Spring Chores 2024

Yearly Tasks

• Set up drip irrigation. Roll out and connect hose. Attach water filter and timer. Replace broken emitters or split hoses.

• Top dress beds with compost. Using either harvested from compost bins or bagged compost from Schenectady County Conservation District.  
• Price 3 for $8, get 21 bags next year= $56. Need five to improve bed for Limelight hydrangea, six for Blue Hyssop around perimeter of garden, five for the new cottage corner, five for front porch beds, rhubarb bed and amending all garden beds. 

• Attach the bird netting to the asparagus/ strawberry bed with velcro for easier access.

• Mulch beds: pine straw for strawberries and dried grass clipping for tomatoes

• Remove and store plant covers and wraps.

• Add plants supports before they start growing: Peony, Delphinium, etc…

• Fertilize perennials: Hydrangea, Peony, etc…

Projects Spring 2024

• Corner Cottage Garden

• Limelight Hydrangea

• Front Slope

• Hyssop Garden Border

• New Lavender Bed

• New Perennial Bed

Corner Cottage Garden

• Begin the Corner Cottage Garden

• Dig out weeds and brush.

• Add black fencing as plant support in back corner. Add stakes for twine. 

• Add five (5) bags of compost. 

• Transplant Globe Thistle, Russian sage, Mealy Cup sage, etc…

• Direct sow flowers to use up seeds: Cornflower, Nigella, etc…

• Move Dianthus Arctic Fire to corner to make room for more Lambs Ear in the front of the bed.

Limelight Hydrangea

• Plant Limelight hydrangea along north side of house.

Front Slope

• Soon after sprouting, move Catmint and Veronica to new locations on front slope, Veronica at the top of the bed because it is taller, Catmint in the middle. 

• Divide catmint in the spring. Dig up the parent plant and make a vertical cut to shear through the root ball. Make sure each division has a nice clump of roots and at least three or four stems on it. Once you have divided the plant, replant divisions about a foot apart at the top of the new front slop planting bed.

• Remove small lilac tree to make room for continuing comfrey along right side. Divide Comfrey in Spring 2024 and continue to spread across right side of border.

• As you transplant middle of slope, add back more soil so it is not a sharp wall. Build back up to a more gentle angle.

• Transplant Hydrangea on the bottom of slope to middle in early spring before the first flush of growth. Plant two more hydrangea (Mother's Day).

• Move Caryopteris to the top of the bed. Add spirea Blue Kazoo. The top of the bed under the lilac will eventually be short shrubs: Spirea- Blue Mist and Blue Kazoo.

• Use wood chips to mulch the front slope after planting.

• Eradicate Ox-Eye Daisy. Looked pretty in the front slope, but I will never get rid of it unless I am merciless with weeding! Start early in the spring. Cover any exposed dirt with wood chips. Rearrange stones to cover so they don't slide down the slope.

• Finish cutting down tree next to shed on the front slope. Cut the last overarching branch over front slope.

• Remove rest of mulberry stump on front slope. Plant grass seed in empty spot.

• Apply Ortho Weed B Gone on grass around garden to kill Creeping Charlie. 

• Move Dianthus Arctic Fire to corner bed and divide Lambs Ear and continue across the front of slope.

• If necessary, reapply vine killer to vine on front slope behind shed.

Perennial Border 

• Begin the Perennial Border at the back of the property. Using hose, outline shape of beds. Remove brush and cover (with newspaper and extra wood chips) to kill grass in preparation for fall planting of shrubs.

Misc. 

• Continue to remove rotting stump on south side of house.

• Remove tree leaning on wires on south side of house. 

• Continue to remove ugly brush from east side of house along Zenner Rd, stop at the Forsythia.

• Use top layer of wood chips for mulching front slope and around plants.

• Compost- add grass clippings to wood chips and turn wood chips weekly.

Veggie Garden

• Rhubarb- buy rhubarb plants from Gade farms in early April. Dig and amend the beds by the shed. Add wire cage to protect plants, including top. 

• Add additional fence posts in the middle of the garden fence where it is bending. Add tension wire and stakes in the ground.

• Move the thicker slate stone from sidewalk to in front of the garden gate. Remove broken slate, break up into large slabs and add to the front slope somewhere.

• New Broccoli methods: new bed cover, squeeze in more plants.

• New Zucchini methods: direct sow on mounds and black plastic.

• Move Lavender from herb bed to the front of the garden fence. Add poultry grit  (seems to be True Value is best bet for this) or drainage stones to improve drainage. 

Hyssop Blue Border 

• Dig a nice big hole for each seedling and amend with compost and all purpose fertilizer. 

• V-Trench- make a border on the outside edge of the wood chip mulch by creating a "V" trench to keep lawn out.

• Plant hyssop blue 15" apart, 16 plants each of the two sides of the fence- 32 plants total

• If this works out, continue the back side of fence next year.

Flowers

• V-Trench the bed at the top of slope- daylily, lilac, comfrey- all the way to the back of the shed. Then cover with wood chips.
• Plant Balloon Flower and Yellow Celosia in Garbage can bed.

Fertilize Perennials

• Peony- An annual application of compost mixed with a very small amount of fertilizer around the base of the plant is all that is needed. When you do feed with compost and fertilizer, do it just after the plants have finished blooming.
• Hydrangea Macrophylla- For optimal growth, bloom production, and quality, fertilize three times:
• In early spring when plants are just leafing out
• In early May to boost their flower production for summer
• In late June/early July to help your plants finish the summer strong