Things To Do In June In Your Garden

Consider planting Charlotte or Maris Peer potatoes in containers from mid-June onwards for a Christmas potato crop.

• Pinch out side shoots from tomato plants and feed with a potash rich, organic fertiliser when the first trusses begin to form fruits.
• Plant out tender crops such as sweetcorn and squash etc. now the weather has warmed up more reliably.
• Harvest salad crops, peas, broad beans, first early potatoes etc..
• Continue to sow salad leaves every couple of weeks for a continuous summer harvest.

Jobs in the Fruit Garden/Orchard

• Harvest strawberries and peg down runners to create new plants.
• Protect fruits from birds with netting before it ripens.
• Consider pruning plum and cherry trees now, thinning out congested branches.
• Top dress patio dwarf fruit trees with a good compost or organic mulch.
• Feed fruit producing plants in containers with a high potash organic fertiliser such as comfrey tea or a concoction using wood ashes.

Jobs in the Flower Garden

• Plant out any tender annual bedding plants into beds and borders now all risk of frost has passed.
• Plant up containers, hanging baskets and planters or place these in their final positions for the summer months.
• There are still a wide variety of annual flowers that you can sow now, though it may be best to avoid direct sowing too much as we move towards mid-summer as many plants will be inclined to bolt.
• Pick blooms of sweet peas and other flowers as and when they form to encourage the flowering display to continue throughout the summer.
• Tie in new shoots that form on honeysuckle, clematis and other climbing plants.

Jobs Under Cover

• Make sure to pay attention to ventilation in the greenhouse or polytunnel. Keep doors open and consider damping down on really hot days.
• Use blinds or apply shading paint to your greenhouse to keep out the fierce summer sun.
• Check plants every day and water daily, or even more frequently, if the soil is dry.

General Garden Jobs

• If you experience a prolonged period of dry weather, set mower blades higher to reduce stress on the grass.
• Pay attention to lawn and bed edges and continue to stay on top of the weeds.
• Make sure there is a source of drinking water in your garden for birds and other wildlife if things get very dry.