June is one of the busiest—yet most fruitful—months in the gardening calendar, with summer quickly approaching and minor heatwaves already affecting areas of the UK.
Gardens around the nation are coming alive with color, scent, and fresh produce as temperatures rise and daylight lasts well into the evening.
It’s the ideal time to dust out the BBQ and prepare your garden equipment for summer.
Warmer weather and longer days provide ideal growing conditions for everything from blooming flower beds to flourishing vegetable patches.
However, June presents a new set of difficulties for gardeners who want to maintain their plants healthy over the upcoming hotter months, even though it can turn outdoor areas into colorful summer havens. It’s a crucial month for anything from neglecting your indoor plants to making serious mistakes with your lawn.
In order to keep your outdoor area healthy, productive, and vibrant throughout the summer, Amber Tunney, plant buyer at Cherry Lane Garden Centers, has shared her eight gardening duties for June.
Making sure all of your plants benefit from the hot, sunny weather without overheating is the first goal.
Amber suggests putting hanging plants outside, providing adequate food and water for your vegetation, and shading greenhouses.
She also suggests some basic upkeep, such as pruning wisteria in the summer, caring for tomato plants, and shielding any fruit trees from predators and birds.
In order to keep your outdoor area healthy, productive, and vibrant throughout the summer, garden expert Amber Tunney has shared eight tasks that you should include on your June gardening checklist.
- Every few weeks, feed hanging and pot plants.
To ensure that your plants are thriving rather than merely surviving, feed them on a regular basis if you have them in hanging baskets, containers, or any other location other than the ground.
According to Amber, “regular feeding is important to encourage healthy growth and continuous flowering because plants in containers and hanging baskets use up nutrients quickly during the warmer months.”
“Plants will remain vibrant and full throughout summer if a liquid fertilizer is applied every few weeks.”
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- Use netting to cover fruit
All of your hard work on fruit and vegetable crops begins to pay off in June.
But both you and the wildlife will find the gorgeous fruits and vegetables to be delicious.
“If left unprotected, birds can quickly damage crops as strawberries, currants, and other fruits begin to ripen,” Amber stated.
Lightweight netting lets rain, sunlight, and air through while keeping birds away from the fruit.
- Give fruiting veggies tomato feed.
“Once tomatoes and other fruiting vegetables begin producing flowers and fruit, switching to a tomato feed helps support healthy development,” said Amber. Despite its name, tomato feed is a versatile food for many plants, including wisteria, strawberries, and the ones in your greenhouse and hanging baskets.
“This is because potassium, which is necessary for promoting robust growth and supporting crop development throughout the season, is abundant in tomato feed.”
Make sure to verify before adding tomato feed to your garden beds because it may not be appropriate for all of your plants due to the high potassium levels.
- Begin harvesting the first potatoes.
Crops of potatoes come in the summer and fall, making them a plentiful and simple vegetable to raise.
It’s time to (literally) taste the rewards of your labor for those who prepared for this year’s harvest by “chitting” their potatoes back in February and planting them in late March.
“Lift potatoes carefully with a fork to avoid damaging the crop and enjoy them while they’re fresh for the best taste and texture,” Amber said. “Harvesting first early potatoes in June provides the best, freshest flavor while also helping gardeners avoid peak blight season later in summer, when warmer and more humid conditions allow the disease to spread more easily.”
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- Take your hanging baskets outside.
Amber stated that indoor hanging plants can be brought outdoors because they will thrive in June’s consistently warm temperatures.
“Baskets can dry out quickly, so place them in a sunny, protected area and water frequently, especially in hotter weather,” she continued.
- Pinch out tomato side shoots: According to Amber, “removing the small side shoots that grow between the main stem and branches helps tomato plants direct more energy into producing fruit rather than excess leafy growth.” This is especially important for cordon tomato varieties, especially those grown in greenhouses or trained against supports.
Every time you water your tomato plant, the RHS advises eliminating side shoots by pinching or snapping off any growths that appear in the joints between the leaves and the stem.
- Shade your greenhouse According to Amber, “Greenhouses can become extremely hot during sunny spells in June, which can stress or damage plants.”
Plants that are not native to tropical regions might not be able to recover from extended exposure to high temperatures.
Additionally, it’s crucial to remember to open the door and any vents to maintain adequate ventilation in your greenhouse.
“Temperature regulation and plant protection from scorching can be achieved by using greenhouse shading, blinds, or even temporary netting.”
You can use mesh or netting, external or interior curtains, or shading paints on the outside of your greenhouse to provide shade.
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- Prune the wisteria in the summer.
To promote more blossoms, wisteria must be pruned twice a year, once in the summer and once in the winter. Additionally, it keeps sunlight from reaching its base and new growths and keeps it from growing into windows and gutters.
According to Amber, “Wisteria benefits from a summer pruning to help keep growth under control and encourage better flowering next year.” “Long, whippy side shoots can be cut back to around 20cm, helping maintain the plant’s shape and prevent it from becoming overcrowded.”
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