those leaves that have dried up, powder the plantings with ash and spruce needles. If you want to enjoy an early harvest, cover the strawberry bushes with a film on the arcs.
Do not throw away Christmas trees, first collect all the needles from them. After all, the best mulching material for garden strawberries is spruce needles. They provide the necessary feeding and protection for bushes that have awakened from hibernation. And most importantly, such a mulch can significantly improve the taste of the berry.
Working in the garden in April is a mandatory sowing of vegetable crops for seedlings and continuing to care for the already planted. Perennial plants in the country need to provide the required care so that they continue to delight you further.
Things to do in the flower garden in April
Work on the garden plot in the spring should certainly touch on the decoration of your site - flower beds:
- plant perennials, for example, phloxes, leucanthemums, chrysanthemums, delphiniums, which take root best when divided even before the leaves begin to unfold.
- prepare bulbous crops for spring planting in the country. Corms, as practice shows, are best planted in soil heated to at least 10 degrees, otherwise the plants may not germinate or even die.
- gradually open the roses from under the film, first airing them for a couple of hours a day, and then completely removing the covering material;
- in a greenhouse, under a film, cosmos, marigolds, dahlias and other annuals are planted on seedlings.
- feeding perennials also does not interfere: loosen shallowly, free from unwanted neighbors, sprinkle with compost or humus and mulch the flower bed.
Special care in April require:
1. Roses. They should be released from winter shelter. The film is completely removed after the snow has completely melted, before that the bushes are only periodically ventilated. It is also time to do the pruning work of the roses before the buds break. At the same time, the air temperature should not fall below plus 5 degrees. We remove the damaged and weakest branches. To protect roses from diseases and pests, powder young bushes with wood ash, apply 200-300 g of ash under each plant and close it shallowly into the ground.
2. Summer-flowering bulbs. Top dressing of bulbs should be done after the appearance of the first sprouts. Carefully loosen the soil under them and spray against harmful insects with a solution of green soap or powder with wood ash. Rake off the mulch from the lilies and feed them with humus or compost with the addition of a small amount of spent coffee (2 tablespoons per half bucket of compost).
3. Clematis. It's time for spring pruning, organic fertilizing and mulching.
4. Peonies. The optimal period is coming for the division of the most beautiful flowers and favorites of many gardeners - peonies. Keep in mind that you need to divide the flowers quickly before they start to actively grow.
Pay attention to the lawn in spring
When the last snow has melted, inspect the lawn for any damage and fix them:
- Freezing - the grass is stunted and rare. Tamp the frozen peat so that the roots have contact with the soil and can receive nutrients and water;
- Ice crust - prevents the admission of oxygen, resulting in the death of cereals. Upon detection, carefully break the ice with a rake;
- Mold and fungal diseases - spots of gray, white or pink color form on the lawn, grow over time. Remove clods of snow, rake the grass, making fairly deep punctures in places affected by mold. Then powder the lawn with dry sand.
- Mechanical damage - extrusion, compaction and trampling. In case of severe damage, lawn repair will be required: deep loosening, pouring sandy soil and planting new seeds.
So, we have considered what work in the garden and garden awaits us in April. But warm May is ahead - it's time for the main sowing work. If before that you manage to do the preparation with high quality, you can avoid unnecessary troubles in May - the busiest month for summer residents and gardeners.
Note to the gardener: Recently, attention has been increasingly focused on the environmental situation on our blue planet: pollution from exhaust gases, pesticides, fires and littering will not lead our children to a healthy and happy future. Every year, several species of animals die out and there are more and more disabled people. Each gardener has a chance to make his own and rather tangible contribution to the preservation and even improvement of the ecology of the planet Earth. Of course, it is rather difficult to influence the first point in our age of progress, but every gardener can and even must fight with the other three points! The whole point is: do not litter yourself and do not allow negligent neighbors to do this, do not let spring and autumn fires that kill not only weeds, but also healthy, beneficial microorganisms and insects, and do not pour chemistry on our long-suffering soil. Instead of fires and chemicals, please turn your attention to the miracle of composting. After all, everything that is on the ground and in the kitchen can be folded and harvested (your free!) fertilizer. Ready-made compost is wonderful for fertilizing, mulching and healing the soil. In many developed countries, pesticides and fires have already been banned. Why are we worse? Please! Let's protect our common home for our children together. Thank you.
Gardeners and gardeners of the Moscow region have already opened a new summer season. For beginners, the first question now arises - what important work in the garden and vegetable garden in April 2019 in the Moscow region needs to be done and where to start.
April days in the last few years have been quite warm and sunny. Nature is actively waking up, while many different matters of paramount importance immediately pile up on summer residents. The main thing to remember is that all spring work on the plot must be completed on time in order to subsequently get a good harvest.
From April 1 to April 5, you can sow the seeds of late cabbage, and after another five days - the seeds of cabbage of the middle growing period. In the garden at this time it is worth digging grooves in the snow to drain melt water from greenhouses. Also we begin sanitary pruning of pome trees: cut diseased and shrunken parts of the branches to healthy tissues; clean the wounds with a sharp garden knife and cover with garden pitch or paint over with oil paint on natural drying oil.
In early April, sow flower crops for seedlings: amaranth, ankhuz, bartonia, marigolds, levkoy, legusia, nemophila, felicia, Drummond's phlox, keeled chrysanthemum, sowing and crowned, zinnia, echium.
