With the risk of frost now passed, now is the time to get the remaining tender plants into the garden. There is still plenty of jobs to do in the garden and with the extra daylight, you should have plenty of time to get on top of these jobs.
Watering
June can be a dry month, so it’s important to keep watering your plants, especially as they establish themselves in the garden. Push your fingers under the soil and if it feels dry, you need to water them. A good watering once or twice a week is better than watering a little everyday. For those plants in containers, you will need to water these more often. Containers can dry out very quickly so it’s important to keep on top of this.
Support
As your tomatoes grow, it’s important to give them some extra support. Tie them into a cane, ensuring it’s not too tight as the stems of the plants will grow larger as the plant grows. While you are at it, pinch out any side shoots on cordon varieties. The side shoots will take away the energy from the flowers and the fruit.
Climbing plants such as peas and runner beans, may need a helping hand to get started. But once they are growing up their supports, there is very little you need to do to them apart from water and harvest the crop.
To what sow and plant
- Plant out brassicas, courgettes, squash, pumpkins, sweetcorn and runner beans into their final positions.
- Plant out any leeks into their final position once they are roughly the size of a pencil. Some people trim the roots but I don’t see any benefit to this.
- Continue sowing salad crops for a supply into autumn.
What to harvest
- You should have plenty of salad crops available to you now.
- If you planted your potatoes in March/April, your first early crop should be ready to lift.
- Strawberries will start to ripen in June. Pick every couple of days when the fruits have completely turned red.