June is here – it’s summertime in the garden!
Otter gardening expert Jo shares her top tips to help you enjoy your garden over the summer months.
Al Bernstein wrote: “Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June.” And as I write this I’m looking out at wonderful sunshine and blue skies. And finally the temperature has warmed up. A huge welcome to June!
Flowers & shrubs
Leave any spring bulb foliage to die back naturally before you cut back. Once their leaves are yellowing you can lift and divide snowdrops and bluebells. Lift tulip bulbs and store them somewhere dry, cool and dark ready to plant out again later in the year.
Prune flowering shrubs.
Harden off half-hardy bedding plants ready for planting out.
Herbaceous plants are best planted in the early autumn – but we have good stocks now, and they are a brilliant way to fill any gaps in your borders. Never sniff at instant colour!
Pick sweet peas frequently to encourage more flowers. These make really sweet flower displays in the home.
Staking taller plants will help them from being damaged by strong winds or summer storms.
Use straw to protect strawberry plants. This helps with weed control and keeps the berries off the ground. Garden birds will be interested in your fruit crops, so invest in garden netting to deter them!
In your edible patch
Whether you’ve got an allotment or a small area of your garden where you grow, you can really start to enjoy your home grown veg now.
Lettuce, radish and other salad crops are ready to pick. It’s a good idea to plant more salad every couple of weeks so you have lots of fresh supplies over the summer.
Spud-u-like! You should be able to start harvesting first earlies now. For second earlies and main crop, keep earthing up the plants to encourage a better crop.
If you are growing potatoes in containers, keep the compost moist – but don’t overdo it. If the potatoes get too wet you may actually stunt growth rather than help it.
Make sure you’ve netted your soft fruit otherwise the birds will be having more of a feast than you.
You can safely harden off your greenhouse-grown vegetables and plant these outside now.
Tomatoes should be growing well now. Pinch out sideshoots as this will strengthen the plant’s growth and stop it becoming leggy. Don’t apply feed until you see the first fruit set.
Containers
Harden off containers that you’ve kept in the greenhouse to protect from late frosts and put them out on display.
Similarly summer hanging baskets can be hung if you haven’t done this already. Remember to keep on top of plants that grow leggy, prune them back and you’ll get bushier plants for a longer flowering season.
Start watering containers and baskets regularly. There are already hosepipe bans in parts of Devon so remember to use a watering can. Other areas may have hosepipe bans imposed if we don’t get much rain this month so keep an eye on the news.
General tips
June is a lovely month to start enjoying really enjoying the outdoors and especially the garden. Invest in some comfy garden furniture, pop up the parasol and start dining alfresco – although you may still need a blanket for later evenings. Add a jug of sweet peas on the table for instant decoration and a lovely fragrance!
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