April Home Maintenance and Garden Chores

I’ll be gardening on both coasts this month–which for me is kind of exciting, because there is still a pretty big difference in weather at both gardens.  In Washington, my garden will really start to be in full swing.  On the east coast, I’ll just kind of be easing into it a bit more slowly.

Seeds to Start Indoors in April

I’ll be starting cucumbers and zucchini under grow lights toward the end of the month.

What I Plan to Plant Outside this Month

I plan to direct sow more carrots, onion sets, potatoes, more cabbage, swiss chard, beets, spinach, kale {for The Girl Who Things She’s a Bird}. I’ll have to watch the weather a little closer on the East coast, as I am sure it will still continue to throw me a couple of hard freezes.  It’s not too late to plant {more} strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries I’ll plant a few more.

I may not get much of a summer crop of blueberries this year, but for raspberries and strawberries at least, I’ll likely get a small fall crop.  I’ll be planting potato slips for myself on the East coast as well.  I’ll also be hardening off my tomato plants {on the West Coast} toward the end of the month.

Vegetables to Harvest This Month

We are going to continue enjoying garden fresh salads around here.  I’ll keep my sprouter going for egg salad sandwiches.  I’ll have to wait at least another month for any other harvests, though.

Houseplants and Indoor Bulbs

I’m still on the lookout for the perfect houseplant.  But, if you already have them, they will start to wake up a bit this month.  It’s time to fertilize them if you didn’t last month.  Make sure they are getting plenty of light.  Increase you watering schedule slightly as they start to wake up {don’t drench the suckers, though}.

Basic Yard Maintenance

It’s time for the weekly mow the lawn grind.  It’s also a good time to aerate the lawn, while the spring rains can still water the clumps back in. Spring is also a great time to thatch your lawn if you have a lot of dead grass taking up real estate.  Give the lawn a little wake-up with some fertilizer and weed/bug killer {if you prescribe to that kind of maintenance}.

 

Home Maintenance Inside

This is a good month to clean windows, clean out window seals, and wash the screens.  Toward the end of the month, you can pressure wash the patio and drive-way.  I wouldn’t do it if you are still having nights that are consistently below freezing, though.

As always, most of my advice is geared around the Northwest, but you can find your garden zone HERE and tweak my suggestions as necessary.