Garden work in April in the middle zone. What to do at the dacha in April. Gooseberry care

10.04.2018

Spring is coming in full swing, and even those summer residents who canned their suburban areas for the winter, they make their first forays into nature. There is enough work in the garden in April in the Moscow region, so it’s time to gather all your strength and get down to business.

What to do in the garden in April

Get out

When all the snow has melted and the soil has dried out a little, you can rake away the debris that has accumulated over the winter, collect the remaining leaves from last year, remove the winter bindings on the trees, remove the spruce branches that covered the perennials, and remove the remains of dry leaves and stems of perennial flowers. If some bushes were pinned to the ground, then it’s time to free them.

Leaves should be removed from the lawn with a sharp rake. As a result, you will not only clean up the mess, but also aerate the lawn.

Remove heaps filled with moles, loosen the soil in large bald spots, add fertile soil and sow new seeds lawn grass. In those places where the lawn has begun to spill over into paths and flower beds, remove the excess with a sharp shovel or hoe and level the edges.

Perform pruning and processing of trees and shrubs

If you did not prune your trees and shrubs last month, now is still time to safely remove diseased, dry and frozen branches. It is pruning that will ensure your garden’s health and rich harvest; the trees will retain their youth and decorative appearance longer.

Take a walk through the garden and carefully examine the trees. Large cracks and hollows that appear must be treated with copper sulfate and covered with garden varnish or another similar product. If the fruit trees are very old, they may be overgrown with lichen and moss. It is better to clean off these growths and treat the bark with copper sulfate.

Under the plants after the snow melts, you can see a crust formed. It must be loosened to ensure access of air and moisture to the roots, and at the same time to disturb the pests wintering in these places. Afterwards it is necessary to mulch the surface with peat or manure.

Pay attention to the kidneys fruit bushes. If they look unnatural and are swollen, resembling cabbage heads, this means that bud mites have settled in them. Such buds must be removed and burned.

Protect your garden from pests

This time can be effectively used to combat various diseases and pests.

If you know that your plants were sick last season, then treat them now with the appropriate medications. Remove affected branches and burn.

To prevent fungal diseases, plants can be treated with a 2% solution of nitrafen or copper sulfate on the surface, do not forget to spray the soil near the trunk. Treat plants at positive temperatures and in the absence of bright sun to avoid causing burns.

For pests such as moth or mites, you can treat fruit bushes with karbofos. If you are an opponent chemicals protection, then you can use infusions from wood ash, tobacco, mustard or onion peels.

Meet with perennials

When all the snow has melted and nights with above-zero temperatures set in, you can remove the covering material from the roses. We have already started them gradually. Carefully inspect the bushes; if there are dried or blackened stems, they must be cut off. Focus on the first healthy kidney from above. Everything above can be deleted. Treat the bushes against pests, including the soil under the roses, and loosen them. Apply fertilizer - ammonium nitrate or urea.

At the same time, shelters can be removed from other heat-loving crops that you have insulated for the winter. The soil under all perennials must be loosened and fertilized.

If you added soil to the trunks of perennial crops over the winter to protect them from the cold, it’s time to rake it away. When loosening, it is necessary to add spring complex fertilizers.

The time has come to put things in order in the flower beds: remove debris, loosen and fertilize the soil, remove weeds that have flown in and taken root here (now this will be much easier to do than late spring). It is only important to be careful and not damage those flowers that have not yet risen, so as not to accidentally injure them. If you forget what exactly is growing in your flower beds, either wait a little, or get into the habit of sketching simple diagrams of the arrangement of plants in your flower beds.

Starting from the end of April (but only if the soil has warmed up and there are no frosts) you can divide and. Phlox, astilbe, and daylilies will rejoice in the new place. As soon as the sprouts appear from the ground, the flowers can be divided and planted in new places. It is better to replant chrysanthemums when the size of the shoots is 5-7 cm.

Depending on the weather in April, gladioli and dahlia bulbs can be planted towards the end of the month. The soil temperature at the planting depth (10 cm) should be above 10 degrees. If the month is not very warm and the snow melted late, then it is better to postpone this event until May.

