Weed watch
They’re everywhere! Remove them now so you’ll have less weeding all season — you’ll enjoy your garden so much more. Hand-pulling or digging when the soil is moist is best and easiest.
If you have too many dandelions, don’t worry. Use young leaves in salads (as long as you haven’t sprayed herbicides on them). Check denverpost.com for
and : It has 20-foot roots and if allowed to seed, it will torment you for years. Best bet: persistent removal to starve its roots. Cutting is preferred to pulling. The most effective herbicides are products containing 2, 4-D or glycosphate. Spot-treating works well, but shield neighboring plants with cardboard while spraying. More at .
Lawn
Apply pre-emergent herbicides to prevent crabgrass. Read more about control of annual grass weeds at
Core-aerate the lawn if you didn’t do so in March. Water the lawn a day or two before for best results.
Perennials/annuals
Indoors, plant dahlia tubers, canna bulbs and seeds of asters, zinnia and other annuals that take four to six weeks to grow to transplant size, or wait until late May to plant directly outdoors.
Water perennial beds and bulbs during dry spells.
Plant pansies now — they love cool weather.
Perennial vegetables
Work nitrogen fertilizer into established asparagus beds before the spears emerge.
For new plantings, set asparagus crowns (roots) in trenches about five inches deep and gradually fill in with soil as the plants grow. More at.
Annual herbs and vegetables
Start seedlings of pumpkin, squash, cucumber and melon indoors to transplant out in late May or June, when weather is consistently warm.
Continue planting outdoors cool-season vegetable seeds of peas, lettuce, spinach, radish, arugula, onions, kale and parsnips.
Plant dill outdoors. Press seeds lightly into the soil.
Soak parsley seeds for up to 24 hours, then plant outdoors ¼ inch deep. Parsley is known for uneven germination, so be patient and keep the seed bed moist.
Sow cilantro seeds outdoors. (Both parsley and cilantro grow best with afternoon shade.)
Trees and shrubs
Remove tree wrap on existing trees.
Roses have broken dormancy, but prune back dead or damaged canes in late April. Begin removing winter mulch around roses a little at a time until late April.
Spring cleaning
Clean out your garage, shed or cabinets of decades-old yard chemicals. Contact county government offices to arrange a pickup or find out where to drop off. Residents of Denver and surrounding areas can call 800-449-7587; statewide list is at .
Betty Cahill: bettycahill@ymail.com
