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HOME (Indoor plants and
activities)
Many indoor plants can be
moved to shady locations outdoors but only after danger
of frost is past. Plants will dry out more often
outdoors, so keep a close eye on soil moisture. Sinking
the pots in soil will help slow down moisture
loss.
Now is a good time to take
cuttings of houseplants to increase a collection or share
with friends. Root cuttings in media such as vermiculite,
perlite or potting soil. Roots grown in water tend to be
weak from lack of oxygen and do not adjust well to
planting in soil.
Fertilize houseplants according
to label directions. Foliage plants require relatively
high nitrogen fertilizer; flowering houseplants respond
best to fertilizer high in phosphorus.
YARD (Lawns, woody ornamentals and fruits)
Prune early
spring-flowering trees and shrubs after flowers
fade.
Plant balled-and-burlapped or
container nursery stock, and water thoroughly.
Remove and destroy overwintering
bagworms from landscape trees and shrubs.
Follow a spray schedule to keep
home-orchard crops pest free. While trees are in bloom,
use fungicide sprays without insecticide to avoid injury
to bees. Follow label directions.
Thin fruits of apple trees, if
needed, about three weeks after petal fall. Apples should
be about 8 inches apart.
Apply fungicides to roses to
control diseases such as black spot.
Apply herbicide to control
broadleaf weeds in the lawn if they are a problem, but be
cautious around garden plants to prevent spray drift.
Never spray on a windy day.
Purdue turf experts recommend
that if you are going to fertilize your lawn in May,
apply three-fourths to 1 pound N/1000 square foot with a
product that contains 50 percent or more slow-release
fertilizer. Try to schedule the application prior to a
rain or irrigate following application to move the
fertilizers off the leaf blade.
GARDEN (Flowers, vegetables and small
fruits)
Plant frost-tender plants
after danger of frost is past for your area. This
includes warm-season vegetables, such as tomatoes,
peppers, eggplant and vine crops, as well as most annual
flowers and tender perennials, such as cannas, gladiolus,
dahlias, tuberous begonias and caladiums.
Pinch chrysanthemums and annual
flower plants to keep them compact and
well-branched.
Make successive plantings of
beans and sweet corn to extend the season of
harvest.
Thin seedlings of early-planted
crops such as carrots, lettuce, spinach and beets to
their proper spacing.
Harvest early plantings of
radishes, spinach and lettuce.
Harvest asparagus by cutting or
snapping spears at or just below soil level.
Harvest rhubarb by cutting, or
grasp the stalk and pull it up and slightly to one
side.
Control cucumber beetles,
carriers of bacterial wilt, as soon as cucumber plants
germinate or are transplanted to prevent
disease.
Remove blossoms from newly set
strawberry plants to allow better runner
formation.
Remove unwanted sucker growth in
raspberries when new shoots are about a foot
tall.
4-18-02
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