April’s Gardening To-do List

April’s Gardening To-do List

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

For people who garden, April is an important month. Whether you live in the northern or southern hemisphere, weather and growing conditions change greatly in this time of year.

In the northern hemisphere, the weather generally is beginning to warm up. And in the southern hemisphere, the weather is generally beginning to cool down. So, gardening may look different in these two regions.

Today we give some general tips for working in an April garden, whichever hemisphere you might live in.

Southern hemisphere

The website Sustainable Gardening Australia gives suggestions on gardening in parts of the southern hemisphere.

At this time of year, weeding is important. If left unchecked, weeds can take space, water, sunlight, and nutrients¹ from growing plants.

Mulching is also important and will help control weed growth. The website suggests mulching after watering to a depth of about 7cm and warns to keep the mulch away from baby plant stems.

At this time of year, experts say to water first thing in the morning. And, instead of quick daily waterings, longer watering two times a week might be more helpful.

What you plant depends on your climate. So, you need to check which plants grow at this time of the year in your zone, or area.

In cooler areas, experts on the website Sustainable Gardening Australia suggest planting Chinese cabbage, most Asian Greens, spinach², rocket, broccoli³, spring onions, asparagus, celery, endive, squash, onions, leeks⁴, and lettuce⁵. Many herbs are suitable to plant at this time of year, such as parsley, basil, rosemary, thyme, and mint. However, keep an eye on mint as it can quickly take over.

Also in cooler areas, planting potatoes could work well.

Northern Hemisphere

In most parts of the northern hemisphere, things are coming to life in April. Trees, shrubs⁶, perennials⁸, and other plants enter a new phase of life in gardens. Garden insects do the same.

People who garden are also waking from a kind of dormancy⁹, a state of rest, in spring. Now is the time for preparation.

Jessica Damiano writes about gardening for the Associated Press. She advises gardeners to get ready. "It's showtime," she writes of spring gardening.

Damiano suggests that the first step is to inspect your garden. Remove fallen tree branches you find. Remove dead wood from trees.

For pruning¹⁰, she advises using a sharp pruning saw to make clean cuts on the diagonal, just outside the branch collar. This is the area where the branch meets the trunk. If the damage is within reach, she advises to do it yourself. But for anything higher than your head, she suggests using a tree cutting expert.

She says to prune¹¹ shrubs, too, except for spring bloomers. Those should be pruned¹² right after their flowers die.

What about cleaning up? Some people favor a tidy garden. But Damiano says gardeners should wait on removing dead plants and leaves if the ground temperature is still cool. Helpful insects, including pollinators, may be resting among these remains¹³.

She notes that the insects react to temperatures and weather, not the calendar. Her suggestion is to avoid cleaning the garden until the insects are ready.

Damiano waits until nighttime temperatures have remained above 10 degrees Celsius¹⁴ for an entire week before cutting down last year's dead plants.

This makes way for new growth while at the same time helps helpful insects survive.

She says there is some disagreement among experts about this timing¹⁵ because different species arise at different temperatures. But she finds waiting for warmer weather protects many insects while still permitting her to work in her garden.

Damiano also says gardeners should not mulch their beds until the soil has warmed. Using mulch too early can trap cooler temperatures in the soil. This could delay root awakenings.

Instead, mulch when tomatoes are planted in your area. In Damiano's New York garden, that means late May.

Grass lawns

If you have a grass lawn, check for dead spots. Seed those areas once a week. Water twice a day until new growth meets the existing grass height. Do not let the seeds dry, or you may have to start over. You can cut seeded lawns when the grass is just under 8 centimeters tall.

Damiano suggests pulling weeds as soon as you see them. At this time of the year, the roots should be easy to remove. And avoid walking on wet soil. This could damage underground plant structures. Plants have a hard time recovering from such damage.

Flowers

When flowering bulbs lose color, apply a balanced fertilizer, such as a 10-10-10 product. This type of fertilizer contains equal parts of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. As it contains all three nutrients, it usually works for most plants.

But do not remove leaves until they turn yellow. The plants need them to produce energy for next year's bloom.

Damiano gives established perennials fertilizer as soon as they come out. She likes to use fertilizer made from fish parts.

Her final advice is to plant new perennials before the summer heat sets in. They may need six full weeks of growth. However, if you live in a part of the northern hemisphere where spring frosts are possible, do not plant annuals yet.

No matter where you live in the world, there is always something for a gardener to do. Doing some of these gardening jobs in April can help set up a healthy garden for the developing season.

And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.

