Not everyone has a vegetable garden that is in full sun, all day long. Just because some areas may be in partial shade is no reason to abandon them to ferns and hostas. The following vegetables are tolerant of partial shade.

These plants will grow well in partial shade. Crop production may be greater in full sun; these plants will produce an edible crop although grown in a shady location. Remember that nothing will grow in complete shade. Your vegetable plants will need some morning, evening or filtered sun with a total of two to six hours of direct sun as the minimum.

These partial shade tolerant vegetables are:

Arugala, beans, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cress, endive, kale, kohlrabi, leaf lettuce, leeks, parsnips, peas, potatoes, pumpkins, radish, rhubarb, rutabagas, salad burnet, salsify, sorrel, spinach, summer squash and turnips.

Herbs that will grow in partial shade are:

Angelica, borage, caraway, chervil, coriander, garlic, parsley, lemon balm, lovage, mint, tarragon and thyme.

--with information from University of Illinois Extension "Solutions."

Look Before You Prune...
There May Be a Nest in There

Spring shrub pruning is both desirable and necessary but that shrub you are ready to trim may already be inhabited. Many small song birds, including cardinals, song sparrows, robins, thrushes, and a variety of finches build nests in low shrubs and small trees early in spring to raise what may be their only brood of the season. As part of their survival strategy, they conceal their nests very well. When the conscientious gardener begins to prune, the nest may not been seen until its protective greenery has been removed.

To protect the nests of these very desirable birds requires only a little care and attention. Before starting to prune a shrub or small tree, examine it closely for a small nest. Depending upon the earliness in the season, the nest may already be in use. Occupied or not, leave the nest and shrub undisturbed for several weeks. This will give the birds time to raise and fledge their young. Considering the rate at which wild bird habitat is being lost it will be a good practice to preserve as much as we can, wherever we can, and a few weeks will make little difference in the pruning schedule.

Question: In mid-March I saw a shrub with yellow flowers in a landscape planting. It was still blooming several weeks later. Is this a new kind of early Forsythia?

Answer: The bush you describe is most likely a Witch Hazel (Hamamelis intermedia), probably the variety "Arnold Promise.' This is the earliest flowering shrub in our area and will often keep its blooms for as long as three weeks. Its flowers are a paler yellow than those of forsythia. It is slightly fragrant if you get close enough. Eventually the plant will grow to over 20 feet and appears to have few insect or disease problems.

Spring weather is extremely unpredictable. Linking recommendations to specific dates is, at best, tenuous. Consider everything plus or minus a week, watch your thermometer and the weather reports.

First Week... 4/1 – 4/7

• If the soil in your garden or flower beds is wet DON'T' WALK ON IT OR WORK IN IT!!! Let it dry first.
• Your largest seedlings can be transferred to a cold frame if the weather allows.
• Transplant cabbage seedlings to the garden. Give them a little protection for the first few days.
• Check you asparagus and rhubarb. Some may be ready to pick.
• Prune your roses, rake back the mulch and dig in a trowel full of balanced fertilizer around each plant.
• Pull or dig out any and all early weeds including stray grass clumps.. The soil is soft and they are still small.

Second Week...4/8-4/15

• Help any emerging spring bulbs by carefully raking back any mulch or leaf litter.
• Spray your apple tree foliage for scab and spray to control it.
• Trim away any old leaves and flower stalks from you hostas but be careful of emerging shoots.
• Amend the beds of your spring-flowering bulbs by carefully scratching in a light application of 5-10-5 fertilizer.
• Clean up under your bird feeders. Rake up seed hulls and add to your compost bin.
• Keep weeds down around your bramble fruits by spreading mulch around the base of the canes.

Third Week...4/15-4/23

• Watch for emerging wildflowers, especially Virginia bluebells and Dutchman's britches. Carefully scratch back excess leaf litter and mulch.
• Add the thinnings of your early lettuce and beets in your fresh salads for a special treat.
• Harden-off more of your growing seedlings in your cold frame.
• Don't cultivate weeds from your bulb beds. Hand pulling the weeds is much safer for the bulbs.
• Plant dill seeds toward the back of your herb bed to start a continuing harvest. In the back of the bed, they won't shade other plants.
• Sow marigold seeds directly in beds where you will want them later. They can be thinned later.

Fourth Week...4/24- 4/30

• For continuing production keep picking your asparagus and rhubarb.
• Carefully remove the winter mulch from your strawberries.
• Plant you first gladiolus corms but be ready to cover them if the weather turns cold.
• Plant more onion sets. Pull some for the table as green onions and leave the rest to mature for drying.
• Divide overgrown plants from your water garden. Replant some, give away others and donate some to a Plant Sale fundraiser.
• Check you cold frame on sunny days and lift the cover to prevent overheating.

