What I Do in the Garden in April

I do not treat April as the beginning of a race. I do not care if someone else has already planted out tomatoes while mine are still protected. I care about my soil, the nighttime temperatures and whether the plants are actually ready.

This is also the month when small decisions start to have much larger consequences. A few hours spent improving the soil, pulling weeds while they are still small or repairing an irrigation line can save considerably more work in May and June.

I Start With What Winter Left Behind

My first job is not planting. I look at the garden as a whole. I clear away dry plant material, tidy the edges of the beds and check where the soil is ready to work and where it is still too wet.

This is also a good time to check all the small things that suddenly become urgent in summer: stakes, supports, hoses, drip irrigation, outdoor faucets, pots and empty containers.

If something needs moving, or the layout of a particular bed did not work well last summer, I would rather solve it now while the garden is still relatively open.

The Soil Needs Preparation, Not Panic Fertilizing

By April the first plants are already growing, and it is very easy to feel that we should give them “something for strength.” I look at the soil first.

When its structure is good, I have far fewer problems later. I add mature compost and, where necessary, well-decomposed organic matter. I also use worm castings, but not as a substitute for healthy soil.

If I have a real reason to suspect a pH problem or a nutrient deficiency, I prefer a soil test rather than adding dolomitic lime, lime or mineral fertilizers by guesswork.

In April I Sow More, but Still Not Everything

The calendar is only a guide here. In one year April can feel almost like May, while in another the nights remain unpleasantly cold. I pay attention to the conditions in my own garden.

Cool-season crops can usually move ahead, but warm-season vegetables do not automatically get permission to go outdoors simply because the calendar says April.

Meanwhile, the weeds are starting too. At this stage they are small, shallow-rooted and relatively easy to remove. It is one of those boring April jobs that suddenly seems much more sensible when I remember what the same weeds look like in May.

Seedlings Need to Gradually Stop Being Houseplants

Until now, I have mostly been concerned with whether the seedlings are growing well. In April, I start thinking about whether they are actually capable of living outside.

Light through a window has very little in common with strong spring sunlight. The same is true of wind, changing temperatures and cooler nights.

So I begin hardening them off gradually. At first I take the plants outside for short periods in a sheltered position. Then I increase the time they spend outdoors and gradually expose them to more sunlight.

A strong seedling on a windowsill does not automatically become a strong plant in the garden. There is a period of adjustment between the two.

If my own seedlings are weak, excessively leggy or I simply started them too late, I am perfectly happy to buy healthy transplants. That seems much more sensible to me than spending two months trying to rescue a plant that had a poor start from the beginning.

April Is the Time to Prevent Future Problems

Some of the most useful jobs I do in April have nothing to do with buying new plants.

This is when I check whether the systems around the garden are ready for the more demanding months ahead.

• I check the drip irrigation and hoses.
• I clean blocked emitters and connections.
• I prepare stakes and supports before I urgently need them.
• I clean pots and check their drainage holes.
• I refresh the potting mix in containers where necessary.
• I remove young weeds before they become firmly established.
• I keep frost cloth ready when a cold night is forecast.

I Do Not Try to Speed Everything Up With Fertilizer and Water

Once plants start growing, the natural impulse is to give them more. More water, more fertilizer, more of whatever promises a quick result.

This is where I prefer a little restraint. If the soil has been prepared properly and the plant looks healthy, I see no reason to feed it automatically.

With nitrogen fertilizers in particular, more does not necessarily mean better. Producing a lot of soft green growth is not the same thing as building a strong, balanced plant.

Watering is similar. During cool April weather, the soil can hold moisture much longer than we expect. I water according to the soil and the plants, not according to a summer schedule.

By the End of April I Am Already Planning for May

Toward the end of the month, I start looking at the garden not as it appears today, but as it will look four weeks from now.

This matters because a small plant that looks lost in an enormous bed today can become two feet wide surprisingly quickly.

So I do not fill every empty space. I leave enough room for airflow, think about where supports will be needed and make sure I will still be able to move around when the plants are mature.

If the soil has warmed and is beginning to lose moisture more quickly, I also start thinking about mulch. I do not rush to cover cold, wet soil, but once conditions are suitable, mulch can help reduce evaporation and suppress some weeds.

What I Actually Want Ready by the End of April

Not an enormous number of planted vegetables. I want a well-prepared foundation.

I want the beds organized. The soil ready. Early crops growing. Seedlings hardening off. The irrigation system working. And warm-season plants still waiting if the weather is not ready for them.

It may look less impressive than a garden hurriedly filled with plants, but by June the difference becomes very obvious.