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April
This is the beginning time of our gardening season here in Iowa. We are still going to have frosts and hard frosts
for a month or so. It is time to clean up last years mess in your gardens if you weren't able to do this in the Fall.
We will have daffodills, and maybe snow crocus, blooming. Do you need new garden tools? Sharpen you spades with
a file to make digging earsier. Check out local nurserys for plants you just can't live without. Is your lawn
a little thin? Now would be a good time to sow some grass seed. You won't get a good harvest in anything without
sowing some seed.
In the garden you could til the soil, and add generous amounts of organic matter. And plant early crops like peas
or lettuce that can take the cold. Is this the year to try Raised Beds?
May
Now is the time to divide your summer and fall blooming perennials. Put out transplants after the danger of frost
is past. Put on new mulch. It is a time for Spring flowers. You could still plant bulbs like Lilies (although
it is a little late) if you want. Our frost date, in zone 4 (Northern Iowa) is May 15th. So it's about time to
set out less hardy annuals for spring and summer growth.
In the garden it is time to plant tomatoes, beans, corn or other summer crops. Transplants may need to be hardened
off before they are set out. Make sure the probability of frost is past. If you think it is going to frost, and
you have tender transplants out, try to cover them through the night.
June
If you are going to fertilize your perentials, doing so in June will encourage strong growth. Prune back sping
flowering plants if needed. Leave the foliage on spring bulbs and give it a chance to die back on it's own. (this
makes new bubls) Watch out for pests. Store unused seeds. The Harvest is just around the corner.
In the garden, June is probably a month for weeding, waiting & feeding. You may get a harvest with some
early crops like peas.
July
July is a month of harvest for your summer Perennials. Your flowers may need some watering, if it is dry, and there
is always weeding. But this is a time to enjoy your flower's beauty. And to make sure they work together
the way you want them to. You may decided to move some of them or divide them depending on how they look together.
Now is not the time to move them. Wait til fall when it cools down. Write down what you like and don't like so
you can remember what needs to be moved, etc in the fall.
In the Garden, the harvest is ready or coming soon. We get tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, peppers beginning now.
Bean will continue to produce so long as you keep them picked. If you must water your tomatoes, do it with a hose on
the ground and try to keep the leaves dry to prevent fungal diseases or at least keep them at bay.
August
Your summer flowers may still be going strong. They will probably need some water it it's dry. You can
order bubls and other perennials from catalogs for fall planting this month. A lttle later this month is a good time
to divide perennials such as daylilies (if they are thru blooming), irises and other earlier flowering perennials. Wait
until early September for other later blooming varities. Some daylilies like Stella de Oro and Happy Returns are
continuing to bloom. Our Black Eyed Susans and Purple Coneflower (and they look stunning together) are still looking
good. As the month goes on, it will be time for Helen's flower, Obedient plant and other fall floomers.
In the garden the harvest continues. If you have lots of tomatoes, cucumbers or other havest, consider planting
a seed and giving some of the abundance to someone who needs it or will enjoy it.
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