By Mark Levisay
June is another busy month in the vegetable garden. There is still planting left to do, as well as maintenance of existing crops. There’s also harvesting of early crops that were planted back in the spring. Let’s go through each of these topics in a little more detail.
Succession planting
Many summer crops have been planted already, but if you have saved any space you can plant additional batches of things like beans and squash. Succession planting refers to planting modest amounts of a crop, for instance beans, every few weeks to extend the harvest. If you don’t plan on canning or freezing your harvest, this method will provide you with plenty of fresh vegetables over an extended period.
I’ve intentionally left a small bed empty with the plan of planting a second batch of bush beans around mid-June. If you haven’t left any empty space consider planting beans or squash in areas that may have recently held lettuce or spinach. With our hot dry weather those spring crops are either done or about to be so use that vacated space for main season crops. Make sure to add some fertilizer to make up for what the early crop used and be prepared to water a LOT to get the newly planted seeds to germinate and grow. Once the plants are mature they won’t need so much water.
Maintenance
Maintenance is an ongoing part of gardening and involves everyday activities like weeding and watering. Pulling a few weeds every day when they’re small is a lot easier than waiting and trying to clean out a bed overgrown with mature weeds. Watering shouldn’t be a daily activity unless you’ve just planted seeds or have plants that have just come up. Even in our recent hot dry weather going a few days between waterings is probably best for growing plants, as it will encourage good root growth. I use a lot of soaker hoses in my garden but you don’t have to. Just try to avoid watering the plant’s foliage too much-try to get all of your water to the base of the plant. Wet foliage, especially in the evening, can encourage diseases.
Raised bed of beets and carrots can probably benefit from another round of thinning.
Crops like beets and carrots will probably benefit from multiple rounds of thinning. It’s really hard to force yourself to plant a lot of vegetables with the proper spacing, especially if the seeds are small. Thinning periodically will help the plants develop and also resist pests. Beet greens are also good in salads, so thinning can be beneficial in other ways too.
This tomato (Verona) has been tied up to a sturdy pole and recently suckered.
Tomatoes are probably the most high maintenance crop at this time of year, and you won’t get any reward for your efforts until mid to late July. It is really important to take care of them properly now to ensure a large harvest later on. I tie my indeterminate tomatoes up regularly-weekly if not more often, to sturdy poles. This seems to invigorate the plants, and also helps prevent damage from thunderstorms. I also sucker them whenever I tie them up. This just involves picking off the new shoots that want to grow at all of the nodes on the plant. I aim to develop a plant that has 2 to 3 main leaders and remove all of the remaining suckers. This allows more sun into the plant’s interior for fruit ripening, and also promotes better air flow, which helps control fungal diseases. Speaking of disease, it’s never too early to start watching for diseases to show up, especially if you’ve grown tomatoes in your garden before. Pick of any yellowed leaves, and remove them from your garden, as they’re potentially contagious. Doing this every day or so can really help later in the season.
Lettuce, if well watered, may still be pickable.
Harvest
Now for the fun part-picking fresh vegetables! Most spring spinach has probably burned up by now, especially with the heat lately. You may still have some lettuce, which can benefit from frequent watering. I cut my first heads of broccoli (Emperor) in the third week of May. After cutting the main head, many varieties of broccoli will develop “side shoots” at the nodes, and produce these for a while, extending the harvest and increasing the per-plant production. My cabbages are just starting to develop heads, but earlier varieties may be ready to pick soon. I’ve been cutting asparagus since mid-April, so I’ll probably stop cutting by mid-June. Don’t over harvest asparagus, or the crowns underground won’t be able to store enough nutrients to get through the winter.
Sugar snap peas with pods ready to pick.
Sugar snap peas have probably already started to produce edible pods, so enjoy those while you have them, and keep the plants well watered, as they don’t enjoy the hot weather.
Potato bed with mostly mature plants.
Potatoes should be ready to harvest around mid-month. My plants have flower buds which haven’t bloomed yet. As a general rule, wait until the plants have flowered before digging any spuds. Once the plants die back completely, go ahead and dig the potatoes, as they won’t grow any more, and they’ll store better in a cool dry, dark place than they will in the ground. With enough water, you may have beets later in June-if they’re not big enough yet enjoy some of the greens in a salad!
If you have strawberries in your garden, then you’re probably already enjoying the fruits of your labors by June 1st! Blackberries, which are just setting fruit now, won’t be ripe until late June or early July. I cut my everbearing raspberries to the ground every fall, so they haven’t started blooming yet, and won’t produce fruit until later on. If you had mature canes in the garden this spring they should already be blooming and setting fruit. Just remember to cut those canes back to the ground once they are done with their berries.
Lawn care
Lawn care is really easy at this time of year-don’t do anything! When it’s really hot and dry, try to stay off the lawn as much as possible. Don’t mow, water or fertilize. Once rain returns, or we get some cooler weather, go ahead and mow again. Just remember to cut at the highest possible setting on your mower during the hot months. If you have a lot of leftover grass when you do mow, cut it again or rake it up so as not to cover up the growing grass underneath.
I hope everyone is enjoying fresh produce from their gardens! If you have any questions, please e-mail me at marklevisay@gmail.com Happy gardening!