Feed the plants

Fertilizers will be needed for all your garden creatures, including your lawn. Spring fertilizers must contain nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (azofoska, nitroammofoska, etc.) They could have been scattered over the melting snow, but if you did not have time to do this, now is not too late.

Don’t forget about conifers, especially young ones, they also need care. There are special fertilizers for them, and the plants will thank you for the vitamin-rich fertilizer.

Attention, conifers

Take a look at your coniferous neighbors, have you noticed? This is especially true for thuja! Spring is gaining strength and even if there is snow here and there, the temperature rises quite high. The needles begin to actively evaporate moisture. Moreover root system at large plants has not yet fully thawed and is not replenishing lost water. The crown begins to dry out.

To avoid yellowing, water your conifers early in the day with warm water to allow it to soak in before the still-cold night sets in.

Plant seedlings

In April, you can plant tree seedlings with an open root system, be sure to tie them to supports and water them well. If you dug in cuttings last year, now you can carefully separate them and plant them in a new prepared place. April is a great time to graft plants.

In April, seeds of annual flowers are sown for seedlings and those crops that were sown in March and have already grown up are planted.

Relax and enjoy the spring air

And the most important thing to do in the garden in April is to relax. No matter how much work awaits you, it is absolutely impossible to redo it all. Therefore, you need to think about yourself and your loved ones, have a picnic in nature, breathe in plenty of fragrant spring air, absorb the energy of awakening nature and recharge yourself with a good mood.

House project “Time to create gardens”

Tsyganova Oksana

April is mid-spring. However, despite the fact that winter is losing ground, the weather this month is quite unstable: either the sun will warm up, or the frost will return again. But the changeable nature is not an obstacle for gardeners, because work done in April is the key to the health of the garden and the basis of the summer-autumn harvest. And, to be honest, I can’t bear to sit at home anymore: I’m drawn to the street, I want sun, warmth, fresh air. We will tell you in the article what kind of work must be done in the garden in April.

During the days of April, when gardening is not possible, take an inventory garden tools. © John Nixon

Cleaning and planning the area

One of the main activities spring period- preparing the area for the season. In April, as soon as the snow melts and the soil dries out a little, it would be good to pick up a rake and broom and sweep away everything that has accumulated on the beds and paths. Place plant waste in compost and take out the rest. If the drains are clogged, clean them. In low-lying areas, improve drainage.

In cases of territory development, it’s time to plan functional areas. To begin with, they are drawn on paper and then reproduced in reality. This significantly improves the aesthetic aspect of the site, simplifies its maintenance, and increases the comfort of using the land.

Most often, planning involves dividing the territory into subzones, which can be an entrance, a recreation area, utility yard, garden.

Preparing garden tools

If the weather does not allow you to work outside, you can do business at home: repair and sharpen garden tools, buy missing tools, prepare several sets of work clothes. At the same time, it is important not to neglect safety measures when working with chemicals, and to allocate separate clothing for handling chemicals, which can simply be thrown away at the end of the season.

We carry out pruning

When the temperature is set at around 0 °C, you can and should begin spring pruning. It is better to start with crops resistant to low temperatures, such as apple trees, then move on to more heat-loving cherries, apricots, cherries, plums, and pears.

The branches must be cut cleanly, without leaving protruding bark or broken wood. To avoid tearing plant tissue and transmitting infections, the pruning shears must be well sharpened and clean. Since damaged areas of branches are breeding grounds for diseases, they must be treated with garden varnish or oil paint within 24 hours.

During the same period, it is necessary to inspect and remove damaged shoots berry bushes, trim the raspberries. If swollen round buds are observed on black currants, this is a bud mite. Affected branches should be cut and burned.

Each crop has its own norms and pruning techniques. In addition, both the variety and age of the tree are taken into account (young seedlings are formed last). Therefore, it is better to ask in advance how to put your garden in order and create individual plan trimmings.

Let's start spring pruning. © Natasha Starkell

Removing winter shelters

As soon as the snow melts, more or less warm weather will set in, with a temperature of +5..+10 °C, it is necessary to begin removing winter shelters from the grape bushes. This should be done gradually, with a focus on the method of shelter. And only when the threat of frost has passed should you remove the “winter coat” completely.

If the grape bushes have not been pruned since the fall, immediately after opening, it is necessary to remove the damaged vine from them, form the plants and tie them to a support.

