~ What to do in the Garden in
June ~
Planning
•
Construct trellises for tomatoes, cucumbers, pole beans, and
vining ornamentals.
This can be as simple as stapling a scrap of welded wire fence to an existing post as in this case.
Maintenance and Clean Up
•
Prune lilacs, forsythia, rhododendrons, and azaleas after
blooming.
•
Fertilize vegetable garden 1 month after plants emerge by side
dressing alongside rows.
•
Harvest thinnings from new plantings of lettuce, onion, and chard.
•
Pick ripe strawberries regularly to avoid fruit-rotting
diseases.
•
Use organic mulches to conserve soil moisture in ornamental
beds. An inch or two of sawdust, barkdust, or composted leaves will minimize
loss of water through evaporation.
•
After normal fruit drop of apples, pears and peaches in June,
consider thinning the remainder to produce a larger crop of fruit.
•
Make sure raised beds receive enough water for plants to avoid
drought stress.
•
Mid-June: If green lawns are being
maintained through the summer, apply 1 pound nitrogen per 1,000 square feet to
lawns.
•
Measure your water use by placing an empty tuna can where your
irrigation water lands and prevent wasted water.
Planting/Propagation
•
Plant dahlias and gladioli.
•
Most plants that are put in the ground during summer will need
extra water and possibly shade. Potting
media dries out faster than soil and necessitates more frequent watering until
roots have time to spread into native soil.
Pest Monitoring and Management
•
First week: Spray cherry trees for
cherry fruit fly, as necessary, if fruit is ripening.
•
First week: Spray for codling moth in
apple and pear trees, as necessary. Continue use of pheromone traps for insect
pest detection.
•
Learn to identify beneficial insects and plant some insectary
plants (e.g. Alyssum, Phacelia, coriander, candytuft, sunflower, yarrow, dill)
to attract them to your garden. Check with local nurseries for best selections.
For more information, see Encouraging
Beneficial Insects in Your Garden (PNW 550).
•
Blossoms on squash and cucumbers begin to drop; this is nothing
to worry about. Cherries may also drop fruit; this is not a major concern.
•
Monitor azaleas, primroses and other broadleaf ornamentals for
adult root weevils. Look for fresh evidence of feeding (notching at leaf
edges). Try sticky trap products on plant trunks to trap adult weevils. Protect
against damaging the bark by applying the sticky material on a 4-inch wide band
of poly sheeting or burlap wrapped around the trunk. Mark plants now and manage
root weevils with beneficial nematodes when soil temperatures are above 55
degrees Farenheit. If root weevils are a consistent problem, consider removing
plants and choosing
resistant varieties.
•
Control garden weeds by pulling, hoeing, or mulching. Laying down cardboard first and then a more
attractive mulch can eliminate most established weeds. Always plan to do some follow up weeding though.
•
Control aphids on vegetables as needed by hosing off with water
or by using insecticidal soap.
•
Watch for 12-spotted beetles on beans and lettuce and cabbage
worms or flea beetles in cole crops (cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts).
Remove the pests by hand or treat with registered pesticides.
•
Spray peas as first pods form, if necessary, to control weevils.
•
Birch trees dripping a sticky fluid from their leaves means that
aphids are present.
•
Use yellow sticky traps to monitor for cherry fruit fly. About 1
week after the first fly is caught, spray cherries at appropriate intervals.
•
Last week: Second spray for codling
moth in apple and pear trees, as necessary.
Continue monitoring blueberry, strawberry, cherry and other
plants that produce soft fruits and berries for Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD).
If SWD are present, use an integrated and least toxic approach to manage the
pests. To learn how to monitor and manage SWD.
