Things to do in June

Mulch, don’t smother. Lay grass clippings in thin layer no more than an inch thick. Chopped leaves from last fall work well. Woody mulches that eventually blend into the soil use up some nitrogen as they decompose so you’ll need to add a little extra fertilizer to make up for that. Mulching 3-4” around tree trunks protects them from the lawn mower and weed whacker.

Sharpen your lawn mower blades. Dull blades shred grass, increases water loss, makes grass vulnerable to diseases. For more information about lawns, click here.

Peppers benefit from a little magnesium. Dissolve 1-2 tbs. in a gallon of water and shower on plants. Once the flowers appear and a again a few weeks later. Tomatoes and roses also benefit.

Cut back perennials that bloom in early summer. You may get a second bloom with dianthus (pinks) Centaurea (mountain bluet), bearded iris, delphinium, lupine. Cut daffodils at base of flowering stem.

Dig out aggressive perennials to keep them from taking over your garden. Know which plants self-sow.

Water for at least 20 minutes a day. Older trees need water where their roots spread out, not at the trunk.

Trellis or stake tomatoes and tall perennials and annual flowers. Caging tomatoes may decrease air circulation around they leaves. Moisture favors diseases like early blight on tomatoes.

Fertilize perennials with a 2 inch layer of compost spread as mulch.

Think before you spray. Do you really have to? Is the problem that bad? Is there an alternative action?

Add soil amendments, especially organic matter (manure, compost, peat moss). Organic fertilizers need warm soil temperatures to become active so a supplement may be necessary in early June to get your flowers and vegetables off to a good start while the temperatures are still cool. Bone meal is a good organic source of phosphorus. Work into soil before planting. Wood ashes can be used as an organic source of potassium. Ashes are half as potent as lime inraising pH. Call our office to test your soil’s pH.

Hoe your weeds BEFORE the seeds appear. Do not add weeds to the compost pile.

Eat the flowers, including nasturtiums, pansies, Johnny jump-ups, squash blossoms, Anise yssop, Borage, calendula, daylilies. Many of the weeds in our area are edible as long as they haven’t been sprayed with an herbicide.

Thin anything you grew from seed. If you don’t they’ll crowd each other. The plants will suffer.

Know your bugs, there are good bugs and bad bugs. Dill, Parsley, Queen Ann’s Lace attract beneficials. Handpick bugs by holding a container filled with soapy water, under the bug on a leaf. Tap bug. Let it fall.

Give your plants in hanging baskets a hair cut or move them to a larger pot.

Cutworms can sever seedlings at the soil line. You can protect each stem with a cardboard collar or wrapping it with newspaper. A cutworm looks like a dull brown caterpillar. Handpick to rid. Handpick cucumber beetles and squash beetles, rose chafers.

Edge your garden beds with a shovel or straight edging tool and cut a clean edge along the garden bed.

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