Words in This Story

region – n. a broad geographic¹⁶ area distinguished¹⁷ by similar features

weeding – v. to remove weeds or something harmful : weed – n. a plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous growth, especially one that tends to overgrow or choke out more desirable plants

mulching – v. to cover with mulch : mulch – n. a protective covering (as of sawdust, compost, or paper) spread or left on the ground to reduce evaporation¹⁸, maintain even soil temperature, prevent erosion, control weeds, enrich the soil, or protect plants

zone – n. any of five great divisions of the earth's surface with respect to latitude¹⁹ and temperature

perennial⁷ – adj. persisting for several years usually with new herbaceous growth from a

phase – n. a particular appearance or state in a regularly recurring²⁰ cycle of changes

prune – v. to cut off or cut back parts of for better shape or more fruitful growth

diagonal – adj. running in a slanting²¹ direction

bloomer – n. a plant that blooms : bloom – v. to produce or yield flowers

bulb – n. a resting stage of a plant (such as the lily, onion, hyacinth, or tulip) that is usually formed underground and consists of a short stem base bearing one or more buds enclosed in overlapping²² membranous²³ or fleshy leaves

frost – n. the process of freezing

1 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 spinach   

n.菠菜

参考例句：

• Eating spinach is supposed to make you strong.据说吃菠菜能使人强壮。
• You should eat such vegetables as carrot,celery and spinach.你应该吃胡萝卜、芹菜和菠菜这类的蔬菜。

3 broccoli   

n.绿菜花，花椰菜

参考例句：

• She grew all the broccoli plants from seed.这些花椰菜都是她用种子培育出来的。
• They think broccoli is only green and cauliflower is only white.他们认为西兰花只有绿色的，而菜花都是白色的。

4 leeks   

韭葱( leek的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Leeks and potatoes go well together in a soup. 汤中放韭菜和土豆尝起来很对味。
• When I was young I grew some leeks in a pot. 小时候我曾在花盆里种了些韭葱。

5 lettuce   

n.莴苣；生菜

参考例句：

• Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿，我好做色拉。
• The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。

6 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

7 perennial   

adj.终年的；长久的

参考例句：

• I wonder at her perennial youthfulness.我对她青春常驻感到惊讶。
• There's a perennial shortage of teachers with science qualifications.有理科教学资格的老师一直都很短缺。

8 perennials   

n.多年生植物( perennial的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Name six perennials and six annuals suitable for indoor flower arrangement. 列出多年生及一年生花朵各六种，它们必须是适合插花的。 来自互联网
• Herbage can be divided into three categories: annuals, biennials, and perennials. 草本植物可分成一年生、二年生和多年生。 来自互联网

9 dormancy   

n.睡眠，冬眠，隐匿

参考例句：

• During dormancy the plants must be kept very dry. 在休眠期，植物必须保持非常干燥。 来自辞典例句
• It may also come to the point of virtual dormancy. 它也可以达到实际上的潜伏状态。 来自辞典例句

10 pruning   

n.修枝，剪枝，修剪v.修剪（树木等）( prune的现在分词 )；精简某事物，除去某事物多余的部分

参考例句：

• In writing an essay one must do a lot of pruning. 写文章要下一番剪裁的工夫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A sapling needs pruning, a child discipline. 小树要砍，小孩要管。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 prune   

n.酶干；vt.修剪，砍掉，削减；vi.删除

参考例句：

• Will you prune away the unnecessary adjectives in the passage?把这段文字中不必要的形容词删去好吗？
• It is our job to prune the side branches of these trees.我们的工作就是修剪这些树的侧枝。

12 pruned   

v.修剪（树木等）( prune的过去式和过去分词 )；精简某事物，除去某事物多余的部分

参考例句：

• Next year's budget will have to be drastically pruned. 下一年度的预算将大幅度削减。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The roses had been pruned back savagely. 玫瑰被狠狠地修剪了一番。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

15 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

16 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

17 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

18 evaporation   

n.蒸发，消失

参考例句：

• Be careful not to lose too much liquid by evaporation.小心不要因蒸发失去太多水分。
• Our bodies can sweat,thereby losing heat by evaporation.我们的身体能出汗，由此可以蒸发散热。

19 latitude   

n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区

参考例句：

• The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
• The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。

20 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。

21 slanting   

倾斜的，歪斜的

参考例句：

• The rain is driving [slanting] in from the south. 南边潲雨。
• The line is slanting to the left. 这根线向左斜了。

22 overlapping   

adj./n.交迭（的）

参考例句：

• There is no overlapping question between the two courses. 这两门课程之间不存在重叠的问题。
• A trimetrogon strip is composed of three rows of overlapping. 三镜头摄影航线为三排重迭的象片所组成。

23 membranous   

adj.膜的，膜状的

参考例句：

• Others are born live, after struggling to break free from a membranous egg sac. 其余的是冲破膜状蛋囊而出生的。 来自电影对白
• Thellos thellon, membranous layer of life is our only home. 薄薄的膜层就是咱们独一的家园。 来自互联网