The strawberry beds and raspberry plantings are gradually being opened. After which the mulch is renewed and sprayed against diseases and pests.

We cultivate the garden

Before the buds open, it is necessary to have time to treat trees and shrubs against pests and diseases. To prevent a number of diseases at once, a 1–2% solution of Bordeaux mixture is used. Gooseberries and currants are doused with hot (+65 °C) water or sprayed with Topaz. Strawberry plantings, for the purpose of prevention against strawberry mites, spotting and gray rot, are treated with a manganese solution.

If the garden is not whitewashed, whitewashing can be done at the beginning of the month.

We feed garden crops

In early spring, the use of fertilizers is mandatory. Basically, nitrogen is introduced at this time by scattering granules over the melting snow. But, if organic matter or complex fertilizer was not applied in the fall, both phosphorus and potassium are used.

Especially in need of such early feeding raspberries and grapes.

Planting trees and shrubs

April is the time to plant seedlings. It’s good if the planting holes were prepared in the fall, but if not, they need to be dug now. At the same time, it is worth taking into account both the characteristics of the soil and the needs of the crops being planted - laying just such a foundation for the plants that can give them a good start.

In addition to planting new plants, this month they pin and dig in layering to obtain currant and gooseberry seedlings.

In mid-spring you can start sowing green and cold-resistant crops. © Deborah Neyens

Setting up a compost pile

After the soil has dried, you can start laying a new one. compost heap. To do this, you need to knock down a fence 1.5 m wide, 1 m high, dig a 20 cm deepening, lay a film or a layer of peat 10 cm thick in it. Such a bottom will allow the pile to retain moisture and nutrients washed out with water. Walls will simplify maintenance and increase aesthetic appearance.

We sow cold-resistant crops

Mid spring - good time for sowing in open ground such green crops as watercress, spinach, dill, parsley, carrots, sorrel. For more friendly shoots, they can be covered with film, but even without coverings, sown at this time, they will give an earlier harvest.

If the earth has warmed up enough, in the middle to end of the month (depending on climate zone) you already need to sow radishes, beets, peas, chives, and plant garlic. Where potatoes were not planted at the end of March, plant potatoes.

When sowing beds, do not forget about observing crop rotation and crop compatibility. In addition, it is good to think in advance about planting protective plants for the garden and vegetable garden that drive away harmful insects. These include marigolds (calendula), nasturtium, marigolds, tansy and many other familiar flowers that can not only improve the health of trees, shrubs and vegetables, but also perfectly decorate the area.

Green manure should also become an obligatory part of spring planting. Mustard, rye, phacelia, oats, and rapeseed can be sown as soon as the soil thaws. These crops are not afraid of temperature changes and, in addition to cleaning and enriching the soil with nutrients, protect the plantings from return frosts.

We continue to care for the seedlings, and some crops can be planted in greenhouses. © Karen Jackson

We take care of seedlings

In April, caring for the grown seedlings continues. At the beginning of the month, late and medium varieties are sown for seedlings white cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, ultra-early tomatoes and eggplants.

Preparing greenhouses

If greenhouses for growing heat-loving crops have not been prepared in advance, the beginning of the second month of spring is an excellent time to put them in order.

Cucumbers are sown in greenhouses prepared in the fall at the beginning of the month. In the middle, seedlings of celery, cabbage, and beans are placed. At the end (at last days April - early May) tomatoes, zucchini, and squash are sown in warm soil heated to +15 °C.

If vegetables are grown through seedlings, 50–60 day old tomato seedlings are planted in the first ten days of the month, and 25–30 day old cucumber seedlings in the second ten days.

Seedlings of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and eggplants are planted under temporary shelters in the second or third decade of April.

We hope that in the article we remembered all the mandatory tasks for caring for the garden in April. But if you forgot something, write about it in the comments to the article. Perhaps you would like to do something else this month? important work, about which we have not written.

It’s not without reason that the second month of spring is considered the most labor-intensive for summer residents, because the work plan in the garden in April becomes noticeably broader and more complex. This month it is important to finally think through the list of future plantings, determine places on the site for planned crops and, of course, take care of your favorite dacha. What activities does the calendar of work at the dacha in April include and what needs to be started to be implemented now?