During the same period it is worth dive the first time the March crops and the second time the February ones. For seedlings, use peat pots or paper cups with a height and diameter of about 5-7 cm. Pour sterile sand over the substrate with a layer of 0.5 cm.
From 15 to 20 April sowing tomato seeds for open ground. The exact date should be chosen in accordance with the gardener's lunar sowing calendar.
In the last decade, taking into account weather conditions, you can start first sowing. It is worth starting with light soils (sandy and sandy loam), as they are ready for sowing earlier. It is easy to determine the readiness of the soil: if a clod of earth taken in a fist, thrown from the height of the chest, crumbles into several lumps, the time has come.
You can start prepare the soil for sowing. It is advisable to shed the beds in greenhouses with a solution of Baikal EM-1 fertilizer in a ratio of 1:100, add ash or artificial mineral fertilizers, loosen with a flat cutter, and level with a rake.
From April 25, you can start sowing seeds of carrots, parsley, turnips, dill, leaf and head lettuce, radish, watercress, onion sets, seedlings of cauliflower and kohlrabi.
At the beginning of April in the garden you can to carry out forming and breed-varietal pruning fruit trees and berry bushes. If the pruning of fruit trees and berry bushes is not completed in the snow, it can be continued after the soil has dried out a little. Do not be afraid of the sight of swollen buds on the branches.
After the snow has completely melted, nitrogen fertilizer must be applied.(urea or ammonium nitrate). Fertilizers are scattered over the surface of the soil.
We examine fruit trees for the presence of areas of bark damaged by mice or hares. Wounds after detection are disinfected with a 1% solution of copper or iron sulfate, and then, when the surface dries, they must be wrapped with a black film so that light and water do not penetrate. If there is no black film, then you can use the usual one, but at the same time shade the wound with at least newsprint folded in 2-3 layers. If the bark is damaged around the entire circumference, graft with a bridge.
If the trees were very sick last season with scab or fruit rot, spend "blue spray" 3% Bordeaux mixture. However, do not abuse this remedy: the accumulation of copper in the soil in excess can be harmful.
It's time to start grafting or re-grafting fruit trees(if you want to change the variety or, if necessary, repair the tree). If in the garden there are trees of non-hardy varieties that freeze above the stem, then they must be re-grafted. Trees from 3 years of age to 10 years are suitable for this operation.
At the end of April, you can make cuttings from currants for the purpose of reproduction. The processing of strawberry plantings also begins. First of all, all last year's leaves are removed. With the left hand, they grab the leaves located on any one side of the row, and with the right garden knife they cut their petioles closer to the base of the bush. After removing the leaves, the ground must be mulched, for example, with peat.
When the soil in the garden is completely thawed (the shovel enters it without difficulty), start pruning roses. Unwind them, leave 3-4 of the strongest, healthiest green shoots and cut short (2-3 buds). Cut vigorous varieties longer - by 4-6 buds. Weak, broken, blackened, stained stems cut to the base. Cut varieties with upright shoots to the outer bud, sprawling ones to the inner bud.
Strong and medium pruning is used for hybrid tea roses, as well as floribunda, grandiflora, polyanthus, miniature and semi-climbing roses, blooming on the shoots of the current year. Shorten the long shoots of climbing roses only a little and cut out very old, weak or broken ones. Flowers in this group are formed on last year's shoots, as in park roses (they are pruned in the same way).
Garden work in April 2019, video
The main work of the gardener and gardener in April
1. April is the responsible month . First of all, it is necessary to drain the water from the site, for this it is necessary to dig trenches along the slope of the site so that the water flows into the ditch. If there is no slope on the site, then simply dig a shallow groove, gradually deepening it so that the water flows in the right direction. Especially dangerous is the stagnation of water on raspberries, strawberries and clematis.
2. At the beginning of the month, it is necessary to remove the spruce branches from young plantings of strawberries, roses, irises, clematis, lilies, especially from oriental hybrids, because under a warm shelter they will quickly start to grow and their flower bud may freeze out during return frosts. But boxes of roses and clematis do not rush to shoot.
3. Feed with nitrogen fertilizer (3 tablespoons of urea per 10 liters of water) lovage, rhubarb, sorrel. You can use instead of urea an infusion of manure or bird droppings, diluted with water 1:10 or 1:20, respectively. If at the same time you cover these landings with lutrasil or put arcs over them and stretch the film, then by the first of May you will already have greenery.
4. If the compost pile is located in the sun, then early greens (chervil, watercress, cilantro, parsley, lettuce, spinach, dill) and early carrots, as well as radishes, can be sown on it. To do this, pour last year's compost pile with hot water, pour a layer of soil about 7-8 cm high on top of it, and then sow the seeds. I usually do it this way: I mix one teaspoon of seeds with half a glass of fine sand and sow in the furrows as if I were salting food. You can use special seeders, in which the hole is adjusted according to the size of the seeds. In this case, the seedlings will not thicken. From above, the crops should be sprinkled with soil with a layer of 1-2 cm, compacted with a board and covered with a film until germination. Warmth and moisture are stored under it, and shoots appear faster. After the emergence of seedlings, the film must be removed so that they do not burn out. If you cover the crops with lutrasil or spunbond, then the covering material can not be removed until the plants grow up. Before germination, crops should be watered directly over the material if the weather is dry or windy so that the hatched seeds do not dry out in the top drying soil layer.