Think of a tall-grass prairie or a field of flowers and grasses swaying in the breeze. Today's field may be a sunny side yard, an area in the backyard surrounded with a split rail fence, a double border on either side of the front walk, or the entire front yard.

To start a natural garden, remove sod and weeds to give native plants and seeds an opportunity to grow without competition from plant intruders. Remember that not only herbaceous plants but also trees and shrubs belong in a natural, wild garden. Plants for a natural garden include perennial and annual wildflowers indigenous to your area, ornamental grasses and native trees and shrubs.

In a 21st century suburb, neatness with such a design often counts for pleasing neighbors and local zoning codes. Mow broad grass paths through and around your "field" to give the appearance of a standard garden. Accent it with accessories, such as birdhouses, a birdbath, and a bench at the end of one path as a destination. For more information check with your county or state Extension Service.

This article, the third in a series, was written by Eleanore Lewis and provided by the National Garden Bureau.

One of the primary weed concerns in home lawns is crabgrass. There is plenty of time before this weed will appear in lawns, but prevention is the key to control. There are both cultural and chemical control options to consider.

First, understand the target weed. Crabgrass is a warm-season annual grass. No matter how many crabgrass plants appeared in your lawn last year, they are all dead. Crabgrass can only reappear in the current year from germinating seeds. Crabgrass will not start germinating until soil temperatures get close to 60º F. and stay there for several consecutive days, which is most likely not until May in lawn areas. So remember, you have plenty of time.

Crabgrass prefers full sun, moisture and thin lawns that allow light to hit the soil. Sound lawn care practices that allow for thick, vigorous lawns that shade the soil help prevent crabgrass from becoming a problem. Mowing height perhaps has the greatest impact on crabgrass. Mow between 1 1/2 and 3 inches and there will be fewer crabgrass plants in your lawn.

On addition, avoid frequent watering, especially frequent light sprinklings. If possible, hold off lawn establishment or renovation work until late summer to avoid potential crabgrass problems from appearing on open soil areas in lawns.

Preemergence herbicides (weed killers) are available to use in spring for crabgrass control. These need to be applied to the lawn before crabgrass germinates. Late April into early May is the suggested time for applying preemergence crabgrass herbicide in the Central Illinois area. If April is unusually warm, apply by late April, otherwise early May is not too late.

Most preemergence crabgrass herbicides are found in combination with lawn fertilizers, so crabgrass prevention and spring fertilization can be done at the same time. Follow the rates given on the bag. One word of caution; except for siduron, all preemergence herbicides for crabgrass will also damage germinating desirable grass seed. Siduron may be found in lawn starter fertilizer with crabgrass preventer.

By Bruce Spangenberg
Horticulture Educator, University of Illinois Extension

Confirmed Mycophagists, those humans more commonly known as "mushroom eaters". Have certain guidelines that are necessary for surviving the joys of harvesting and consuming wild mushrooms. Many people either do not relish wild mushrooms or are too timid to trust their identification skills. There are hardy souls who prowl the springtime timber seeking their favored fungi. To help those who take up the challenge, R. V. Gessner of the Department of Biological Sciences at Western Illinois University has compiled a list of "Ten Commandments" to help them survive the experience.

1. Never eat a mushroom unless it is positively identified as edible.
2. Eat only fresh mushrooms that are free from insect infestation.
3. Thoroughly cook all mushrooms unless they are specifically known to be edible raw.
4. Eat mushrooms only in moderate quantities.
5. When trying a mushroom for the first time, eat only a small portion, and don't try any other kinds for 48 hours.
6. Don't pick mushrooms from contaminated habitats.
7. Never assume that a wild mushroom you find overseas is the same edible species you know from North America.
8. Be conservative about feeding wild mushrooms to children, the elderly and the infirm.
9. When trying a mushroom for the first time, save a few intact, uncooked, specimens in the refrigerator for 48 hours.
10. Examine every specimen in every collection of mushrooms to avoid inadvertent mixing of different species.

... plus six "Additional Cautions"

1. Do not eat any Amanita, Amanita look-alikes or any white mushrooms.
2. Avoid little brown mushrooms (LBM), large brown mushrooms with pinkish, brownish, purple-brown or black gills.
3. Avoid false morels.
4. Eat only firm, fresh young specimens.
5. Do not drink alcohol;, even in moderation, when eating wild mushrooms.
6. Refrigerate and use as quickly as possible.

Bon appetite...

Every spring, The University of Illinois Extension gets calls on evergreens turning completely brown and dying. White Pines, Spruce, Fir and Arborvitae turn brown - completely brown. Rather than the damage being one-sided as you would see from salt damage, the browning spreads throughout the entire plant. Also, many of these trees are not located near a road or sidewalk where they could have been exposed to de-icing salts.

