Your Garden
June Gardening Tips What an awful start we had to May; let’s hope June starts with sunny, warm weather. Although we see it as a summer month, it can often disappoint. However, as we approach Midsummer’s Day, the nights are lighter which gives us more time in the garden, especially if you go out to work. I remember my father digging until it was too dark to see! June is one of the busiest months of the year for the vegetable gardener: there are crops to plant, sow, and harvest, weeding, watering, feeding, getting rid of pests – the list seems never-ending. You really do need to keep on top of all these jobs to get the best out of your plot. Not only will your crops benefit from the longer sunnier days, so will the weeds! Regular hoeing is the best way to keep them at bay, or spreading mulch around the plants, or even growing through weed-suppressant membrane –good for squashes and courgettes. Garden pests can have a devastating effect on crops and, with the latest concerns over chemical pest control, an interesting alternative is using nematodes. Beneficial nematodes as pest control will attack soil-borne insect pests with no harmful effects on earthworms, plants, animals or humans, making it an environmentally friendly solution. You can use water-in nematodes against the following:• Slugs, ant nests, (dependent on soil temperature). • Leatherjackets, chafer grubs (in April and October, to coincide with vulnerable parts of their life cycles). • Carrot fly, cabbage root fly, cutworms, onion fly, sciarid fly, caterpillars, gooseberry sawfly, thrips and codling moth - (all can be attacked with a single product).
sure you harden them off before planting out in their final position. • Thin out seedlings, and plant others in their final growing positions. • Earth up potatoes and, towards the end of the month, harvest earlies. • Cut down broad beans and peas just above the surface, and use for compost but leave the roots in the ground as a good source of nitrogen. • Once you are sure that frosts are over, you can plant out the more tender crops such as aubergines, peppers, chillies, courgettes, marrows and squashes. • Succession sow beetroot, salad crops, carrots and, later in the month, Florence fennel. Traditionally, Florence fennel is sown after the longest day, June 21st, as it is less likely to bolt: sowing in succession is a good idea. If the weather is dry, then water your seed drills well before sowing – this way the young plants will develop a good root system. • Last chance to sow runner beans. • Brussels sprouts, leeks, sprouting broccoli and the last of the summer, autumn and red cabbages and the first of winter cabbages can also be planted. Protect carrots with insect-proof netting, and net brassicas to deter pigeons.
Happy planting!
There are plenty of sites on the Internet where you can find further information on nematodes and where to purchase them. Jobs to do:• Plant out vegetables that you have grown from seed, but make
20
D I S C O V E R I N G
Whittlesea
JUNE 2018