Basic work at the dacha in April

In anticipation of the upcoming summer season gardeners and gardeners draw up their individual program of activities, which covers the main work on summer cottage in April. Typically, such a program plan includes tasks and goals such as:

• 1. Tilling the soil and preparing it for future crops.
• 2. Prevention of diseases in healthy trees and shrubs, as well as restoration and treatment garden plantings suffered during the winter from frost, wind, sunburn, pests and diseases.
• 3. Preparation planting material for the garden, vegetable garden and flower garden.
• 4. Plant transplantation.
• 5. Propagation of berry and fruit crops.
• 6. Control of diseases and pests of the garden, vegetable garden and flower garden.

In addition to the above activities, in April they continue to purchase new equipment and covering material, work in wall-mounted greenhouses, hotbeds and free-standing greenhouse structures on the site - thus making up for everything that was supposed to be done according to the work plan at the dacha in March.

Work in the garden in April

One of the most important and time-consuming work in the garden in April is cultivating and preparing the soil. The health and comfort of garden plantings, their protection from pests and disease carriers, largely depend on it in the future.

This paragraph usually provides for the following procedures:

• - digging up thawed and slightly dried earth (in the old days, the time favorable for digging was determined as follows: they squeezed a lump of earth in their fist and if it crumbled into large pieces on the open palm, they got to work);
• - treating the soil against pathogens and pests (often for these purposes, areas for future plantings are spilled with a hot solution of potassium permanganate);
• - introducing organic and mineral fertilizers into the soil (if this procedure was not carried out in the fall).

If fertilizers were applied to the soil in advance, then they try not to dig too deep in the spring. In the spring, light soils are dug to a shallower depth than in the fall. Heavy clay soils- to the same depth as during autumn treatment.

During digging, wet clods of earth must be broken, because when they dry out and petrify, it will be very difficult to deal with them. After the ground has been dug, its surface is leveled with a rake to minimize moisture loss.

In the process of preparing the soil, you can add organic and mineral fertilizers- especially if this was not done in the fall. The amount of fertilizer is calculated based on the type and number of plants, the type of soil and the degree of its cultivation, etc.

It is extremely important to once again check the planned planting plan and determine the locations for crops, taking into account crop rotation. On this plan, the location of ordinary, steam and high ridges, steam ridges, warm pits and heaps in the garden is often noted. In the future, such a detailed diagram will help save a lot of time when arranging places for future plantings and sowings.

In addition to the above events, the main spring gardening in April include items such as:

• - planning the placement of crops on the site, taking into account the speed of their maturation (early, mid- and late-ripening), calculating the area for each crop;
• - seed preparation, calibration and selection of full-bodied specimens for sowing;
• - sowing vegetable plants for seedlings (leeks, cabbage of all types), sowing for seedlings pumpkin crops for film greenhouses - watermelons, cucumbers, melons, etc.;
• - sowing radishes and cold-resistant green crops in film greenhouses.

Approximately in the second half of the month, it is allowed to sow cucumber, squash and zucchini seeds for seedlings for their further cultivation under temporary film covers.

At the end of April (depending on weather conditions and relative stabilization of above-zero temperatures), you can begin sowing cold-resistant crops in open ground - radishes, radishes, spinach, carrots, beets, turnips, onions, beans, lettuce, spring garlic. Their seeds are able to germinate at soil temperatures of +3°...+4°C, and the emerging seedlings can withstand short-term and light frosts - down to -5°C.

Also spring work In the garden in April, it is planned to plant early-ripening potatoes at the end of the month (often using film coverings) and sowing cabbage seeds of mid-season varieties under the film.

Garden work in April

The second month of spring provides summer residents with the opportunity to do everything that was not done in March and has been postponed since the fall - this is why the amount of work in the garden in April increases significantly. At this time of year, the snow begins to melt very quickly, meltwater quickly leaves the area, and in the garden not only trees and shrubs awaken from hibernation, but also surviving pests and carriers of dangerous diseases. So that you do not miss a single important event, we will present in this part of the publication detailed list what work should be done in the garden in April.

