Blog

Now June has arrived, it is all systems go in the garden, this month we will be busy keeping on top of the planting and early harvests.

1. June has arrived which usually means the end of any frost problems, meaning you can now safely plant out all your summer bedding plants into their final positions. Before planting lightly fork over the ground and give it a light dressing of Fish, Blood and Bone fertiliser and rake it in. Give your bedding plants a good watering before you can start to plant your bedding, then you can create your display. Once planted give them another good watering which will give them a good start and enable them to almost look after themselves from now on.
2. Around the second week of June, I make my last sowing of Runner Beans. For this later sowing I choose a white flowered variety like White Lady. White flowered varieties are more heat tolerant and will produce you a bumper harvest, which will often continue well into October depending on the weather.
3. Perennial borders come to life this month as the Delphiniums, Foxgloves and Lupins begin to flower. As these plants have tall flower spikes that can easily snap in the wind it is important that these stems are well supported with canes. This will prevent them from getting damaged by any strong winds or heavy rain showers, which can often occur at this time of year and can quickly spoil your display.
4. Once late spring flowering shrubs have finished flowering, they'll need pruning. These shrubs flower each year on new shoots produced the previous year, so it is important to prune them back once they have finished flowering. All these shrubs respond well to hard pruning so don’t be afraid to give them a good haircut, provided you are not cutting back into very old wood.
5. As space comes available on the vegetable plot, or if you have some spare containers fill these areas up with further sowings of summer salads like Rocket, Lettuce, Radish, Beetroot, and mixed salad leaves.
6. Many Trees and shrubs demand closer inspection at this time of year, because often aphids or scale insects are hiding under the leaves. It is important to spray aphids when first seen to stop them spreading to other plants; otherwise they may take over the garden. Another sure sign aphids may be present, is if you see a high activity of Ants running up and down tree trunks. These will be feeding on the sugary solution excreted by aphids, so watch for this as well. If you get rid of the aphids the ants will go as well.
7. This month the soft fruit bushes will be producing a bumper crop of fruit, so it is important to erect some nets over the bushes, to stop any birds having a feed of your Raspberries and Blackcurrants or your Strawberries before you do.
8. Once the greenhouses are empty from all that summer bedding, you can now fill this space once more. I will be filling this space with my Tomatoes and Cucumbers in grow bags and pots, making my cold Greenhouse productive once more.
9. This month is the ideal time to sow another decorative vegetable the Swiss Chard for a late crop of succulent leaves. These can be grown in borders, the vegetable plot or in large containers, and their decorative brightly coloured stems will make an attractive feature late in the season.
10. Keep a close watch out for black fly on broad beans, which if seen can be treated with an insecticide. Also keep a close eye on bedding Dahlias and Salvias as black fly also love to take up residence on these plants as well. It is always best to keep a close watch over your plants and if these pests are seen, they should be dealt with as soon as possible, otherwise they can quickly take over and make your plants a mess.