This Month in Your Southwest Yard
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April Garden Tasks
Color season is reaching its peak—spend time outside enjoying it!
Your garden plants will reach full glory this month in southwest gardens. Be sure to take time to stop and enjoy them.
~ Reset irrigation schedules and increase watering time as temperatures rise
~ Plant cold-tender perennials, preferably in pots so winter protection is easier
~ Transplant Joshua trees and yuccas from March to mid-April
~ Work compost or soil amendments into planting beds to improve moisture retention as summer approaches
~ Keep mulch on the soil–especially with organic matter such as leaves, bark, or chipped wood–to temper the drying and heating effect of the sun; irrigation will be more effective with less frequency and quantity
~ Teach your plants to grow deeply for moisture. In spring, for average soils, water established plants deeply only every two to three weeks. By the time summer’s heat arrives, plants’ feeder roots will be growing deeply for moisture, and the plants won’t need watering more than once a week during very hot spells.
~ Check aphids on new growth; wash off with a strong jet of water, or spray a solution of Neem Oil mixed with water on affected plants.
~ Continue pulling weeds before they form seed heads (if weeds are brown, you waited too long); you’ll have fewer weed problems later. Remember that weeds need disturbed soil to prosper; if you disturb soils with a hoe to remove weeds, you are cultivating the perfect bed for next year’s weeds. Instead, pull weeds by hand to minimize soil disturbance, or mow weeds before seeds form, then cover with mulch to prevent next year’s weed crop from forming. If you don’t have enough mulch to cover all your weeds, mow repeatedly during the spring growth season often enough to remove flowers before seeds develop. After just a season or two, you will greatly reduce or even eliminate the need for weeding.
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