More spring chores…

I hope you all made it past the first without being April Fooled. Now that we are into a new month, we are that much closer to sitting on the patio, drinking lemonade. Just think about it.

Of course, there are always chores to be done. If you haven’t potted up those tuberous begonia and dahlia bulbs, go ahead and get them started. They can’t be put outdoors until about the end of May or first of June, depending on the weather.

Have you noticed the forsythia bushes blooming? These signal other things that need to be done. One is pruning your rose bushes. Start by cutting to the ground, all but five of the strongest canes. Also cut any winter damaged canes back to live green wood.

Before the forsythias are finished blooming, apply a pre-emergent herbicide to control crabgrass in your lawn.

Now is also the time many weed seeds in your garden are starting to germinate. Get that hoe out and show them who’s the boss.

Another forsythia reminder is that it’s time to sow your cool season crops: spinach, lettuce, peas, carrots, chard, beets and radishes. Then, after the forsythias finish blooming, it is time to plant your potatoes. The old saying about planting potatoes on Good Friday doesn’t always hold true. This year, that day came very early as the date varies a lot. It’s tricky, as Easter is always on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. Confused?

We have four varieties of woodpeckers in North Idaho. These, ranging from small to large are: the downy, hairy, red shafted (Northern flicker) and the pileated.

If your home, like mine, is surrounded by tall Ponderosa pines, you will probably see most of these now and then. The pileated are quite shy but can be seen occasionally. At this time of the year, you may be “serenaded” with drumming on a nearby tree trunk. We have a northern (red-shafted) flicker who has staked out territory nearby and is busy announcing his presence and hoping to attract a lady friend.

Woodpeckers can become quite a nuisance with their noise, especially if they decide to start their drumming on your roof. Doing this on some roof parts, such as the metal flashing makes quite a racket. Rarely, a hole may get pecked into your roof or wall. This is both good and bad. The bad is you don’t want anything nesting there. The good news is that you might be alerted to literal “bugs in your belfry.” If so, you’ll need to get an exterminator to get rid of the carpenter ants or whatever the birds have found.

Be on the lookout for wasps. The first ones you will see are the queens. Spray them right away. Otherwise they will make a nest and you will be fighting wasps in your yard all summer.

Now that April is here, go ahead and spread some lawn fertilizer. If you choose a “weed and feed” type, be careful not to fling it into your flowerbeds as the stuff in it that is meant to kill weeds will kill anything other than grass.

Remember, life is short…smile while you still have teeth!

Elaine Cerny has gardened most of her life, starting in 4-H. She has belonged to garden clubs in three states and is currently serving as secretary for the River City Gardeners Club in Post Falls. Her column appears in The Press every other Sunday from early March until late October.