Wasn't last weekend marvelous? I don't know about you, but I sure got a lot done. I mulched various beds, planted a ton of plants and creaked upright again to spray a couple of apple trees before seeding some of the outdoor beds. Now if we could get a little rain, everything will be watered and growing like gangbusters. But in spite of the warm temperatures don't be tempted to put tender plants outdoors just yet. We can still get a killing frost. I generally consider May 15 to be about the last frost date, but over the last few years, that date has crept toward May 1. As of now we had a frost on April 15, but I don't see one forecast for the next few days, so just maybe we'll see an early spring.

Lawns

Lawns need a lot of TLC at this time of year. You need to fertilize them. If you get crabgrass, use pre-emergence, but remember, if you use pre-emergence you won't be able to use grass clippings as mulch for at least two months. Neither will you be able to reseed bare patches for at least six weeks. If you want to seed bare patches, first rake over the patch, seed it lightly, them rake in the seeds. Water it lightly and keep the surface moist and you should see new grass in about two weeks.

Flower gardens

If you haven't done it already, rake off last year's debris and clean up the flower beds. Apply a heavy layer of mulch to stop weeds from springing up everywhere and you should be ready to go. You may need to cut back some of the flowers that are selfseeding or expanding into other parts of the garden. So look carefully at where the plants should be and where they've migrated and adjust them carefully.

Vegetable gardens

You should have your potatoes in by now. If not, hop to it. The few early spuds I grow in the greenhouse are about six inches tall and growing well, but the outdoor ones are only just starting to show. Peas can also be planted. I find it best to start them indoors and transplant when they are about two to three inches high. This helps to stop mice from eating the seeds. I've also started lettuce, spinach, bok choy, pac choy, endive, and a few other greens in the germination chamber ready to go into the garden in the next week or two. They'll be covered with a cloche for a couple of weeks in case we get a late frost.

My onions just came. For $19.95, I buy onion plants from Dixondale Farms in Texas. There are about 200 plants, yellow, red, and white. The onions from the same people that I harvested last year lasted well into the winter, so I'm looking forward to this year's crop. The new plants can be planted out in the next few days. Outdoors, the sorrel, which is a perennial and makes a lemony tasting soup, is ready to be harvested. So we'll have a chilled sorrel soup and homemade bread one evening next week.

In the greenhouse

We're still harvesting key limes, even though the tree is in bloom again. The fig trees have all leafed out, and the other citrus trees are in bloom giving the greenhouse wonderful aroma. Another couple of weeks and we'll start unpacking the fruit trees and moving them to their summer homes.

In the cold greenhouse, the lettuce, spinach, pak choy, and other greens are almost ready to harvest. About another week I'd say, and I've already started the second crop of greens. The greenhouse sugar snap peas are about ten inches high while the outdoor peas from the same batch are only about four inches. Shows what a few degrees of warmth can do. The artichokes are growing like crazy, and the strawberries are about the size of a fingertip.

Shrubs

Not much to do for your shrubs right now. Enjoy the colors of the rhododendrons and prune immediately after the blossoms drop. Mulch around your shrubs and put a little compost at the base of each plant to help supply a few more nutrients.

Germination chamber

You can start broccoli and other brassicas if you haven't already done so. Start lettuce and other greens, start corn and beans as well. Your tomato, eggplants, and peppers should be about six inches tall by now. If not, there's plenty already on sale at garden centers, but I'd wait a little before I put them out. A frost could stop them in their tracks.

Fruit trees

You can spray dormant oil right up until bud break. Apricots and plums are already in flower so you'll probably have to wait until the petals drop before spraying again. Put bands of sticky goop around the trunks of your fruit trees to keep climbing insects from reaching the growing tips. I've seen fruit flies around already so be prepared to protect your fruit with either a quick spray or a fruit fly stocking.

Soft fruit bushes

The only thing that gooseberries, red, white, and black currant bushes need now is a side dressing of well-rotted compost to supply some of the nutrients that are being used to push out leaves. Put more compost around blueberry bushes, or use some acidic fertilizer as soon as the bushes leaf out.

For gardeners this is the busiest time of the year, you make use of whatever daylight you can to get a much done as possible. Remember, have fun out there!