June in the Garden

Planning

Don’t forget Fathers Day, June 21^st. High quality garden tools make great gifts. Prepare for July: Plan for Fall tomatoes! Plant tomato transplants early to mid-July for Fall harvest. Plan space in the vegetable garden for seeding pumpkins and gourds. July and August are the best times to seed wildflowers, so choose a sunny location and buy wildflower seed now. Have your irrigation system audited to locate any leaks and ensure proper water delivery during your summer vacation.

Planting

Color: Continue planting Caladium tubers, begonias and impatiens. Plant heat-loving annuals such as pentas, periwinkle, copper plant, lantana and firebush; vines such as passion vine and clematis. Plant tropicals such as mandevilla, tropical hibiscus and esperanza. Ornamental grasses should be plentiful at the garden center now and can be planted throughout summer. Plant hardy perennials such as Mexican bush sage, hardy hibiscus, Turk’s cap, daylily, salvia, blackfoot daisy, canna lily and more. Purchase water garden plants such as water lily and lotus.

Vegetables & Herbs: Plant transplants of or direct seed eggplant, transplants of hot peppers, bell peppers and okra. Direct seed cantaloupe and watermelon into the garden. Plant transplants of or direct seed basil. Direct seed a second crop of corn, squash and zucchini.

Landscape: Continue plant warm-season turf such as St. Augustine Sod and seed Bermuda grass. Plant groundovers, foundation shrubs and shade trees.

Maintenance

Pruning & Feeding: Aerate and fertilize lawns with a low-Nitrogen fertilizer. Prune and fertilize spring blooming shrubs such as hydrangeas, climbing roses and other vines once they’ve finished flowering. Dead-head rose bushes and fertilize. Fertilize summer annuals and container plantings. Apply mulch to all plantings to conserve moisture and insulate roots. Re-pot houseplants.

Vegetables: Begin harvesting tomatoes from Spring planting. Keep tomato plants watered consistently to prevent cracking of the fruit. Harvest bush beans, peppers and summer herbs such as basil, oregano, sage and chives. Be sure to add grass clippings, pulled weeds and vegetable trimmings to the compost pile and turn it.

Pest Control: Apply beneficial nematodes to lawns to control grubs and fleas. Release ladybugs and Trichogramma wasps. Use Bt (Thuricide) for tent caterpillars and webworms, use horticultural oil or insecticidal soap for thrips, scale, spider mites, and mealy bugs and lacebugs. Spray Neem oil or potassium bicarbonate for control of black spot, powdery mildew and other fungal diseases. Use Spinosad to control grasshoppers, aphids, caterpillars and leaf miners in the vegetable garden. Spray liquid seaweed on tomato plants to control spider mites.

Watering: Use Gator-Bags to help keep newly planted trees and shrubs properly watered. Be sure to adhere to local watering restrictions. Water established plants deeply and infrequently. Established lawns, shrubs and trees will need a deep watering about once per week. Do not rely on your sprinkler system to adequately water new plantings. Provide supplemental hand watering to new plants several times a week, as needed. Early morning, between 6am-8am is the best time to water. Watering in the evening encourages fungal diseases in your turf, ornamental and vegetable plantings. Clean water features and bird baths.