So, a gardening plan in April is usually represented by the following items:

• - inspection of all fruit and berry plantings;
• - trimming fruit trees, formation of berry bushes;
• - grafting and re-grafting of trees;
• - procurement of planting material, checking seedlings stored and buried in the fall;
• - treatment of plants against overwintered pests and pathogens;
• - cleaning the trunks of adult garden trees, treating and disinfecting wounds, hollows and damage, pruning dead and dry branches;
• - whitewashing of trunks and bases of skeletal branches;
• - digging up soil that has become very compacted during the winter, digging up areas that were not dug up in the fall, as well as loosening dry soil in tree trunk circles;
• - fertilizing garden plantings;
• - preparation of material for smoke heaps (last year’s foliage, pine needles, cut branches, etc.);
• - carrying out early spring watering - if the supply of spring moisture in the soil is insufficient and the soil is too dry;
• - pruning and burning branches of trees affected by ringed silkworms;
• - cleaning old birdhouses and titmouses or installing new houses and bird feeders;
• - gradual removal of covers (spruce branches, mulch, etc.) from overwintered plants - this procedure is carried out depending on weather conditions and the relative stabilization of heat;
• - planting pome, stone fruit and berry crops, replanting trees and shrubs.

As a rule, everything gardening in April They begin with a careful inspection of garden plantings and studying their condition after winter. During the inspection of the garden, those trees and shrubs that require replanting are identified - if, for example, they were planted in the wrong place. suitable place. In addition, during a close examination of your garden, you can easily identify crops that have suffered from sunburn, frost, strong winds, pests and diseases.

Pruning fruit and berry crops and cleaning tree trunks

Having carried out a thorough inspection of the garden, you can move on to such an important procedure as pruning and shaping fruit trees and shrubs. Our website for gardeners and gardeners recommends following the following sequence of actions: first, trim black currants, serviceberries, and raspberries, then trim gooseberries, white and red currants, apple and pear trees, and lastly, plums and cherries.

Trees whose age has passed the mark of 12-15 years need to be cleansed of old bark in the spring. Peeling off and growing, it becomes covered with moss and over time becomes a habitat for pathogens and pests.

The cleaning procedure is carried out with special scrapers, metal brushes and other devices, after which the bark on the trunks should become smooth and renewed. When cleaning, you will also need to treat any detected wounds, hollows, cracks and gnaws with a solution. copper sulfate, and then cover them up.

Drawing up a plan for placing crops on the site

If in the coming year you plan to diversify your garden with new fruit and berry crops, try to carefully consider their placement on the site. Remember that indiscriminate planting vegetable crops, bushes and trees are unacceptable. In the future, the randomness of planting will greatly complicate (or even make it impossible) the fight against pests and diseases.

The placement of all crops on the site should be carried out according to the principle of grouping plantings in accordance with their species. Moreover, it is most rational for each berry and fruit crop to have not one, but several varieties with different periods of fruit ripening - both early ripening and mid- and late ripening. Such foresight will allow you to receive an uninterrupted harvest of fruits and berries throughout the summer season.

Working with planting material

Such an important point in the work plan for the site in April as the preparation and testing of planting material requires special attention. Seedlings garden crops must be purchased in the fall or spring - before the start of the next summer season.

Seedlings purchased in the fall are dug in for wintering, and in the spring they are carefully inspected, evaluating general state and degree of suitability for landing. Immediately before planting, the condition of the root system of the seedlings is examined: torn and broken roots must be cut with pruners to a healthy place.

Apple and pear trees can be planted both in the fall (after the leaves have fallen from the trees) and in the spring (strictly before the buds bloom). Cherries and plums, in turn, should be planted in the spring, under no circumstances delaying the planting dates, i.e. before the buds open.

Planting strawberries

In the second half of April they begin to prepare the ground for spring planting strawberries - at least a week before the scheduled time of planting seedlings. Preparing the soil for strawberries in advance is necessary so that the dug up soil has time to settle and become slightly compacted. If you plant strawberries without waiting for the soil to settle, there is a risk that the roots of the seedlings will become bare after some time, and the plants themselves will begin to get sick and require replanting. Usually they try to deal with strawberries before April 20-23, since there will be no time left for them after that.

Grafting and propagation of horticultural crops

April is a suitable month for grafting and propagating garden crops. At this time, cuttings are grafted the best varieties pears into the crown of other pear trees, rooted cuttings of plum and cherry are planted.