Since we are seeing this on a wide variety of plants, a specific disease or insect problem can be ruled out. We have to look at the growing environment. Is there a common factor that is affecting this wide range of plant materials that would cause complete browning and in some cases death?

The problem seems to be related to soil moisture. During the dormant season, top growth ceases. However, roots are capable of taking up water and nutrients when the soil temperatures are above 35-40°F. Evergreen foliage is exposed to the elements year round. Winter desiccation occurs and the roots take up available soil moisture to replace this water loss. In comparison, deciduous material such as maples and oaks, loose very little moisture in the winter. When their leaves emerge, usually we are experiencing ample spring rain to allow for adequate water uptake.

When the growing season is dry followed by a cold windy winter with very little snowfall we can expect this type of evergreen damage. The wind blows over the evergreen foliage and sucks out any available moisture. In February and March, we often have early spring like days. It is at these times that the evergreens try to replace what moisture they have lost. If the soil is dry, the plants suffer.

What can be done? Check plant buds. If green and pliable, there is a chance that the plant will revive. If buds are crisp and brown, you have probably lost that portion or the entire plant. Don't cut down the tree too soon. Wait until you see other plants of the same type green up and see what life returns to your plant. If still brown, removal is recommended. A dead tree can serve as a host to many pest problems and should be destroyed.

Deep fall watering is recommended for landscape plants, especially evergreens. Supplying adequate soil moisture to counteract winter desiccation is a good practice to start.

- by Martha A. Smith, Horticulture Educator, University of Illinois Extension, Macomb Center

April is a time for planting, and for a few early vegetables, also a time to pick or pull. These suggestions are appropriate for West Central Illinois and for normal spring weather, if such a thing ever really happens.

• Set out new asparagus crowns throughout the month.
• Plant beet seeds throughout the month at two-week intervals.
• Plant broccoli plants until about mid-month.
• Plant Brussels sprouts plants all month.
• Plant cabbage seeds or plants until about mid month.
• Plant corn throughout the month at one-week intervals.
• Plant lettuce seed throughout the month. & pick earliest leaf lettuce.
• Plant onion seed & onion sets at intervals all month.
• Plant peas until mid-month & pick early peas planted in March.
• Plant Irish potatoes throughout the month.
• Plant radish seed & pull earliest radishes planted in March.
• Set out new rhubarb plants until mid month.
• Set out spinach plants until mid month.
• Plant turnip seed at weekly intervals throughout the month.
• Plant zucchini & other summer squash seed after mid month.

Until early May be prepared to cover young plants against a hard frost until April 21 and against lighter frosts until May 10.

--with information from University of Illinois Extension"Vegetable Gardening in the Midwest".

There is an adage that horseradish can be harvested in any month that contains an "R" which eliminates May, June, July and August but also means that April is the last month for harvest until September.

Horseradish is a perennial grown from root offshoots. Larger, mature roots are ground to make the pungent and popular condiment. Horseradish should be ground in a well-ventilated room or best, outdoors. Wash and peel the roots. Dice pieces as you would potatoes for making hashbrowns. Place the pieces in a grinder or blender with enough water to cover the blades. Add several ice cubes. Do not fill the jar too full. Cover it tightly while grinding. After grinding add 2 to 3 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice per cup of horseradish to stop the enzyme that gives horseradish its bite. Add this immediately for mild sauce; or wait three minutes so a really hot sauce will develop. Add 1/2-teaspoon salt. Store in covered glass jars in the refrigerator or freezer and enjoy.

--with information from Univ. of Ill. Extension "Solutions"

April is a month of frost, freeze and frustration. The statistical date for the last killing frost is around the end of the third week of April. A killing frost or a hard frost has temperatures round 25º F. Rhubarb stems turn to mush and started plants, set out without protection, will be killed. How much protection will be enough depends upon where the plants are located.

Location often determines the severity of frost. Frost, in the form of a flow of cold air, moves across the ground slowly and settles in low places. The microclimate in these locations may be very different from conditions twenty to fifty feet away. A cold night with no wind may have a hard frost in every hollow or dip in the topography. A brisk breeze can dissipate the cold and equalize ground level temperatures to between 30º and 32º. Although below freezing, this may be survivable for a short time by many plants. Plants located near a large rock or concrete paving, which absorb heat during the day, may be protected by warmth radiating from them.

In the garden, plants can be protected from temperatures at or slightly below freezing by tents of newspapers or old bed sheets laid across the plantings. After the end of the third week of April, there are usually no more hard or killing frosts. This is only slightly misleading since it is based upon statistical data and means simply that hard frosts are more likely to occur before April 21 than after. In the third week of April, a hard frost is less likely to occur, but it may. No guarantees.

