This column was written by Marsha Overton, Coles County Master Gardener.

We have finally arrived at the time of the year when we can start doing some planting in our gardens. Normally the first week of April is good for planting potatoes. A lot of gardeners plant their potatoes on Good Friday. This year they would have needed to plant them really early due to the fact that Easter was so early.

April is also the time for a variety of other plantings, including sowing early vegetables such as lettuce, peas, onions, etc. But, it is advised to wait for good soil conditions, rather than having to mud the seeds into the soil. To test for good soil conditions, take a handful of soil and make a ball. If it crumbles in the hand, it's O.K. to plant. If it remains in a mud ball, wait a few days for it to dry out.

Plan for successive harvest of vegetables when planting. This can be done by repeated planting of a variety at weekly intervals, or by one planting of several varieties with different maturity times. Thus, the favorite variety of radish can be planted several times, and several varieties of sweet corn can be planted on the same day.

It's not too late to tamp down cilantro seeds sown directly in the garden in a protected location. Make successive plantings every two weeks. Sow dill. Make successive sowings since dill is short lived and does not re-grow once it is cut.

Scatter Shirley poppy seeds in flower borders. The fine seeds need no covering. The plants grow rapidly and provide colorful flowers in early summer. Prune late blooming clematis. Start garden flowers indoors for early plantings. Sow seeds four to six weeks before the last frost-free date (around May 15). Plant bare root plants before they leaf out. Uncover and fertilize roses and tender perennials.

Trees and vines can be pruned up to blossom time if necessary. However, it's easier to do a good job before flower buds are grown out. Pruning should be done with a purpose in mind. Remove stalks of rhubarb as they develop.

Trees and shrubs are best planted or transplanted in the spring rather than the fall. These include butterfly bush, dogwood, Rose of Sharon, black gum, redbud, magnolia, tulip poplar, birch, ginkgo, hawthorn, hickory, and most oak.

Examine trees and shrubs for winter injury. Prune all dead and weakened wood. Fertilize trees and shrubs if not done last fall. Remember, black plastic pots absorb more heat from the sun than white plastic

or clay pots, resulting in quick growth for heat-loving plants. Keep this in mind when choosing your hanging and/or container plants. On sunny days, black plastic pots can be 9 degrees warmer than other pots.

Note: Only purchase nursery-grown plant materials. Help protect our natural areas, do not dig these plants from the woodlands. You could also plant flowers that can be dried for winter arrangements. For instance; strawflowers, statice, Chinese lanterns, celosia, globe amaranth, any of the Artemisia, yarrow, cockscombs, lavender and some of the ornamental grasses. This is one way to enjoy your garden for years to come. When dividing chrysanthemums, dig the entire clump, discard center, and divide remaining clump. Plant divisions 12 inches apart.

GARDEN QUESTIONS FOR CENTRAL ILLINOIS

Q) The soil in my vegetable garden is rich and loose, not at all densely packed. Is there any reason to cultivate it? A) Well, this depends on what you mean by "cultivate". No amount of rich looseness will prevent weeds, so at least until the plants are large enough to be surrounded by mulch, you'll still have to hoe (cultivate) to keep the competition from taking over–unless your garden is small enough for you to hand-weed. On the other hand, if you are talking about major soil disturbance like rototilling, reason is on the side of abstaining. The top 6 to 8 inches of healthy soil are filled with pores that allow the passage of water and oxygen, essential to the health of plants, and they also contain a fantastically complicated web of life forms that are equally important. Tilling won't utterly flatten the pores or destroy the web, and it is just about essential when you are incorporating green manure or breaking new ground. But once the soil is loose, open, and fluffy, the less you do to disturb it the better. (This is also true with flower gardens.)

Q) I have been told that weeds can reveal the soil's condition. Is this true? A) Yes, there is a lot of truth to this. Certain weeds are indeed fairly reliable indicators of growing conditions. Although a soil test is the surest way to confirm a soil's deficiencies, you can get a good idea of the growing conditions by recognizing key species.

Acid soil, for example, typically supports an abundance of sorrel or sour grass. Compacted soil tends to favor goose grass, prostate knotweed, prostrate spurge, annual bluegrass, common chickweed, mouse-ear chickweed, and rushes. Low fertility favors legumes such as white clover and black medic, as well as carpetweed, poor Joe, quackgrass, sorrel, yarrow, and yellow wood sorrel.

In damp, poorly drained areas look for annual bluegrass, barnyard grass, common chickweed, ground ivy, mouse-ear chickweed, moss, pennywort, rushes, sedges, speedwells, and violets. The secret to reducing the abundance of any of these weeds is to change the conditions that favor their growth. Soil improvement, not herbicide, is the best way to ensure that the grass in your lawn gets an upper hand. There are several good books to help you identify the weeds in your lawn.

Q) Is my garden technically organic if I use chemical fertilizers? A) No, technically it is not! But, it may still be a very good garden and not damaging to the environment–if–and this is a very big IF–you are careful to do two things. The first is to be very sparing about the fertilizer you use, to minimize the danger of its leaching out into groundwater. The second is to keep adding lots of organic matter so the soil structure is maintained, micronutrients remain available, and the health of soil-dwelling organisms is not excessively compromised by the presence of the chemicals. If you use chemical fertilizer but avoid chemical pesticides and herbicides, you can call you garden "low toxicity". It's not as melodious as "organic" but it's a much healthier place to be–for you and every other living thing–than the conventional alternative.

Mark your calendar for Saturday April 26^th for the "Herb Festival" here in Mattoon. Master Gardeners will be at their usual location (9^th and Broadway) selling a wide variety of plants and cuttings. We can even try and answer some of your questions.

If you have any horticulture questions, call the local U of I Extension office 345-7034. Volunteer Master Gardeners are in the office on Wednesday's from 9 to 11 a.m.

This column is based on information and materials available at the University of Illinois Extension office, located at 707 Windsor Road, Suite A., Charleston, 61920; phone 345-7034; or web site: www.extension.uiuc.edu/coles/