5. In early April, pre-grow weeds on vegetable beds, covering the ground with an old film and fixing it so that the wind does not blow it away. Under the film, weeds will quickly sprout, and as soon as they appear, remove the film and loosen the beds, leaving them open for a day. Then cover again with foil and repeat the operation. Now there are no weeds in the top layer of soil in the garden. It is important not to dig up the soil, but only before sowing, loosen it with a Fokin flat cutter, then make furrows for sowing with the sharp end of the flat cutter. Sowing in open ground of all the above crops can be done at the time of flowering mother and stepmother, that is, in late April - early May.
6. To get early strawberries, cover at least one bed with a film on arcs or double thin lutrasil directly over the bushes, but first spray strawberry plantings with a spring cocktail. It is prepared as follows: two grains of Healthy Garden, two grains of Ecoberin, two drops of Zircon, six drops of Fitoverm, four drops of Uniflor-growth - all together for 1 liter of water. "Healthy Garden" and "Ecoberin" must first be thoroughly dissolved in 100 g of water.
7. At home, water the seedlings of tomatoes and peppers moderately so as not to overmoisten the soil. Remember that seedlings need good lighting. As a top dressing, I use a weak solution of Uniflor-growth (1 teaspoon per 3-5 liters of water), with which I water the seedlings instead of water. Do not forget to spray the leaves of tomatoes and eggplants with a very weak solution of a copper preparation (the easiest way is to use Hom (copper oxychloride), dissolving one fifth of a teaspoon of the powder in 5 liters of water). The solution can stand, you will use it two more times approximately every two weeks. This is a good preventive measure against late blight. As mentioned above, instead of "Homa" you can use "Fitosporin".
To give seedlings vitality, you can spray them a couple of times during growth with the above spring cocktail. But the often recommended spraying with a solution of manganese can be omitted, since it does not save from late blight, and other diseases rarely appear on tomato seedlings. Peppers can be sprayed with a solution of potassium permanganate, especially if they are annoyed by aphids. Pepper is difficult to protect from aphids if indoor plants are in the same room with it. The Healthy Garden helps a lot against it, but if the aphids are already on the plants, then the concentration of the solution should be increased to 4-6 grains per 1 liter of water. The apartment can be used "Fitoverm". This is an excellent protection not only from aphids, but also from thrips.
8. Good results are obtained by systematic spraying of seedlings (or watering) with a solution of Healthy Garden and Ecoberin preparations (two grains of each must be completely dissolved in 100 g of water, and then, adding water to 1 liter, mix well). This solution can stand for a long time, it can be added to top dressing (Uniflor-growth or Bud solution) and water the seedlings with it instead of water.
9. It's time to take the potatoes out of storage. Dip it in hot (45°C) water. When the water has cooled, add potassium permanganate to a bright pink color and hold the tubers in the solution for 15-20 minutes. Then wash the tubers, dry them and lay them out for vernalization in a bright and cool place. At the end of April, put the potatoes in cardboard boxes, layering each layer with newspaper, and put in a warm place so that good, strong sprouts appear. You will plant grown tubers, thereby accelerating the ripening of the crop by two weeks.
10. If you have not done pruning, then at the very beginning of the month you can still do it. Start with blackcurrant bushes, gooseberries and honeysuckle.
Cut off the black ends of the branches, rejuvenate the bushes by cutting out the old branches. At the gooseberry it is necessary to cut out all the young shoots growing in the middle. Only those that grow along the edges of the bush should be left. In red and white currants, the tops of the branches are not cut off, but only the old branches and those branches that branch into the crown are removed. In honeysuckle, pruning thickens the crown or broken branches.
Do not rush to cut cherries and plums, leave it for the fall, otherwise the wounds after cutting under strong pressure of the juice will not close and gum will form (growths from thickened juice). Take your time with pruning apple or pear trees. After a harsh winter, the ends of the branches could freeze slightly, but some of them will be able to recover from the buds on the bark, so leave pruning for the end of summer. Frozen wood from apple trees has a light brown color on the cut. Start pruning from the end of the branch and, gradually moving from the end to the skeletal branches, you will get to the place where the cut is light. Starting from this point, the tissue of the tree is alive, and there is no need to cut further. But keep in mind that unfrozen pear wood is slightly creamy, so don't try to cut the branch down to white wood!
11. At the very beginning of the month, while the buds have not yet awakened, you can have time to spray with iron sulfate (1 teaspoon without top per 100 g of water) to destroy lichens on tree trunks.
12. In addition, it is still possible to spray against wintering pests with a solution of urea (700 g per 10 liters of water). Spraying should be done at the ends of the branches, along the branches and skeletal branches, along the trunk and near-stem circle along the soil.
13. Toward the end of the month, those plants should be sprayed in which the scales of the kidneys have moved apart and a green cone of leaves has appeared, since the first pests lay their larvae here. But, of course, a high concentration solution cannot be used, so spray with infusions and decoctions of weeds or infusion of needles to disorientate pests with their smell.
14. April is a good time for vaccinations. You can cut the cuttings for grafting in early April, wrap them in a newspaper, put them in a plastic bag and dig them into the snow on the north side of the house - but so that they are not flooded with melt water. At the end of the month, these cuttings can be used for grafting.