Light frosts may occur up to the middle of May. Light frosts may injure vulnerable plants but not kill them. A vulnerable plant, even if only slightly injured by a light frost may be slow to develop. To use an old garden term. It may be "set back." The only good thing about a light frost is that protection is relatively easy. Remember the newspaper tents. More elaborate measures should not be necessary for the home gardener.

In April and early May, the home gardener should be very aware of conditions in the garden but this doesn't necessarily mean camping out in the cabbage patch. The gardener needs only to keep one eye on the thermometer, one eye on the weather report and one eye on the garden. That will take real skill but being aware of weather trends is a good gardening idea at any time.

Morel mushrooms, sometimes called sponge mushrooms, appear in April in Central Illinois and are considered a delicacy. Identification can be easy by shape and appearance, though false morels look similar and are often classified as poisonous. Many mushrooms are similar in appearance to each other, though some may be poisonous and others edible. Identification can only be certain through spore testing. This takes time and makes the mushroom past prime for eating. For identification, refer inquiries to local hospitals or the Regional Poison Control Center in Rockford. A good mushroom reference is the Peterson Field Guide to Mushrooms, however, it should only serve as a reference and not an absolute authority.

It is the University of Illinois policy NOT to identify wild mushrooms for the purpose of eating.

--with information from University of Illinois Extension "Solutions"

Asparagus is a much favored but short season vegetable for the home garden. Fortunately it freezes well so the whole crop does not have to be eaten in the weeks when it is fresh.

New asparagus plants should be planted as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring. One-year-old crowns are preferred. They can be purchased at a local nursery or garden shop or through a catalog. In appearance, the young asparagus crowns have compact buds in the center with pencil-sized roots dangling below.

Plant the asparagus crowns in a trench 12 to 18 inches wide, 6 inches deep and 9 to 12 inches apart. Spread the roots out evenly with the crown upright and centered. Cover the crown with 2 inches of soil and gradually, through the rest of the summer, fill the rest of the trench with soil. As the asparagus plants grow they have a tendency to rise so it may be necessary to add an additional several inches of soil in succeeding years.

The roots of asparagus plants grow horizontally, forming a mat. The first year's growth will be spindly but as they grow the stems become larger. Asparagus plants may be male or female and are planted in about equal numbers. The male plants usually develop more, but smaller, spears. The actual yields of the genders are not significantly different. After a hard freeze in the fall, the tops of the asparagus plants should be removed to prevent carrying diseases over from one year to the next.

Asparagus should be fertilized in the spring for the first three years. Apply 20 to 25 lbs. of balanced fertilized (10-10-10, 12-12-12 or 15-15-15) to 1,000 square feet of bed and cultivate it into the soil. Starting with the fourth year continue fertilizing at the same rate but wait until June or July to apply. Weeds, especially grass are major problems in the asparagus bed so hoe carefully just below the surface or hand-pull to keep the beds clean.

Anticipation is one of the "joys" of asparagus culture. The third year after planting the first spears may be picked but only for a month. The plants are still growing and becoming established. Beginning with the fourth year, the spears may be harvested through May or June.

To harvest asparagus cut with a sharp knife or snap off where the spear is emerging from the ground. Spears 5 to 8 inches long are best. Be careful if cutting the spears so other emerging spears are not damaged. If the spear is cut below the point of fiber development (the tough, woody part) it may be necessary to remove the bottom of the stem. To snap a spear bend it from the top toward the ground. The spear will usually snap off just above where the fibers are developing. Asparagus does not keep well so refrigerate and prepare for the table or for freezing soon after picking.

--with information from Vegetable Gardening in Illinois, Circular 1150, University of Illinois Extension.

Very few gardeners know everything there is to know about gardening. It is for the rest of us, toiling in the soil, that these hints are shared.

• If you have rose bushes to prune, and if you have rose bushes, you eventually have to prune them, you know the thorns are a problem. Most home centers sell long-cuffed, leather gauntlet gloves for use while welding or tending a fireplace. These gloves also do very well at protecting the gardener against rose thorns when reaching into or underneath the bushes.
• As soon as your leftover compost from last year has thawed and dried, sift it through a sieve of hardware cloth. The result will be free of undigested stems and sticks and ready for use as a high grade potting soil or soil amendment. Another tips is to add an occasional handful of 10-10-10 fertilizer to the yard and garden waste in your compost box. The rate of decomposition will be faster and the quality of the finished compost will be slightly more nutritious.

Spring is a good time to repair bare or thin areas in your lawn by over seeding. As soon as the soil is dry enough, scratch shallow grooves in the thin areas with a rake or hand cultivator, then scatter grass seed over the area and rake it smooth. Scatter a thin covering of compost over the seeded area and water lightly. Doing this early in spring will give the new grass shoots a good start before they must face any foot traffic.