Home Garden Mid-April Update: Dreaming, Planning, Building and Planting

So it seems to be spring, I think! It is cool, but it's supposed to warm up a bit this week. It's hard to do much when it is cold and damp but there are things one can do in this time before the possibility of frost ends. And yes, we certainly can have another frost in the next month. 

So please do not plant anything that is frost sensitive. That would include all tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, basil, zinnias, corn, green beans and all squash. It is not yet time for them to take up residence in your garden. Even if they don’t get frosted, cold air can slow growth and even permanently harm your plants. Eggplant is particularly sensitive to cold and its health can be stunted for good by a cold snap. It's best not to put cold sensitive plants out, even for the day. Be patient. The general last frost date for the Lehigh Valley is Mother’s Day weekend.

Still, one can plant seeds of lettuce, beets, spinach, peas, radishes, as well as other greens in the garden. Plants that can be put out include asparagus and rhubarb babies. Shrubs like forsythia, burning bush, flowering quince, lilac, pussywillows, raspberries and blueberries can be put in now, as can most shade or fruit trees. You could start a lawn now, although late summer is considered the prime time for doing that. If you plant any bushes or trees plan to water them daily for the first few weeks. Do not let them dry out at all for the first month or so.

One thing you can think about is what can go in your summer garden. Look on websites, in books and in your neighbor’s garden. Plants are everywhere at garden centers. You can buy plants online, but honestly it is better to buy local so you know they are suited for your geographic location. Go to a good garden center (Tilly's in Coopersburg is one close by) and poke around with your friends, seeing what you can have in your garden this year. Field-grown is hardier than stuff raised in a greenhouse. Remember not to buy stuff that is not frost safe—at least not until closer to Mother’s Day.

Bulbs that can go in later (think May) include gladiolas and a number of more tropical items.  You cannot plant tulips, daffodils and crocus now. But you can look at what you like in someone’s garden and ask the names of the specific varieties. Write the names down and in late summer you can order bulbs online or buy them in a store. Plant the bulbs next fall; October is ideal, even into mid-November, and next spring you will enjoy a riot of tulips or a parade of daffodils. Plant enough so you can pick some to enjoy in a vase. Just remember, daffodils don’t play well with other flowers; they tend to kill the blooms of anything else. It would be smart to put them in a vase by themselves.

So start dreaming, get planning, create a garden—raised bed or not—and start a beautiful place of growing. Do flowers if that is what you like, or veggies, or both. Flowers can have beneficial effects on your vegetables, so it is certainly a good idea to mix them in one bed. I suggest you grow vegetables that you enjoy eating and ones that taste extra good when fresh and vine ripened. There is a reason people grow tomatoes: because they taste far better when you let them get red and ripe on the plants. Neighbors Garden Center has an excellent selection of seeds and carries things like seed potatoes and asparagus plants.

Be patient and wait for the end of likely frosts in mid-May to plant those frost tender items. Please don’t put that tomato plant out in the garden just yet. Not unless you want to have to go out and buy new plants! There are plenty of other things to do in your garden-planning and planting phase. Gardening can be very relaxing, so don't make the garden too big; be conservative this first year of planting, so you can enjoy it to the maximum.