15. At the end of the month, sow directly into the ground in place the seeds of annuals that are not afraid of frost (poppy, escholcia, cosmea, cornflowers, iberis, catchment, forget-me-nots). Other flowers can also be sown directly into the ground, even such as tobacco or petunia, but their crops should be covered with a film stretched over small arcs. Arcs are easy to make yourself from willow twigs, from which you should immediately remove the bark (willow usually grows along ditches). You can use plastic water bottles placed along the landings as props. Lutrasil is thrown on them in two layers. Water gives the bottles stability and, heating up during the day, gives off heat at night, thereby leveling out sharp daily temperature fluctuations.
16. At the end of the month, you can remove the shelter from all ornamental plants, except for clematis.
It is better to cover their growing shoots with at least lutrasil.
17. At home, in early April, sow leaf parsley on greens and bush dill - in order to plant seedlings in a greenhouse or soil at the very beginning of May.
18. In addition, you can sow medium-term cabbage, both cabbage and cauliflower (or broccoli).
19. At the end of the month, it’s time to go to nurseries for seedlings of perennial and annual flowers and vegetables and for planting material for strawberries, ornamental and berry bushes (usually grown in containers) - for example, to Slavyanskaya Usadba in Shaglino (between Pavlovsky and Gatchina Varshavskaya), where well-known experts from Hardwick work.
Fruit trees grown in containers can be purchased at the New Agrotechnologies nursery in Pushkin on Gusarskaya Street, 15. New varieties of strawberries by the famous breeder G. D. Alexandrova, which have proven themselves in the North-West region, are also sold there.
Now in large cities there are huge OBI stores specializing in the sale of goods for gardeners. There, in particular, a large selection of all kinds of planting material. However, you should know that this entire range is grown using special technologies on a conveyor belt in greenhouses, and therefore, as a rule, it dies in the open field, especially in our region. Such plants should be kept in containers and put outside only in suitable weather.
New seed varieties
New varieties of tomatoes and cucumbers for low greenhouses, loggias and balconies. Almost all of these tomatoes and cucumbers can be grown on glazed loggias and balconies, as well as a room on the windowsill. But containers for plants should be at least 3-4 liters.
Decorative hybrids "Pearl yellow", "Pearl red" only 20-30 cm high. They can be grown in a room on the windowsill. These tomatoes produce up to 30 small fruits weighing only 15-20 g each. It is well suited for Hedgehog loggias and balconies. The variety is quite tall (60 cm), with fruits weighing up to 80 g. Hybrid "Ustinya" - a short bush with fruits weighing about 80 g, "Venus" - with fruits up to 90 g, "Inkas", "Koenig", "Mikhey" , Sophia. More varieties: "Rival" with fruits up to 100 g, "Suiter" with tomatoes up to 120 g, "Knight", "Marusya". There is a new variety, resistant to adverse weather conditions, "Crossbow" with red fruits weighing 50-60 g.
Varieties of cucumbers suitable for growing on a windowsill in an apartment: Dynamite and Berendey.
Carrot. Early - "Sister", "Mother-in-law", "Crunchy" (resistant to carrot fly), medium term - "Baltimore", "Supermuscat", late for storage - "Giant Ross" and "Malika".
While there is snow in the garden
IT IS STILL SNOWING IN THE GARDEN, BUT THE SUN IS ALREADY BEATING SO SPRINGLY THAT THE FEET WALK TO THE GARDEN, AND THE HANDS ARE LOOKING FOR BUSINESS. PEOPLE SAY: APRIL BEGINS WITH SNOW AND ENDS WITH GREEN. WHAT WORKS SHOULD BE DONE IN THIS DIFFICULT PERIOD, LET'S CONSIDER IN DETAILS
Let's see: what's going on in the garden? In April (although sometimes earlier), the snow gradually begins to settle, thawed patches and patches of bare land appear. First - at the very trunks of fruit trees, then - in tree trunks, on paths and paths. The crowns of the trees are the first to feel this heat, then the roots; plants gradually wake up from hibernation, come out of a state of forced dormancy. After the roots awaken, the active life of the whole tree begins.
Snow melting
According to meteorological data, the average values of the beginning of snow melting in the Moscow region fall on April 5-10.
In different parts of the garden, it descends differently, unevenly: in open places - faster, in protected and under sprawling conifers - more slowly.
The snow becomes dense, settles, and water appears under it. At night, when temperatures are low again, the water freezes, during the day it thaws. This effect, together with stagnant water around the trunks, can threaten fruit and berry crops. With prolonged stagnation of water, the roots lack oxygen, and they suffer from oxygen starvation.
During melting
Don't forget to put the barrels under the drainpipes. There will be no more severe frosts, the barrels will remain intact, but the supply of melt water can help out. Water and melted snow from the roof are needed not only for irrigation, but also as a measure to combat floods.
Tidy up the soil. After the snow begins to melt, they rake last year's leaves and grass, put everything in compost heaps.
If necessary, they harrow, loosen and fertilize the ridges and tree trunks.
They remove spruce branches or other material from the ridges that covered the soil from freezing and for snow retention.
They remove shelters from young fruit plants and protective devices from hares.
They untie the rose hips and raspberries collected in bunches.
The conifers are unraveled, if necessary, they are fed.
Renew the layer of mulch washed away by spring waters.
crops
Prudent owners have prepared ridges for early sowing of vegetable crops since autumn. Early crops - an early harvest of vegetables for the table.