At the beginning of the month, lignified cuttings of sea buckthorn, prepared in the fall, and black currant are planted (its cuttings are planted very early, which is called “in the mud”). At the end of April, in turn, the following crops are planted:

• - raspberries (root cuttings harvested in the fall are planted);
• - Chinese lemongrass (offshoots from the mother plant with a section of rhizome are planted);
• - actinidia (woody cuttings are planted).

Feeding

Considering that in the spring fruit and berry crops Enhanced nutrition required - plan gardening work in April necessarily includes such an item as feeding overwintered plantings. The most appropriate moment for fertilizing is considered to be that short period of time that occurs immediately after the snow has completely melted - during this period the soil best absorbs the applied fertilizers. It is important to consider that on the lungs sandy areas this period comes and ends much faster than on dense clay soils.

Fruit trees are fed by distributing fertilizers over the surface of the soil in circles near the trunks. For better absorption of fertilizing, the fertilized top layer of soil will need to be dug shallowly.

Approximate fertilizer consumption per 1 square meter is:

• - 10 g urea;
• - 0.5 cups of superphosphate and the same amount of potassium sulfate (all can be replaced with 3 cups of ash);
• - 1 bucket organic fertilizers(contributed once every 3-4 years).

Fertilizing berry bushes should be enriched with nitrogen, so it is advisable to increase the dose of urea recommended above to 20 g per 1 square meter. meter.

Pest control and disease prevention

One of the biggest tasks in the garden in April is pest control and disease prevention. With the arrival of spring warmth and the gradual disappearance of night cold, pests begin to awaken in the garden, at the same time the activity of bacteria, viruses, and carriers of various diseases increases.

Currant and gooseberry bushes affected last year by mites, sawflies, moths and other pests are treated with karbofos or keltan (at the rate of 30 g of any of these products per 10 liters of water).

In turn, such proven infusions allow you to protect gooseberries and currants from sucking pests, such as:

• - tobacco;
• - mustard;
• - garlic;
• - infusion of onion peels, wood ash, etc.

The plantings are treated with the indicated infusions in the evening or in cloudy, dry weather, since in the sun on a hot day the prepared solutions will quickly evaporate and the procedure preventative treatment will be ineffective.

In addition, currant and gooseberry bushes must be carefully examined for damage to powdery mildew, gall midges or currant glass. Detected shoots with traces of pest activity or signs of disease must be cut out and burned.

To avoid the development of fungal diseases and aphid attacks, it is also recommended to spray gooseberries and currants with nitrafen (the solution is prepared from 200 g of 60% paste and 10 liters of water), and also treat the soil under them with the same product.

To make garden protection even more effective, gardeners use a wide range of methods to combat pests and diseases - including both chemical and agrotechnical methods (we previously talked about them in the corresponding publication).

Work in the flower garden in April

General plan work in the flower garden in April usually involves the implementation of such activities as:

• - picking seedlings of annual flowers sown in March;
• - caring for seedlings of annuals sown in March (annual dolichos vines, sweet peas, etc.);
• - feeding seedlings flower crops- also sown in March;
• - feeding of bulbous (hyacinths, daffodils, tulips) and small-bulbous crops (scylla, snowdrops, crocuses, muscari, etc.);
• - fertilizing perennial flowers overwintered in the ground (astilbe, hosta, irises, phlox, primroses, peonies, lilies of the valley, etc.);
• - loosening of perennials (carried out when flower sprouts become clearly visible);
• - propagation of rhizomatous perennials by division (carried out after the soil has completely thawed, but the buds have not yet had time to start growing);
• - preparing the soil for sowing seeds of annual flowers in open ground (cornflowers, iberis, lavatera, clarkia, eschscholzia, mignonette, etc.);
• - gradual removal of covers from clematis, roses, as well as from the rhizomes of irises, covered with peat or soil before wintering;
• - pruning roses in the 2-3rd decade of the month;
• - fertilizing roses after pruning;
• - planting rose seedlings on permanent place(after the soil in the flower garden thaws);
• - sowing seeds of perennial flowers grown through seedlings (delphinium, feathery carnation, aquilegia, cornflower, etc.) - this work in April is carried out approximately in the 2nd decade of the month, after the soil has completely thawed and warmed up thoroughly under film or glass.

