The Productive Landscape Journal: April 10, 2026
And we’re off to the races! Spring is no longer a glimmer of warmth on the horizon, it is well into the full swing of the season. More and more plants are coming into bloom, insects are becoming more and more active, and the soil is finally drying out enough to work!
This time of year, patience pays. We had a freeze on Tuesday morning at 29 degrees – Not cold enough to outright kill hardier crops, but cold enough that I was glad I hadn’t planted potatoes and onions yet. It’s always a test of patience, hardening off vegetable starts, but it is well worth the hassle for a successful garden.
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This Week in The Landscape
As I alluded to earlier, the weather this time of year definitely tests your patience! This year, the pattern seems to be near-record warmth followed by intense plunges in temperature – That makes it very difficult to get plants set out. Thankfully, it looks like the next 2 weeks are going to be warm with mild nights.
The soil has dried faster than I thought it would, and the garden beds with better soil structure are ready to plant. Kale, lettuce and peas will go in this week, but I’m holding off another 2 weeks on the onions. I start onions from seed, so if I lose a batch to frost it’s too late to start another.
What We’re Working On
Flame Weeding the Garden: I purchased a propane-powered flame weeder last Fall to test in our vegetable garden. This week, I am working on the back corner of our vegetable garden – This area is where I had a compost pile last year, and it’s got the worst soil of anywhere in our garden.
I had broadforked this area last week, and then flame weeded it this week to get rid of the ragweed and giant foxtail seedlings coming in. I then spread compost over this area and am planning on planting a Spring Pollinator cover crop mix of oats, field peas, and Lacy Phacelia.
Dividing Perennials: It’s honestly a little later than I prefer to do this, but it’s the weather that dictates when you are able to get things done. I dug and divided ‘Northwind’ switchgrass, ‘Raydon’s Favorite’ aromatic aster, and ‘Fireworks’ goldenrod to fill in the sunny foreground of the island bed next to our driveway.
This area will eventually be more of a woodland edge, but right now the trees are still quite young. These sun-loving perennials will fill in the area for a few years while the trees establish, while providing vital ecosystem services.
Hardening Off Vegetable Starts: This is a vital task in planting a vegetable garden. I start 90 percent of our vegetables from seed under grow lights, and they are very tender when you first bring them outdoors. I have a spot on the east side of our house behind the garage – It gets plenty of sun in the morning, but is sheltered from the wind. It’s a great place to put plants for a week or two while they acclimate to the outdoors.
Related: Our Recommended Seed Starting Supplies
In Bloom Now
The Spring Ephemeral Season is fully under way. The Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are pretty much wrapping up, but quickly taking their place are Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium reptans) and Striped Cream Violet (Viola striata). Our Redbud trees (Cercis canadensis) are in full bloom, buzzing with pollinators.
Native Plant of the Week: Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Ranging across the Midwest and Eastern United States and into Southern Ontario, Redbud (Cercis canadensis) is a favorite harbinger of spring in forested landscapes. These small understory trees come into bloom in Late March to Early April, yielding vital early-season nectar and pollen. Blooms last for several weeks, overlapping with Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida).
While the spring flowering is the most noticeable feature, Redbud does offer 4-season interest in the landscape. The flowers give way to interesting-looking pods (Redbud is in the pea family), and the leaves are an ornamental heart shape. The trees themselves have an architectural vase shape, taking on a gnarled and wide-spreading look as they grow older. Trees can be cut to the ground every 5 or so years to maintain a smaller tree – The sprouts will grow 6 to 8 feet in one season after this treatment.
In our classification system, Redbud has an ecological function of Keystone. It supports many species of pollinators, blooming very early in the season, and it is the larval host of 24 species of butterflies and moths. From a design standpoint, redbud is an Accent, providing bursts of color that can be repeated through the landscape. Redbud is particularly pretty planted in groves of 3 to 5.
What To Do in the Garden Right Now
Looking at the 2-week forecast, the freezing weather is likely behind us. It still warrants caution – The last frost date here in Central Indiana is May 10th – but now is a good time to plant lettuce and kale, as well as direct seed beets, spinach, chard, and peas. For us, it’s getting a little late for peas, but a quick-maturing snap pea variety like ‘Sugar Ann’ can still produce before the heat sets in at the beginning of June.
Focus on getting the following done this week:
- Watch Out for Weeds: If you do a no-till or permaculture garden, look out for sprouting ragweed, foxtail, and crabgrass. These weeds are easy to get rid of when they’re just sprouting, but wait 2 or 3 weeks and they’ll be much harder to deal with.
- Sow Warm Season Crops: Now is a good time to plant any remaining warm-season crops indoors. Tomatoes, summer annuals, basil – These all require warmth to grow well, and starting indoors 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost date gives you sizeable plants at planting time in May.
Design Insight of the Week
Work in layers for a 3D landscape.
Most landscapes lack well-developed layers – In our area, you often see yards with canopy trees, but no understory or herbaceous layer. A well-designed landscape with all layers present (Canopy, Subcanopy, Understory, Shrub Layer, Herbaceous Layer) is able to support more wildlife and produce more biomass than a landscape missing most of the layers.
Recommended This Week
Flame King Propane Torch Kit – 320,000 BTU
Sourced from: Amazon
This is the flame weeder I’m using right now, I’ve had good results with it so far. I used it to flame our vegetable garden beds, killing the ragweed and giant foxtail sprouting right now. This is a good way to treat a “stale seed bed”, without disturbing the soil and bringing up more seed.
I am planning on using the flame weeder this year to keep our paths clear in the vegetable garden – These always get overrun with crabgrass despite diligent hoeing every couple of weeks, so I’m hoping this will get rid of that surface layer of seed!
I will say, you have to have a healthy fear and respect for fire before using one of these – Absolutely do not use around anything flammable, and look at weather conditions. If the humidity is very low, or if you’re under a red flag warning, wait until the weather is a little more humid before using these. Also make sure you’re not going to spread flame to any large areas of dry plant matter, like an unmown pasture in the winter.
eGo Power+ 56v 16-Inch Cordless String Trimmer
With all the options for battery-powered string trimmers, there is no need to get a gas-powered string trimmer any more. I never liked using the gas-powered trimmer – They often are hard to start, they’re noisy, and they leave you smelling like gasoline. I switched to an electric battery-powered trimmer and haven’t gone back – I’ve got over an acre with fencelines to string trim, and two batteries easily keep me going until I’ve finished.
The eGo line is better than the Greenworks line, from what I’ve found – They just feel more solid and well-designed. Their performance is better too from my experience.
Closing Note
There is a lot to do this time of year, and I often find it gets dark before I get everything done I set out to do in a day. Use the 80/20 Rule (80 Percent of Outcomes come from 20 Percent of Inputs) and do the tasks that are going to have outsized results in your garden and landscape. If you’re choosing between planting lettuce plants and getting a spring cover crop sown before a rain, pick the cover crop – It’s going to pay dividends for years to come.