What do they sow immediately after leaving the snow ridges?
Greens - leaf parsley, lettuce (leaf and head), onion and shallot on a feather, batun, chives, spinach, sorrel, tarragon; legumes - peas, beans, beans; root crops - radishes and carrots. The best results are obtained by step sowing at intervals of 7 to 9 days. So it is possible to provide a green conveyor, and to depend less on whims.
Already in April, you can see the results of winter crops. Winter onions and garlic come out, shallots and various perennial puddles hatch. A little later, cotyledons of cauliflower and red cabbage appear on the ridges. And even later, shoots of beets, late varieties of carrots, leaf parsley, lettuce (leaf and head), watercress, chicory lettuce (witloof, endive and escariole), dill, sorrel become visible. All these plants tolerate low positive temperatures better than heat. Many of them are cold hardy and can even withstand short sub-zero temperatures.
In the second half of April, corn is sown for seedlings. With a warm, friendly spring in late April - early May, early potatoes are planted for food. Sometimes the holes are mulched with straw or the ridges are covered with a film.
For the growth of potatoes, the main thing is warm soil and its temperature. Peas are sown in the same numbers.
At the end of April, it's time to sow plant seeds for seedlings that will protect your vegetable ridges and scare off pests: marigolds, calendula, feverfew, chrysanthemum, white mustard, sage.
The end of the second spring month is the time to choose honey plants that attract pollinating insects: phacelia, borage, lemon catnip. thyme, oregano, clover, cyanosis. There is nothing better for fruit trees than the buzzing of bees in a flowering crown.
If at the end of March - beginning of April you cover several bushes of perennial onions with a film dome, then in a week and a half you can harvest the first crop of greens. Watering with warm water and top dressing will also help.
young bow
From mid-April, you can begin to thin out the thickened plantings of onions - this is a good way to provide yourself with early vitamin greens. And this is not fantastic advice.
If at the end of March - beginning of April you cover several bushes of perennial onions with a film dome, then in a week and a half you can harvest the first crop of greens. Watering with warm water and top dressing will also help speed up forcing.
snow from the ridges and put arcs with a film or tunnels. It is enough that the film is 35 - 60 cm above the soil level.
To obtain an early feather, good illumination of the ridge and air temperature under the shelter are important (not lower than + 16 ° C at night and + 20 ° C during the day). In some cases, a non-woven covering material is also suitable, but it is moisture-permeable, and folded in several layers is poorly permeable to sunlight. And for onions it is very important that there is as much light as possible, in this case a thicker and more powerful mass of leaves is formed (and this is exactly what we need if we grow onions on a feather).
Trees and shrubs
In the middle of spring, the formation of trees and shrubs begins - cut and cut the branches. If at the beginning of April there is already little snow or it has managed to settle, then pruning begins with berry crops in this order: blackcurrant, gooseberry, red and white currant. Of course, it is better to cut them in the fall, but if you left the molding for the spring, you will have to put up with a number of difficulties. If April is snowy, and the bushes are still under the snow, then sleep
Don't miss the early spring, work a little harder than usual, and let your harvest be generous all season
medicinal plants
In early spring, it is also joyful in the area with medicinal plants. Planted since autumn, different types of sage, monard, different varieties of mint are already beginning to show the first young leaves. All our works of the autumn period are now clearly visible and pleasing to the eye.
Currants and gooseberries are the first to come out of hibernation in the garden.
The scheme for caring for them is as follows: pruning, treatment with boiling water, installation of props and frame fences, if necessary, you can make layering for autumn plantings and fertilize tree trunks.
Sanitary pruning of berry bushes begins with cutting dry and broken branches onto a stump (we consider them as an incubator for pests and diseases and burn them).
Often gooseberries and currants are affected by powdery mildew (this can be seen but bent, twisted, sometimes dried ends of the shoots). Such shoots are cut to living tissue, capturing the diseased part of the shoot and 1-2 healthy buds.
pruning
The start time for fruit pruning in the Moscow region is determined when the snow cover begins to settle, the air is already warmed by the sun, and the thermometer shows a positive temperature. For the Moscow region, this is approximately the beginning of April.
Pruning is carried out early in the morning, while the snow is still dense enough to support the weight of an adult. And one more tip, which is often forgotten. If you did not have time to finish pruning before the snow melted, then it is better to postpone the work anyway. From walking on wet, swollen thawed earth - only harm: deep dents from shoes, mixed earth with cut branches, trampled plants ... Don't worry, you can continue working in the garden after the soil dries out a little. And pruning of fruit trees can generally be tightened before they begin to bloom.
An old orchard in early spring needs rejuvenating pruning. As a rule, the shortening of the "age" skeletal branches and the transfer to young shoots are done in one step. Carefully study the tree, carry out sanitary pruning of damaged, shrunken and broken branches, draw up a plan for updating the crown, and only then pick up a garden saw. Such pruning is carried out for two to three years, then you can expect results and not destroy the tree.
But what you should pay close attention to in the old garden is hollowness. In apple and pear trees, hollows are formed from mechanical damage to the branches, most often as a result of improper pruning. April is the time to clean the hollow from rotten wood, disinfect it with copper sulphate (5% solution) and fill it with a protective mixture (sand: lime: cement - 6: 1: 1). Hollow trees are not only low-yielding, but also dangerous, due to their fragility.
