Sally Scalera

Brevard County Horticulture Extension Agent
3695 Lake Drive -- Cocoa FL 32926 -- 321-633-1702

April gardening plans

March 26, 2011

Now that the weather has turned gorgeous, it is time to get out in the yard and repair the damage left over after this winter. Here is a list of things to do in your yard while you absorb a little sun and make some Vitamin D.

  • Mark your calendar for Saturday, April 16th for the Brevard Botanical Garden Plant Sale at the Extension office (3695 Lake Drive, Cocoa, 32926). The sale will run from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. with a variety of edibles and ornamentals for sale. There will also be a free class on Growing Culinary Herbs at 9:30 a.m. and Plant Propagation at 10:30 a.m.
  • April is a good time to fertilize your lawn but if you haven’t had your soil tested (or it has been a few years) get it tested now before you fertilize. Pay for the $7 test so that you can find out the amount of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium so you will know what nutrients need to be added and what nutrients may be in excess (and binding up other nutrients, making them unavailable.) Here is a link to our soil testing form http://soilslab.ifas.ufl.edu/ESTL_files/SS18700.pdf .
  • Seed, plug, or sod to fill in the bare areas of the lawn.
  • If you haven’t done so already, sharpen your mower blades because you’re going to be using them a lot in the months ahead.
  • Remember, start mowing weekly once the grass starts greening up and growing.
  • Prune azaleas and gardenias (if needed) after they have stopped blooming. Do not prune after June or this will result in the removal of flower buds for next spring.
  • If you are growing hybrid roses and have to battle black spot try something different this year. Instead of spraying a fungicide every week, why not try a foliar spray of liquid seaweed. Fungicides only suppress the fungus whereas liquid seaweed provides all of the minor elements plus growth hormones and can help your plants stay healthy.
  • The continual removal of the faded blooms of annual plants, called dead heading, will improve their appearance, encourage more blooms, and lengthen the life of the plant. Some of the annuals which benefit from deadheading include: red salvia, zinnias, coleus, lisianthus, marigolds, celosia and gomphrena.
  • Finish your spring fertilization of fruit trees.
  • Vegetables that can be planted in April include; beans (bush, pole & lima), cantaloupes, okra, sweet potatoes, Southern peas, calabaza, chayote, yard-long beans and other tropical crops.
  • Okra and southern peas can be started from seed now and planted in the garden in May.
  • If you’re interested in adding some flowers to your landscape here are some plants that can handle full sun through the summer: floss flower (Ageratum), amaranth, asters, vinca (or periwinkle), celosia, coleus, cosmos, dahlia, dahlberg daisy, lisianthus, gallardia, gazania, gerber daisy, kalanchoe, sunflowers, gomphrena, melampodium, lobelia, portulaca, blue salvia, red salvia, dusty miller, marigolds, and zinnias.
  • If you want to plant some flowers in shady areas here are some to choose from: non-stop and tuberous begonias, caladium, coleus, firecracker flower (Crossandra), impatiens, and geraniums.
  • Spring is a wonderful time to plant new trees and shrubs. Just remember a few pointers; don’t dig the hole deeper then the root ball, plant so that the top of the root ball is slightly higher than the surrounding soil or at least at the same level, do not add fertilizer to the planting hole and water the newly planted tree or shrub deeply every few days (if the soil is well-draining) until the plant begins new growth.
  • In the herb garden you can plant basil, chives, garlic chives, dill, borage, pineapple sage, Mexican oregano, fennel, Mexican tarragon, oregano, mint, rosemary, sage, sweet marjoram and thyme.
  • Add new mulch to areas where it has thinned out. Aim for it to be three to four inches thick around all plants - including citrus! Just make sure to keep the mulch at least six inches away from the trunk of citrus trees!
  • Here is a list of some of the fresh produce that could be available at produce stands or Farmer’s Markets in April: blueberries, broccoli, cabbage, cantaloupe, carrots, cauliflower, celery, Chinese cabbage, cucumbers, eggplant, endive/escarole, grapefruit, honeydew, kumquat, mamey sapote, oranges, peppers, potatoes, radishes, squash, strawberries, sweet corn, tangerines & tangelos, tomatoes and watermelon.
  • Check out the Brevard County Farmers Markets. On Thursdays the Wickham Park Pavilion hosts a market from 3-7 p.m. and for those of you who live in the northern part of the county there is a new market that has reopened at Sand Point Park Pavilion in Titusville on Wednesdays from 3-6 p.m.
  • For all of you orchid lovers check out the Platinum Coast Orchid Society’s 48th Annual Orchid Show which will be held April 29th thru May 1st at the Cocoa Expo Sports Center Arena at 500 Friday Road in Cocoa. The show will be from 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Sunday with an admission fee of $4.