Gardening Tips for June

Wildlife

• Top up bird baths and drinkers regularly.
• It is vital to clean bird feeders and drinkers regularly in warmer conditions.

Trees, Shrubs and Flowers

• Hanging baskets, containers and bedding plants will need watering daily also feeding on a regular basis. Even if it rains they still require watering!
• Deadhead roses and remove and destroy any leaves affected by blackspot, spraying with a combined rose fungicide and insecticide if desired.
• You can prune many Spring flowering shrubs after they have finished flowering.
• Pinch out sweet peas to encourage bushy growth and train them by tying them to supports. Pick those that are flowering for vases.
• Support any tall herbaceous plants.
• Plant out summer bedding.
• Plant out Dahlias and other frost prone flowers.
• Fill any gaps in herbaceous borders.
• Trim back again trailing or spreading plants if they have become leggy or patchy.
• Cut back any spring flowering perennials to encourage new growth.
• Cut back tender shrubs when the frost has passed e.g. Penstemon.
• Vibernum Tinus can be pruned.
• Support climbing plants such as rambling roses, clematis & honeysuckle.
• Trim evergreen hedges.
• Ensure anything newly planted does not dry out.
• Lift and divide clumps of snow drops and bluebells when the leaves turn yellow.
• Pinch out the tips of fuschias to encourage bushy growth.

Lawn

• Keep the lawn trimmed regularly to encourage healthy growth, mow at least once a month.
• If you haven’t already applied a feed you can apply one now (a high nitrogen summer feed).
• If weeds are problem in your lawn you could apply a feed and weed.
• Ensure new lawns do not dry out.
• Disperse worm casts with a brush.

Fruit and Vegetables

• Lots of crops will need harvesting, feeding and watering.
• Earth up any potatoes that are now roughly 10 weeks since being planted.
• Feed tomatoes, peppers and other fruiting vegetables with a high potash / tomato fertiliser.
• Plant out any crops sown in pots last month (eg broccoli, calabrese, Brussels sprouts and summer cabbage).
• If runner and French beans have been started in pots these should be planted out. French beans can be direct sown this month.
• Outdoor tomatoes can go into their final positions but harden them off gradually by putting them out in the day and bring them in at night, this will get them ready for life outdoors.
• Greenhouse tomato plants will need some support either from a tomato cage or bamboo canes (tie the plant to the cane with string) remove any side shoots from greenhouse tomatoes as this will produce better fruits on the main stem.
• For a continuous supply of salad leaves, radish, spring onion etc sow seeds at intervals. This successional sowing will allow you to have fresh salad all summer.
• If carrots, beetroot and lettuce seem overcrowded gently pull a few young plants up to allow others to swell. You can eat these baby veg.
• If your onion leaves have started to turn yellow they may be ready to harvest.
• Do not be alarmed if your apple trees drop small fruit this month it is called fruit drop. The tree does this as it knows it cannot sustain all the fruits so by dropping the smaller ones the remaining fruits will develop into higher quality apples.
• Place nets over fruit bushes to discourage birds and squirrels from taking them.
• If you have fruiting plants in containers give them a good high potash liquid feed.

General Maintenance and Structures

• Hoe borders regularly to keep weeds down.
• Keep an eye out for pests and disease. Look out for aphids on the underside of leaves, white powdery mildew, slugs and vine weevil.
• Be water wise, especially in drought affected areas. Install a water butt.
• Greenhouse may need shading provided to prevent scorching.