WORKS IN APRIL: GARDEN, GARDEN AND FLOWERS
Spring is a hot period for any gardener: planting, pruning, wound care. spraying trees and shrubs from pests and pathogens feeding ... And all this must be done on time
NOT in vain they say: APRIL HAS COME - TIME FOR THE GARDEN DO NOT SPEND.
FOR THE GARDENER THIS TIME IS THE MOST ACTIVE. TO MAKE EVERYTHING AND NOT FORGET ANYTHING, USE OUR TABLE, IT DESCRIBES ALL THE MOST NECESSARY WORKS THAT NEED TO BE DONE IN EARLY SPRING
PLANTS GROUP: FRUIT GARDEN AND BERRIES
WORKS ON PERFORMANCE
the first weekend of the month they inspect the garden, the trunks of fruit trees. If necessary, all frost cracks and other damage to the bark are healed with garden pitch. Cut out dry and dead branches. Before digging the trunk circles, organic matter and mineral fertilizers are introduced into the grooves made along the circumference.
At the end of the month, seedlings of apple trees, pears, as well as cherries, plums and apple trees are planted on undersized rootstocks. If necessary, 5-8-year-old trees can be transplanted at this time.
They remove the winter shelter from the strawberries, sprinkle the bare roots with soil. All dry and diseased leaves must be removed and burned.
In the middle of the month, young and fruiting bushes of currants, gooseberries, sea buckthorn and raspberries are fed with nitrogen fertilizers, the soil around the plants is loosened. Dry, broken, weakened branches are cut out before bud break. The soil around the raspberries is loosened and mulched, and then the shoots are cut at a height of 20-40 cm. The remaining shoots are tied to a wire even before the buds open.
PLANTS GROUP: ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS
WORKS ON PERFORMANCE
From the first days of April, roses gradually open. First, they increase their ventilation by removing shelters for several hours a day (with partial shading to prevent sunburn). After 10 days, shelters can be removed completely. To speed up the thawing of the soil around the plants, it is necessary to remove the mulch.
In the second half of the month, you can start pruning roses, which will help in the future in the formation of bushes, ensure good development of shoots and abundant flowering. But it is important to remember that pruning must be completed before the buds open. When pruning roses, the bushes are spudded, and then they are spudded again so that the lower buds do not dry out.
After pruning, it is necessary to feed the roses (at the rate of 2-3 g of ammonium nitrate, 3-5 g of superphosphate and 1-2 g of potassium salt under a bush). For the prevention of diseases after pruning before bud break, rose bushes are treated with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture at the rate of 1 liter per 20-25 bushes.
For abundant flowering of paniculate hydrangeas, annual pruning is recommended, which should be carried out in the spring before the start of the growing season (before bud break).
GROUP OF PLANTS: GARDEN
WORKS ON PERFORMANCE
They take shelter from clematis, feed them with ammonium nitrate at the rate of 10 g per plant and loosen the soil within a radius of 50-60 cm from the bush. At the end of April, the soil around the plant must be mulched with a layer of 3-5 cm, since the clematis root system cannot tolerate overheating.
Greenhouses are being prepared for sowing early greens and vegetables.
In the third decade of April, seeds of basil, zucchini, cucumber, squash, pumpkin are sown for seedlings. Continue caring for seedlings of eggplant, white cabbage, sweet pepper, celery, tomato. On warm days, the plants are hardened by taking them out into the open air.
Seeds of carrots, spinach, radishes, turnips, dill and parsley are sown in open ground.
Since it is still quite cold outside, it is necessary to cover it with a film or non-woven material for the night of planting. Spring garlic, onion sets and shallots are planted on a feather.
Perennial vegetables (lovage, rhubarb, sorrel) are fed with urea - 3 tablespoons per 10 liters of water. If you cover the plants with covering material, then after 2-3 weeks you can collect the first fresh greens.
Potato vernalization begins - for a month and a half, the tubers are placed in a bright place, but not in direct sunlight.
FLOWER IN APRIL
At the beginning of the month, begonia tubers are removed from cold storage, cleaned of dried roots and remnants of the earth. Large tubers with several buds can be divided (cut) into several parts so that each has at least one bud. Places of cuts are sprinkled with crushed charcoal. Tubers and delenki are planted for growing in pots so that the buds remain on the surface. Expose on window sills, warm verandas of any orientation. The air temperature should not fall below + 18 °C. intensive lighting is not required, the soil should be kept moist, drying out should not be allowed, and when watering, it is desirable to moisten the leaves.
When the soil in the greenhouse thaws and warms up, perennial seeds are sown: aquilegia, gailardia. carnation pinnate, delphinium, bluebells, cornflower, primrose (after two months of freezing in the freezer of the refrigerator) and pyrethrum.
In the phase of development of the first true leaf, seedlings of March crops are picked. You can dive into a semi-warm or cold greenhouse, on verandas, terraces, balconies and loggias, protected by glass or film; on the windows. Small plants are planted at a distance of 2.5-3 cm, larger ones - 5-6 cm.
Alyssum can be sown in the greenhouse for seedlings at the end of the month. marigolds, zinnia, cochia, and sow cold-resistant plants (matthiola, nemesia, annual gypsophila, annual chrysanthemums, California escholcia, cosmea, cornflowers, iberis) directly in the open ground.