When intending to carry out the bulk of the work in the flower bed, vegetable garden or garden in April from the list above, it is important to take into account the weather and climatic conditions your region. The dates given in the publication are more of a guideline than a direct recommendation, so do not forget to regularly check weather forecasts and information from weather forecasters.

At the beginning of April, gardeners have a lot of work ahead of them. You need to have time to trim trees and shrubs, ventilate winter shelters, protect plants from sunburn, sow seedlings, and care for perennials and the lawn.

Tree pruning in spring

The crown of fruit trees and shrubs must be pruned in the period between the melting of snow and the moment the buds swell. Some gardeners underestimate spring pruning. In fact, this is a very important matter. Thanks to simple pruning, you can improve the quality of fruits and the yield of trees, as well as regulate their growth.

The degree of pruning depends on the age of the trees and shrubs. The frequency of pruning is also important. If you resorted to it from time to time, you will have to tinker a lot.

Ventilation

Ventilation of hydrangeas, roses, and other heat-loving plants sheltered for the winter must begin in mid- or late March. It all depends on the weather conditions. For ventilation you need to select sunny days with positive temperatures. The covering that protects the plantings must first be lifted little by little and only over time increase the access of fresh air. Covered plantings should gradually get used to the new temperature conditions so that they don't feel stressed.

Protection from sunburn and frost

At the beginning of spring, plants are at high risk of sunburn. This is especially true for conifers. Their burns, as a rule, appear only on the open part of the crown, which faces the sun and is not covered by snow. After a burn, the needles turn red, often occupying most of the crown. To prevent this from happening, do not be lazy to throw snow from the paths onto the bare part alpine slide. For tall conifers that cannot be covered with snow, spruce branches are suitable. It needs to be fixed on the plant in tiers from bottom to top.

Lawn care in spring

The beginning of March is characterized by alternating frosts and thaws. These weather conditions are dangerous for lawns. Snow that has melted in the sun with the onset of night frosts is easily covered with an ice crust, which complicates air access to the lawn. Due to the fact that the snow has not completely melted, unsightly bald spots may appear on the lawn. To prevent this from happening, break the ice crust as it appears.

Caring for perennials in spring

Particular attention should be paid to perennials when the snow has completely melted. It is necessary to remove dead shoots and leaves from the plantings. Prevention should also be carried out on a regular basis to combat diseases and pests of perennials.

Sowing seedlings

Sowing seedlings is another important task for a summer resident in early spring. An excellent time for sowing many annuals is the third ten days of March. Keep in mind that the soil for seedlings may have a different composition, but it must be fresh, that is, not previously used for growing plants. You should not fry or overheat the soil, since this process also kills the necessary

Work in the garden and vegetable garden in April.

April is a month when there is an immense amount of work in the garden and garden. In April, planting begins for many garden crops, because the seeds of most vegetables begin to germinate already at a soil temperature of 1-4 degrees Celsius. It was right in the old days that they said, “As you trample, so shall you burst.”

