Well now that Easter has officially passed, and we are halfway through April, I say plant away.

We are in the position now when we can get on full speed with our spring chores. If you have been patient, you can start fertilizing your lawn, planting all you spring and summer flowers and vegetables. We often speak of flowers and shrubs, but what amazes me are the red fields of crimson clover sprawling across the county.

Speaking of nature, be sure to attend Nature Fest Saturday at Historic Jefferson College. It will have guided nature walks, Master Gardener plant sale, seminars all day and programs for the kids. Be sure to check it out.

Q: When is right time to plant caladiums?

A: I have had a few calls about starting caladium indoors. You can do this but if you have waited until now I would say plant them outside and skip the indoor hassle. However if you are one of those that goes crazy with the tiller and gets hectic during your spring plantings then it may be beneficial to start them indoors and transplant later to ensure a better stand. Here are some simple steps.

Start by getting an empty undivided flat. Fill the flat with moist potting soil to a depth of 1 and 1/2 inches. Put the tubers, buds up, on the soil. Place them close together, but not touching. Cover with additional soil, and put the flat in a warm location until foliage begins to appear.

Once the chances of frost have passed, and I believe it has, you can then transplant these outdoors. Gently lift and separate the tubers from the flat. When transplanting into the garden remember that caladiums only need a few inches of soil cover so don’t bury them too deep.

Here is something you can try if you do start indoors. If you would rather your caladiums have more foliage rather than just one or two large leaves per tuber, you can take a sharp knife and cut out the large center leaf bud of each tuber before you plant into the flat or ground. This will encourage development of side buds that will result in more, but typically smaller leaves per tuber.

Q: How can I tell if the frost last week affected my plants?

A: We did receive several calls about this right after the frost on April 7 when it got down to about 33 degrees in our area. I do not think we suffered any major damage. This concerns the vegetable gardeners the most. If you have any early watermelon, cantaloupe, squash or cucumbers, check your plants and make sure the newest leaves were not damaged.

There should be green growth at the tip of the plant with all the recent weather. Tomato plants are relatively frost tolerant, but tomato flowers are not. Tomato plants that receive temperatures below 50 degrees when they are blooming often end up producing malformed fruit. Keep an eye on the fruit and discard any that look knobby or constricted. Don’t worry, more flowers will form and produce normal delicious fruit.

David Carter is the director of the Adams County Extensions Service. He can be reached at 601-445-8201.