Seeds To Start in April

Here is April's Seed Starting schedule.  Don't forget that you can sow peas as soon as the soil can be worked.
Please be aware that this seed-starting schedule is based on being planted on Memorial Day weekend (the traditional weekend for many Northeast gardeners to put their gardens in).

Tip from the Seed-Room: Seedlings should be transplanted, at least once, before they are hardened-off and planted in the garden. This will ensure a strong plant that will better handle the shock of planting.
Once seedlings have their first pair of true leaves and are strong enough for you to handle them, it's time for them to be transplanted. Be sure to never handle the seedling by its stem-- use one of its leaves. If you are transplanting them into a flat be sure to place seedlings 2 inches apart from each other.

April 6th: Marigold, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Broccoli, Tomato.

April 13th: Brussel Sprouts, Endive, Kohlrabi, Kale, Collards, Viola, Oriental Poppy, Black-eyed Susans, Annual Cut Flower Mix, Bachelor's Buttons, Cleome, Alyssum, Portulaca, Strawflower, Sage.

April 27th: Cucumber, Cantaloupe, Lettuce, Cosmos, Zinnias.

 

AS&L Garden Tips for April

 

Spring Lawn Care 101 [1]

 

While it’s important to attend to your lawn in the spring, serious renovation should be done around Labor Day. 

 

1.       What kind of lawn do you want?

a.       How are you planning to use it?

b.      How much time and money are you willing to spend on it?

 

2.       Will you be applying a crabgrass control?

a.       Yes, DO NOT overseed in the Spring—overseed in the Fall

 

3.       What is the square footage of the lawn?

 

4.       Test the pH.

 

5.       Mow the lawn shorter than usual—about 2”

 

6.       Remove as many weeds and as much debris as possible.

 

7.       Thoroughly rake or dethatch the lawn.

a.       Thatch:  is comprised of living and dead material (i.e. grass clippings, grass stems, and other debris)—usually hidden by the grass the material accumulates and decomposes over time.  Many cool weather grasses don’t create heavy thatch.  Warm weather grasses, like bluegrass do create heavy thatch.

                                                               i.      Thatch can prevent fertilizer from reaching the soil.  It can also play host to insects and fungal diseases.

b.      Usually, using a hand rake will do all you need for dethatching; however, some lawns may require the use of a dethatching machine.  The machine makes vertical cuts into the lawn and pulls the dead material to the surface.

 

8.       Based on the pH results add the soil amendments.

a.       Lime

b.      Fertilizer

c.       In that order

 

9.       Over-seed with grass seed at about half the normal rate (for instance, most AS&L lawn mixes are applied at a rate of 1lb per 200 sq.ft. for a new lawn—for over-seeding use 1/2lb. per 200 sq.ft.)

 

10.   Water daily until established.

 

 

 

---

[1] Based on Paul Tuckey’s The Organic Lawn Care Manual

 

From The University of Maine Cooperative Extension:

Growing Asparagus in Maine

Developed by Assistant Professor Mark Hutton and Extension Educator Tori Jackson, University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) is a perennial crop that originated in Asia Minor but is now grown throughout the world. It has been cultivated for more than 2000 years for culinary and medicinal uses. Wholesome and nutritious, asparagus can be eaten raw or cooked, and is used fresh, frozen, or canned. In Maine, asparagus is one of the most popular early spring vegetables. Harvest in central Maine typically begins in early May.


For the full article (which includes great how-to photos) click here!

Bill's Favorite Native Plants: March

Allen, Sterling & Lothrop's nursery manager Bill Kennie has been working with the Falmouth Open Space committee to help eradicate invasive plants from the Maine landscape. Bill believes that it is very important to include native species in ornamental landscape gardens. Indeed, the more native plants a garden has the better--native plants are typically low maintenance, they provide food and shelter for wildlife and are visually in keeping with our native "wild" landscape

Disanthus Cercidifolius                                  “Redbud Hazel”

Height: 6-10’                                      Spread: 6-10’

This little beauty has blue-green heart shaped leaves that turn red-purple and orange in the fall.  Plant in part to full shade.  A perfect specimen for a Shade Garden!

 

Seed of the Month: Little Fingers "Baby" Carrots

Little Fingers “Baby” Carrots

New for 2013!!  

Who doesn’t love baby carrots?  Isn’t a baby carrot just an immature regular carrot?  Well, yes and no.  You can pick immature carrots but you must be vigilant to pick them before they get too big.  Little Fingers are slender and tender at maturity (65 days).  Little Fingers “Baby” Carrots are extremely sweet and perform well in containers and small garden plots.  If  you love to cook this is a great carrot to play with!

Little Fingers “Baby” Carrots are open pollinated (that is, the seeds of an open pollinated plant will produce a “true” replica of the parent plant).

Try  this nice recipe from Simply Recipes:

Roasted Baby Carrots Recipe

• 1 1/2 lbs of 5 inch long baby carrots, carefully washed, patted dry, greens cropped to 1 inch above top of carrot
• 1 medium red onion, peeled, cut lengthwise (root to top) into 8-12 wedges
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary, or 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary
• Garlic powder
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Gently toss together the carrots, red onion, rosemary to coat with the olive oil. Lay out on a rimmed baking pan, lined with aluminum foil. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
2 Roast for 30 to 40 minutes on middle rack or bottom rack, until well browned.

Identifying & Harvesting Fiddleheads

OK, so there's still plenty of snow on the ground--but, we all know that fiddle-heads are right around the corner!!

Here's a nice video from UMaine Cooperative Extension that explains how to identify and properly harvest fiddle-heads:

AS&L Garden Tips for March

The longer days of March remind us that spring will be here…eventually.

This month:

1. Give your compost pile a turn.
2. Inspect your gardening tools; use steel wool to remove any rust and debris from them.
3. Inspect plants for winter damage (like broken branches) & prune now.
• UMaine Cooperative Extension (Hancock) How To Videos:
• How To Prune Ornamental Trees
• How To Prune a Lilac Bush
• How To Prune Raspberries
• How To Prune Blueberry Bushes    
• How To Prune Apple Trees       
• UMaine Cooperative Extension On-Line Publications:
• Pruning Woody Landscape Plants
• Renovating Old Apple Trees