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Seeds for Change Wellness
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Garden Chores for the Month of June
Garden Chores for the Month of June
Source: A Way to Garden
June Garden Chores
JUNE IS THE MONTH when the spring garden, all promise and freshness, fades to a
picture of deadheads everywhere, and weeds really start testing us. We shall
overcome! I’m offering the list a bit early this month, because I’ve had two bouts of
heat that have put things off course a bit. Here’s where I begin in June or
thereabouts (and probably never end, the usual story with the to-do list…but it
makes me feel better having it, anyhow):
MAKE A PASS through each garden bed each week, since weeds are not just
unsightly but steal moisture, nutrients and light from desired plants. Apply mulch to
all beds to help in the plight.
GARDENS NEED an inch of water a week from you or the heavens. Check your rain
gauge to make sure they get it, and remember: Soak deeply in the root zone. Don’t
spritz things with a sprayer now and again like you’re washing the car. That’s a
garden no-no. Pots need extra attention, especially smallish ones in sun, and they
also need regular feeding. Be alert!
TREES & SHRUBS
BE ON THE LOOKOUT for dead, damaged, diseased wood in trees and shrubs and
prune them out as discovered. Ditto with suckers and water sprouts. Complete
pruning tips are here.
SPRING-FLOWERING SHRUBS like lilacs get pruned now. Later pruning (after July
4th here) risks damage to emerging buds for next year’s blooms. Clean up unsightly
deadheads of other big bloomers like rhododendron, things that don’t make showy
fruit next, so leaving behind their faded blooms is just messy. Viburnums, on the
other hand, need faded flowers left intact to set beautiful, bird-feeding fruit.
MULCH AROUND WOODY PLANTS after cleaning away weeds and grass, but no
volcano mulch (meaning no piling thick mulch up against trunks). Two inches depth
is plenty, starting several inches or so away from trunks.
THROUGH THE END OF JULY, softwood cuttings of Buddleia, Weigela, Rose-of-
Sharon and roses, among other shrubs, can be taken to propagate more plants
inexpensively.
VEGETABLE GARDEN
CONTINUE SOWING carrots, beets, radishes, lettuce, dill. With salad greens, select
heat-resistant varieties now for best results, and sow small amounts every 10 days.
The shadier side of a tomato row or your pole beans, for instance, is nice for lettuce
right now…not baking sun.
DIRECT-SOW A SHORT ROW OF BUSH BEANS every two weeks, and also sow
pole beans for an even later crop if you didn’t yet. Did summer and winter squash,
cucumbers, melons go in? It’s time.
SWEET POTATOES, despite their heat-loving nature, can grow in all 50 states, and
late spring is the perfect planting time. The how-to, in detail.
DID YOU HILL UP your white potatoes?
YOU HAVEN’T MISSED tomato time. These ambitious creatures will catch up and
bear even if they go in July 4th in my area (but Memorial Day or early June is best).
The entire tomato-growing tip collection is right here. Plant deep, and use heavy
cages. Eggplants and peppers should be in the ground early this month, too, and
too-small tomato cages can be recycled to hold these guys up.
KEEP ASPARAGUS and garlic well-weeded; let asparagus grow lots of ferns the rest
of the summer into fall. Mulch vegetables with baled or chopped straw, partially
rotted leaves, or other available organic materials.
FLOWER GARDEN
DEADHEAD ANY messy-looking bulbs as blooms fade, but continue to leave bulb
foliage intact to wither and ripen the bulbs naturally. I mow my daffodil drifts around
July 4th, for example. Deadhead spring-flowering perennials unless they have showy
seedheads (same with bulbs), or you want to collect seed later (non-hybrids only).
SOME PERENNIALS MAY be so tired they need a full cutback later this month or
early next. You sometimes have to make things worse for the garden to look better
in the long run.
TENDER BULBS like dahlias, cannas, caladiums, gladiolus and such should be in
the ground, but with the glads, you can stagger flower harvest by planting a row
every two weeks until the start of July.
ARE ANNUAL VINES getting the support they need, whether twine, wire, lattice?
What about perennial ones like clematis?
ORDER BULBS this month to get varieties you want (see Sources for bulb vendors).
Remember our “early, middle, late” mantra when doing so.
PREPARE NEW BEDS by smothering grass or weeds with layers of recycled
corrugated cardboard or thick layers of newspaper, then put mulch on top.
EDGE BEDS to make a clean line and define them, and keep edges clean with
regular fine-tuning with grass shears. A well-cut edge makes a big difference.
HOUSEPLANTS
HOUSEPLANTS, including amaryllis, and also clivia, among many, can spend the
summer outdoors, in a sheltered location with filtered bright light (not direct sun).