When the perennial sprouts become clearly visible, loosen the soil around them, if they have not been mulched since autumn. Plants with superficial roots or rhizomes (irises, lilies of the valley, phloxes) are loosened with extreme caution, shallow.
Peonies can be divided from the moment the soil thaws until the buds begin to grow.
Before the start of active growth, irises, phloxes, daylilies, astilbes, delphiniums, chrysanthemums, leucanthemums and other perennial species can be divided. If in doubt, remember this rule: in spring, you can divide plants that bloom in autumn or early summer.
April: we launch the "green conveyor"
How nice it is to collect the first bunch of your own salad, pull the first crispy appetizing radish out of the ground, cook green borscht, in which “everything is your own”. Of course, without a greenhouse, it is difficult to keep up with early market radishes or spinach, but nevertheless, it is quite possible to get the very first green vegetables from an ordinary garden by the end of April - the beginning of May.
Spinach, radish, radish seeds. turnips, dill, parsley, coriander (cilantro), cumin, chervil, leaf mustard, celery, parsnips, carrots, peas, various types of lettuce, kale begin to germinate at a temperature of 1-5 ° C. So we can sow green from the beginning of April, and in the southern and eastern regions, even from the end of March.
True, in the cold ground, the seeds do not germinate for a long time, first building up the roots and not risking "protruding". To speed up the emergence of seedlings, we treat the seeds with growth stimulants before sowing, this is a good practice, but we will supplement it with traditional methods of soaking, germinating, and hardening. So, soaking accelerates the emergence of seedlings by 4-7 days.
And tightly germinated seeds of parsley, dill, celery, carrots, pre-sprouted, wrap in a damp cloth and place before sowing for 10-12 days in the refrigerator (at a temperature of 1-2 ° C). and after that we will sow. After such hardening, seedlings usually appear on the 5-7th day.
First, we sow a small bed of radishes, spinach, lettuce, plant onions and garlic to get greens. In case the weather worsens, we put arcs over the bed for film shelter. During frosts, we can cover the beds with agrofibre and without a frame.
Agrofibre with a density of 17 g / mA will protect seedlings from freezing -2 ° C, more dense. 30 g/mA will withstand temperatures as low as -6°C. To get a conveyor of early vitamin production, we sow radishes, spinach, leaf mustard, watercress at several times, every 10-20 days.
When the snow melts and the earth dries out a little, it's time to prepare the soil for sowing garden seeds. It is necessary to cultivate and harrow all the beds that were dug up in the fall with a rake. The same beds and plots that were not dug up in the fall need to be dug up with the addition of compost, superphosphate and ash.
Perennial crops should be freed from mulching materials, loosened, fed and covered with portable film structures in order to get an early harvest.
The first half of April is the time to sow green crops such as Beijing cabbage, lettuce, dill, watercress, cilantro, mustard leaf, as well as sunflowers, peas, and beans. And at the end of the month, seeds of cold-resistant plants are sown: carrots, onions, parsley, parsnips, radishes, lettuce, dill, etc. At the same time, turnips, radishes, rutabaga, peas, onion sets, beets are sown. From the beginning of the second decade, sow a cucumber, plant an early tomato under film shelters.
It's time to stretch the film on greenhouses and film shelters. Properly (with slate edging) prepare new beds.
Garden work in April
In most parts of Russia, spring comes in April. In the second half of the month in the middle zone of our country, sap flow and bud swelling begin in fruit trees. It's time for the most important spring work. In early April, all early spring plant care work that was not completed in March, for example, due to bad weather, should be completed.
With the last snow melting and sufficient drying of the top layer of the earth, put the area in order: rake the remaining last year's leaves, tops, branches, season cucumber beds with them, or put them in a compost heap. If weather conditions allow, start cultivating the soil - the sooner you loosen it, destroying the crust formed after the snow melts, the more soil moisture will be retained for the plants. Dig up the earth only if it is completely dry. You need to dig to a depth that is half as much as in autumn, otherwise, you can return the layer to its previous position.
Remove the strapping from the boles of the trees, and if the lime is washed off, it is necessary to repeat the whitewashing of the trunks with lime mortar. You can also whitewash stems and branches with freshly slaked lime (at the rate of 2-3 kg per 10 liters of water) with the addition of 0.5 kg of copper sulfate. Lime can be replaced with ground chalk by adding skimmed milk (2 liters per 10 liters of water) or wood glue (50-100 g per 10 liters of water) to the solution for better adhesion. Also add clay, mullein. These additives for better stickiness should also be mixed with lime whitewash. Such an event will protect plants not only from frost, sunburn, but also additionally destroy pests in the wintering stage, pathogenic fungi, and clear mosses and lichens.
If for some reason you were not able to spray against wintering stages of pests in March, then it is not too late to do it now, before the buds swell. All fruit trees, gooseberry bushes, blackcurrants and raspberries can be treated with a solution of nitrafen (300 g per 10 liters of water) against pathogenic fungi and aphids. At the same time, the soil under trees and shrubs is also sprayed with nitrafen.
A little later, at the end of April, when the buds begin to bloom, to combat scab, fruit rot and other fungal diseases in gardens, pear and apple trees are treated with Bordeaux liquid (300 g of copper sulfate and 400 g of freshly slaked lime per 10 liters of water).
At the same time, thickening, dry branches growing deep into the crown, tops (growing vertically upwards) are cut out, long ones are shortened.
