Gardeners Checklist: Here Is What to Do on the Week of April 14

By Ron Kujawski

* Set up a rain barrel beneath a downspout. I don’t dare predict the weather for the rest of the growing season, but despite a few showers this week, it has been very dry thus far. A wise gardener prepares for the worst. A large trash barrel can easily be converted to a rain barrel.

* Transplant vegetable and flower seedlings when the first true leaves develop. The first leaf-like structures appearing after seeds germinate are the cotyledons or seed leaves. Their purpose is to supply the developing seedling with food. The next set of leaves to appear are the true leaves. If you are transplanting seedlings to flats rather than individual pots, space the seedlings a couple of inches apart. Otherwise, crowded seedlings can become spindly and weak.

* Start planting cool-season crops. Though some gardeners started outdoor sowing of peas, carrots, lettuce, and other hardy vegetables several weeks ago, it’s not too late to sow now.

* Get in the habit of carrying a pair of pruning shears on daily treks through the landscape and gardens. There always seems to be a wayward shoot, dead or broken stem on trees and shrubs in need of pruning.

* Prune butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) by cutting stems back to a height of about one foot. Likewise, cut back the stems of blue mist shrubs (Caryopteris) and the purple leaf species of smokebush (Cotinus coggygria).

 * Sow seeds of hardy annual flowers in the garden now. Sweet pea, sweet alyssum, snapdragon, stock, verbena, annual phlox, and bachelor’s button are some that can tolerate cool soils. Plant some in prepared beds for use later as a source of cut flowers.

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“Eat your greens” seems to be the enduring mantra from nutritionists.  They are just catching up on what my mother demanded of me a long, long time ago.  The term “greens” generally means leafy greens such as leaf lettuce, spinach, kale, mustard greens, arugula, etc.  Most of these are used for salads, or they may be steamed or sautéed.  I can’t say that I cared much for greens other than lettuce when Mom dictated our daily diet, but somewhere on the road to nutrition consciousness, I’ve developed an appreciation and a taste for greens.  These are now a mainstay in our vegetable garden. 

It's important to know that many greens thrive only in the cooler temperatures of spring and fall.  They either bolt (send up a flower stalk) or become bitter during the long, hot days of summer. One exception to that generalization is chard.  Chard not only grows well and tastes good throughout the growing season, but you can get by with only one sowing.  The trick is to keep harvesting the outer leaves of the plants as they grow.  Every few days, I cut off three or four outer leaves on each plant while making sure to leave the inner leaves intact.  As such, one planting in early spring will keep my dinner plate piled high with greens until late fall.

Ron Kujawski began gardening at an early age on his family's onion farm in upstate New York. Although now retired, he spent most of his career teaching at the UMass Extension Service. He serves on Berkshire Botanical Garden’s Horticulture Advisory Committee. His book, Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook, is available here.