Get on the lawn!
Gardening in April: This is now urgently on the to-do list
In the garden month of April, the focus should first be on the lawn. Find out what else to do in our article on the most important gardening tasks in April.
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The terrace, the sacred greenery and some berry bushes deserve special care in the garden month of April. Here you can find out exactly what needs to be done and which tools are important for this. The five most important gardening tasks in April.
April is a strange month. First you have to be careful not to be taken for a ride. After that, the weather takes us on a roller coaster. Most allotment gardeners get itchy fingers in the first few days and weeks after the change from winter to summer time. Many have already written down or laid out in their heads which garden work absolutely has to be done in April. We might be able to give everyone else a little help. With the five most important gardening tasks in April.
1. Scarify (and aerate) the lawn
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a playground or a lawn: you have to do something to ensure a healthy lawn. And that takes a little time. In April – depending on the weather conditions – all those troublemakers should be removed from the green that are suffocating the delicate spring stalks. Scarifying is the magic word. Important: Before aerating, the stalks must supplied with lawn fertilizer and at least once shortened will. If the meadow is shorn short, only the weather has to play along. For effective scarifying, the surface is completely dry be. Otherwise, when you scarify, you tear the fresh blades of grass with them, including the roots, and your dream of an English lawn is gone. Whether you are scarifying for electrical appliance or the battery variant grab remains a matter of taste. If you still want to work on your summer figure, the best thing to do is to opt for the hand scarifier (e.g. from Gardena).
While the turf is slightly scratched when scarifying and moss and felt are removed from the green, aerating gives the lawn grass additional air for healthy growth. So-called are suitable for this nailed shoes preferably. To ensure that the rainwater drains off better in the changeable April, there is still something you can do afterwards lawn sand be raised.
2. Prepare wildflower meadow
Both in insect hotel as well as in bumblebee house there has been a lot of activity since mid-March. All that is missing is the nutrient-rich oasis of well-being for the useful pollen and nectar collectors that are so important for our ecosystem. If you have a heart for animals and still have a little space in your garden, you should have one there Create a wildflower meadow. And that’s easy. First: free the soil from grasses and wild herbs and really loosen it up. Second: get seeds for the flower meadow (e.g. the Little Plants ORGANIC bee pasture) and spread generously on the bed. Important: flower seeds are usually nudibranchs. They need as much light as possible to germinate. So only work the seeds very lightly into the soil. Your buzzing guests will thank you.
3. Prepare the arbor and terrace for summer
Sleet, frost and winter storms – terraces and small (wooden) arbors have to be tough in the garden off-season. Before you make yourself comfortable on the property again, you should therefore assess and repair any damage. Wood is a natural material that is constantly working. It should be cared for regularly and carefully, otherwise you won’t be able to enjoy your decking for very long. Cleaning with a light soapy solution is sufficient in most cases. If the dirt is a bit more stubborn, it is best to clean the floorboards with a high- or medium-pressure cleaner (such as the Gardena Aqua Clean) on the skin. Pay attention when high pressure cleaner Make sure that the water jet does not hit the wood with full force.
If you want to protect your floorboards from mold or rot, you should take care of the wood regularly. April is also the right time for this. The following applies: Tropical woods are hard and resilient. They therefore require significantly less care than, for example, larch wood, which fades and “greys” after a short time. If you want to prevent this, treat the floorboards either before laying them or in the spring after cleaning them with a special decking or maintenance oil (e.g Osmo Larch Oil). Depending on your taste, you can use one here patio brush also choose wood tones or apply a colorless oil. If the wood is already grey, it can be treated with what is known as degreaser be treated. Important: Especially with larch wood you don’t have to worry if it turns gray after a few months. Even in grey, the planks remain very durable and weatherproof.
Wooden arbors are also permanently exposed to winter storms and rain showers. A visual check in the spring does not hurt either. The weather side in particular often suffers and loses luster and/or color. To ensure that your arbor survives the next storm unscathed, the wood should also be treated regularly with appropriate glazes. They protect the wood best if you first sand the top layer with a small grinder (e.g. the Triangular sander Mouse KA2000 from Black+Decker) to edit.
4. Create and/or order a raised bed
In very wet garden years like 2021, raised beds are worth their weight in gold. Annoying snails have to work very hard to get to the lettuce, kohlrabi, carrots or other vegetables. But raised beds (here that Model Marina by Stelmet) many advantages and are currently very popular with homeowners and allotment gardeners. Practical: The plant boxes made of wood, plastic or steel are usually available as a kit and can be set up quickly with a little skill. Make sure the raised bed at least 80 centimeters high is so you can work on it without bending your back. Important: dress the raised bed on the inner walls Pond or bubble foil the end. This will protect it from moisture and rot.
Ideally, you fill a raised bed with four layers. Before nutrient-rich humus soil is put into the bed for the useful plants, the soil should first be laid out about 20 centimeters high with coarse branch material. This is followed by two roughly equally thick layers of chopped branches and plant residues as well as fresh compost. So the rule applies: from airy and nutrient-poor below to dense and nutrient-rich above. For the top layer you should choose high quality humus or raised bed soil to grab. The bed for lettuce, carrots & co. can be about 30 centimeters thick. Important: The layer recommendation only applies to raised beds that are to be stocked with fruit and/or vegetables. Here’s one Set of 12 varieties of vegetable seeds from Little Plants.
5. Cut back raspberries and blackberries
You should also get to the sweet little fruits in the garden in April. Or rather the rods that are supposed to bear the fruit in late summer. Raspberries are at the top of many children’s top soft fruit lists. So that there is something to harvest in the garden year 2022, the canes of the summer raspberries in particular should now be shortened to around 1.60 metres. In the case of blackberries, the secateurs (e.g. the Gardena bypass model) can only be applied to rods that have been worn out from the previous year. Here, however, as close as possible to the ground. Afterwards, it is best to treat the berries to a wheelbarrow full of bark mulch. But wait until the soil, which was damp in April, has dried a bit.
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