Gardening by the Moon Weekend To-Do
An idea as old as agriculture, based both folklore and superstition but there are scientific ideas to back it up.
- Lunar Phase: Full Moon, Saturday, April 12; April 18 is Good Friday.
- Saturday-Sunday: The Moon is in the signs of Cancer and Leo.
- Aphids can cause the leaves on flowering and fruiting plum trees to curl. It is important to identify this problem early. You should pick off the curled leaves and then spray the tree(s) with insecticidal soap. Make a follow-up application in seven days. Once the leaves curl, they will not uncurl; they will shrivel and turn brown.
Later in the Week
- Monday-Tuesday: The Moon is in the sign of Scorpio. Planting and transplanting to promote root growth.
- You can plant radishes, beets, carrots, and turnips in the open ground or in planters. It is also a good time to transplant ornamental plants.
- Wednesday-Thursday: Planting tubers and trees and pruning.
- Plant summer flowering bulbs
- Flowering trees, plum pears, redbuds, and crabapples are pruned after they have finished flowering
Other Things To-do
- With warm weather approaching, it's time to re-establish watering basins around trees and shrubs, especially those on a slope. For sloped areas, build the basin higher on the downward side to prevent water from draining away.
- Weed and feed turf products are best applied using a drop-type spreader. Handheld spreaders often do not distribute the granules evenly across the grass. Moisten the grass first and ensure that the spreader wheels overlap to avoid gaps in coverage.
- Now is the time to switch from 0-10-10 fertilizer to Azalea, Camellia, and Rhododendron food for azaleas, camellias, and rhododendrons, even if they haven't finished blooming.