Pinch back and repot those that need it as you transition them, and feed regularly
LAWN
DON’T BAG OR RAKE clippings; let them lie on the lawn to return Nitrogen to the soil
COMPOST HEAP
DON’T LET THE HEAP dry out completely, or it will not “cook.” Turning the compost
pile to aerate will also hasten decomposition, but things will rot eventually even if not
turned
Source: A Way to Garden
June Garden Chores
JUNE IS THE MONTH when the spring garden, all promise and freshness, fades to a
picture of deadheads everywhere, and weeds really start testing us. We shall
overcome! I’m offering the list a bit early this month, because I’ve had two bouts of
heat that have put things off course a bit. Here’s where I begin in June or
thereabouts (and probably never end, the usual story with the to-do list…but it
makes me feel better having it, anyhow):
MAKE A PASS through each garden bed each week, since weeds are not just
unsightly but steal moisture, nutrients and light from desired plants. Apply mulch to
all beds to help in the plight.
GARDENS NEED an inch of water a week from you or the heavens. Check your rain
gauge to make sure they get it, and remember: Soak deeply in the root zone. Don’t
spritz things with a sprayer now and again like you’re washing the car. That’s a
garden no-no. Pots need extra attention, especially smallish ones in sun, and they
also need regular feeding. Be alert!
TREES & SHRUBS
BE ON THE LOOKOUT for dead, damaged, diseased wood in trees and shrubs and
prune them out as discovered. Ditto with suckers and water sprouts. Complete
pruning tips are here.
SPRING-FLOWERING SHRUBS like lilacs get pruned now. Later pruning (after July
4th here) risks damage to emerging buds for next year’s blooms. Clean up unsightly
deadheads of other big bloomers like rhododendron, things that don’t make showy
fruit next, so leaving behind their faded blooms is just messy. Viburnums, on the
other hand, need faded flowers left intact to set beautiful, bird-feeding fruit.
MULCH AROUND WOODY PLANTS after cleaning away weeds and grass, but no
volcano mulch (meaning no piling thick mulch up against trunks). Two inches depth
is plenty, starting several inches or so away from trunks.
THROUGH THE END OF JULY, softwood cuttings of Buddleia, Weigela, Rose-of-
Sharon and roses, among other shrubs, can be taken to propagate more plants
inexpensively.
VEGETABLE GARDEN
CONTINUE SOWING carrots, beets, radishes, lettuce, dill. With salad greens, select
heat-resistant varieties now for best results, and sow small amounts every 10 days.
The shadier side of a tomato row or your pole beans, for instance, is nice for lettuce
right now…not baking sun.
DIRECT-SOW A SHORT ROW OF BUSH BEANS every two weeks, and also sow
pole beans for an even later crop if you didn’t yet. Did summer and winter squash,
cucumbers, melons go in? It’s time.
SWEET POTATOES, despite their heat-loving nature, can grow in all 50 states, and
late spring is the perfect planting time. The how-to, in detail.
DID YOU HILL UP your white potatoes?
YOU HAVEN’T MISSED tomato time. These ambitious creatures will catch up and
bear even if they go in July 4th in my area (but Memorial Day or early June is best).
The entire tomato-growing tip collection is right here. Plant deep, and use heavy
cages. Eggplants and peppers should be in the ground early this month, too, and
too-small tomato cages can be recycled to hold these guys up.
KEEP ASPARAGUS and garlic well-weeded; let asparagus grow lots of ferns the rest
of the summer into fall. Mulch vegetables with baled or chopped straw, partially
rotted leaves, or other available organic materials.
FLOWER GARDEN
DEADHEAD ANY messy-looking bulbs as blooms fade, but continue to leave bulb
foliage intact to wither and ripen the bulbs naturally. I mow my daffodil drifts around
July 4th, for example. Deadhead spring-flowering perennials unless they have showy
seedheads (same with bulbs), or you want to collect seed later (non-hybrids only).
SOME PERENNIALS MAY be so tired they need a full cutback later this month or
early next. You sometimes have to make things worse for the garden to look better
in the long run.
TENDER BULBS like dahlias, cannas, caladiums, gladiolus and such should be in
the ground, but with the glads, you can stagger flower harvest by planting a row
every two weeks until the start of July.
ARE ANNUAL VINES getting the support they need, whether twine, wire, lattice?
What about perennial ones like clematis?
ORDER BULBS this month to get varieties you want (see Sources for bulb vendors).
Remember our “early, middle, late” mantra when doing so.
PREPARE NEW BEDS by smothering grass or weeds with layers of recycled
corrugated cardboard or thick layers of newspaper, then put mulch on top.
EDGE BEDS to make a clean line and define them, and keep edges clean with
regular fine-tuning with grass shears. A well-cut edge makes a big difference.
HOUSEPLANTS
HOUSEPLANTS, including amaryllis, and also clivia, among many, can spend the
summer outdoors, in a sheltered location with filtered bright light (not direct sun).
Pinch back and repot those that need it as you transition them, and feed regularly
LAWN
DON’T BAG OR RAKE clippings; let them lie on the lawn to return Nitrogen to the soil
COMPOST HEAP
DON’T LET THE HEAP dry out completely, or it will not “cook.” Turning the compost
pile to aerate will also hasten decomposition, but things will rot eventually even if not
turned