Stamps are cleaned of dead bark, heal wounds that were formed from breaks, damage by hares and mice. Hollows, cancerous wounds are cleaned - they are first treated with copper sulfate (50 g per 1 liter), then the hollows are sealed with cement, in cancerous wounds - with a mixture: putty (6 parts of nigrol + 2 parts of molten paraffin + 2 parts of molten rosin) with a gauze bandage applied . To get rid of the apple flower beetle, trapping belts made of corrugated paper, burlap impregnated with karbofos (at the rate of 100 g per 10 liters of water) are applied to the base of the trunk.
The best time for planting fruit trees is early spring, and spring planting is especially important for cherries, as they often freeze when planted in autumn. Planted plants should be whitewashed, watered abundantly and mulched. At the same time, berry bushes are propagated by cuttings and layering.
It's time to start grafting and re-grafting fruit trees. Before sap flow begins, they are grafted in the “split”, “side cut” and “wedge” methods. "Bridges" are installed on the damaged parts of the boles - thus, healthy, well-developed, not frozen one-year last year's cuttings of any winter-hardy variety are grafted. They do this on the basis of - 4-5 shoot bridges are placed on a stem up to 10 cm thick with an interval of 5-7 cm around the circumference.
Blackcurrant buds must be examined and, if swollen round buds (carriers of one of the dangerous pests - kidney mites) are found, they are broken out. Also cut out branches affected by a glass case, or with a large number of swollen buds. All infected buds and branches that could be collected must be burned. Spray currant and gooseberry bushes affected by powdery mildew and anthracnose before bud break: either nitrafen, or karbofos, or Bordeaux mixture. Weed and loosen shrubs - currants, gooseberries, raspberries, honeysuckle, blackberries, Japanese quince, hazelnuts, while removing dry, thin, recumbent, too old, broken, thickening branches. Raspberries and blackberries need to be untied. They also cut off the tips of the branches, cutting out the dry ones, infected with the stem gall, shorten the frozen branches to live buds. Before the buds wake up, tie up the raspberry shoots on the trellises - in this case, the plants will be better illuminated by the sun and the berries will ripen a little earlier. In addition, the garter will facilitate the care of plants in general.
Areas with strawberries need to be cleaned of whiskers and old leaves, collected and burned. Fertilizers are applied under the strawberries and the soil is loosened. Additionally, those plants that are very bare and stick out of the soil are spudded. Planting young bushes. The dead bushes can only be replaced with new ones (stocked since autumn). If frost is still possible, then the strawberries should be covered.
One of the most important jobs for a gardener in April is preparing to protect the orchard from spring frosts. Between the opening of the buds and the end of the formation of the ovaries, the gardener must monitor the air temperature in order to be ready to protect the flowers and ovaries. The most affordable way to protect the garden from frost is to smoke. The smoke screen helps to keep the heat in the garden, which is given off by the soil during the night. In this regard, at the beginning of the month, brushwood, straw manure, turf, peat, fallen leaves, potato tops, sawdust, wood chips and other materials for arranging smoke heaps should be prepared.
Works in the ornamental garden, flower garden in April
When the snow has melted and the soil has warmed up, the condition of the lawns is checked at a depth of 5-10 cm. In areas where plants fall out from freezing (or soaking), it is necessary to sow grasses - the soil in the places of attacks is dug up, leveled and seeds of lawn grasses are sown at the rate of 6-10 g per 1 m 2. Then the crops are covered with a rake, compacted from above with the back side, and watered from a watering can with a mesh nozzle.
With ornamental plants, such as, for example, roses, hydrangeas and others, they remove shelters, loosen and loosen the soil around the bushes.
In addition, roses are pruned: for remontants, 6-8 buds are left on each shoot, for hybrid tea and polyanthus - 2-3 buds, for climbing and park roses, only dead, broken and simply weak branches are removed.
At this time, ornamental trees and shrubs are transplanted. In flower beds (flower beds, borders) you can plant seedlings of daisies, forget-me-nots, viola, calendula and other annuals that are resistant to spring frosts.
Towards the end of the month, you can sow sweet peas, matthiola, whose seedlings tolerate short-term frosts. Then they take care of bulbous perennial early-flowering plants: tulips, hyacinths, daffodils. They should be fed with mineral fertilizers per 1 m 2: urea 20 g, superphosphate 20 g, potassium salt 15 g. Next, the soil around the sprouts that appear should be loosened, and if it is dry, water it.
In the last decade, germinated gladiolus bulbs are planted (distance from each other 10-15 cm, between rows 20-25 cm). Children of gladioli must be planted until mid-April on a compacted grid (3-5-15 cm).
Immediately before planting, the bulbs and babies are recommended to be kept in a solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes. Bulbs can be divided into 2-3 parts, depending on the number of sprouts, while treating the wound surface with brilliant green or coal powder. They are planted in a hole up to 10 cm deep with the bottom down or on the edge and even upside down. Gladiolus can be grown in one place for no more than three years, and preferably two.
Among other things, during this period, climatis should be unrolled and specimens with lashes not cut off in autumn should be raised on trellises, dry tips should be cut off, and nitrogen fertilizer should be filled.
In case the perennials in your garden have grown and shredded, it means that it's time to separate them. Cut the edges of the bush with a knife and carefully remove it from the ground. Sprinkle the cuts with charcoal.
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