• Make sure that on site there was no stagnation of melt water, by digging grooves, drain the water in the desired direction. Stagnation of water is especially dangerous for raspberries, strawberries and clematis.
• Those beds that were covered with spruce branches for the winter, needs to be released from cover To prevent plantings (garlic, roses, lilies, clematis, etc.) from rotting or starting to grow prematurely under a warm shelter, they need fresh air and sunlight. However, it is necessary to take into account the climatic conditions of a particular area, since removing the cover too early can harm the plants.
• Starts in April sowing seeds of cold-resistant crops into the soil. At the beginning of April, it is necessary to start sowing peas, radishes, cabbage without seedlings, dill, parsley, fennel, lettuce, rhubarb, leaf celery, and parsnips. Before you start sowing, do not forget about crop rotation (i.e., take into account predecessors) and the compatibility of the proximity of different crops.
• Sow early greens (cress, indau (arugula), cilantro, mustard, parsley, lettuce, spinach, dill) and early carrots, as well as radishes. If there are unheated greenhouses, the harvest of early greens and radishes can be obtained before planting the main crops in the greenhouse or placing them between the seedlings. You can also grow these early greens and radishes in compost beds spilled with boiling water and covered with film. First of all, sow radishes, since when the daylight hours lengthen, this vegetable will go to seed.
• Start in mid-April sow beets and chard. Chard greens can be used in salads, soups, and for making cabbage rolls.
• The garlic left over from the winter, having been previously prepared, can be planted in the beds in mid-April. When you harvest, you will get a harvest a little later than garlic planted in the fall, but in the end the heads will turn out to be standard sizes.
• After the snow melts apply fertilizer(per 1 m2): organic - 2-3 kg, bird droppings in liquid form 200 g, urea, ammonium nitrate - 35 g, phosphate fertilizers- 50 g., potash - 20 g., wood ash - 1 cup, lime - 2 cups. The fertilizers that they need most are added to each crop.
• Before sowing the main crops in the beds, loosen the soil rake or Fokin flat cutter. Repeat this operation several times, to destroy all weeds, which are located in the top layer of soil. The main thing is not to dig up the soil, but only loosen it. Sowing will begin at the end of April or beginning of May, it depends on weather conditions, exact dates no, they can tell you the landing time.
• Clean strawberry and strawberry beds from old leaves and feed all plantings.
• In April the most time to get vaccinated. Cuttings for grafting are cut in early April, dropped into the snow with north side at home, wrapping them in cloth or newspaper and folding them into plastic bag. And at the end of the month these cuttings are used for grafting.
• Do not forget care for seedlings peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, leeks, celery, etc. Water moderately and carry out.
• In mid-April you can start hardening off the seedlings early cabbage, celery, chives and leeks, and at the end of the month we begin to harden off the seedlings of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.
• Seed potatoes you need to remove it from storage or purchase a new one and carry out (vernalization) (if you did not do this in March).
• Check all the bushes and trees in the garden if you don't did the trimming in previous months, then hurry to do this in early April. Rejuvenate your bushes black currants, raspberries, gooseberries and honeysuckle, cutting out old branches and removing excess poorly developed young, broken or thickened ones. It is better to postpone pruning cherry, plum, apple and pear trees until late summer or autumn. Heal your wounds on trees after cleaning with garden varnish.
• Remove and destroy dried fruit from apples, pears, cherries and plums - the source of many fungal and bacterial diseases. On blackcurrant and gooseberry bushes, cut out and burn the twisted tops of the branches - the result of last year's infection of the plant with powdery mildew.
• At the beginning of April, while the buds had not yet awakened, spray iron sulfate (1 teaspoon per 100 grams of water) to destroy lichens on tree trunks, and against wintering pests with a urea solution (700 grams per 10 liters of water). It is necessary to spray trees and shrubs against pests at the beginning of bud break. Trees and shrubs can be treated Bordeaux mixture(100 grams of copper sulfate and 100 grams of lime per 10 liters of water) against powdery mildew, rust, necrosis. An infusion of mullein is used against powdery mildew (1/3 of the container is filled with mullein, filled with water, left for 3 days, filtered, diluted 3 times with water, sprayed). Against spider mite use karbofos (30 grams per 10 liters of water).
• In April birch buds are harvested, chaga, immortelle and chamomile flowers, lingonberry leaves, viburnum and buckthorn bark, viburnum fruits and dandelion roots.
• In mid-April you can sow chives. After 3-4 weeks, the seedlings can be thinned out, tender greens can be used in salads, and by the end of summer the plants left will give good harvest bulbs .
• Swipe planting carrots. Exist . Choose the most suitable method for yourself.
• Reactivate the pond, and if it overwintered arbitrarily, then clean its surface from last year’s floating leaves.
• Walk the lawn heavy special rake with hollow teeth, which will clear it of dry grass and loosen the top layer of soil for an influx of fresh air. Feed your lawn with nitrogen fertilizers.
• In April it's time to plant trees and shrubs with an open root system. Loosen tree trunk circles near trees and bushes. In the second half of April plant conifers, while watering and shading them abundantly.

Calendar of work in the garden and vegetable garden in April. Work at the dacha in April. What needs to be done in the garden in April. Everything you need to do at the dacha in April. List of works in the garden and vegetable garden for April.

Good luck to you!

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