The Garden in June: Things to do this Month

• Keep new plants well watered
• Check your mulch
• Side dress with compost or manure or feed with fish emulsion, for mid-season pick-up
• Deadhead and begin replacing pansies and primroses as the blossoms fade
• Check foliage for signs of nutrient deficiency
• Give the compost a turn
• Give your houseplants a summer vacation outdoors
• Make sure the birds have fresh water
• Keep up on deadheading, for long season bloom
• Pinch back tall growing fall bloomers like asters, monarda and helianthus
• Stop harvesting asparagus and rhubarb
• Replace crops that have bolted with the heat and cool season flowers, like pansies
• Get any remaining warm season vegetables in the ground
• Keep up blanching of celery, cauliflower and tender greens
• Plant a new batch of bush beans every couple of weeks
• Keep tomato plants staked as they grow. Pinch out suckers.
• Put a couple of drops of mineral oil on corn silks within a week after they appear, to prevent corn earworm
• Be prepared for ‘June Drop’ of fruit from fruit trees. They’re just thinning out to a manageable crop size. Clean up any fallen fruit.
• Protect ripening berries with nets or row covers
• If you want to prune or shear your evergreens, do so as soon as the new growth starts to turn a darker green. Once the wisteria finishes blooming, you can do a maintenance pruning to keep it in check
• Summer is for insects. Be vigilant!
• Keep watch for 4-lined plant bug damage, especially on the mint family