“In early June the world of leaf and blade and flowers explodes and every sunset is different.”
– John Steinbeck
June is a giddy month. As gardeners we have time to exhale and enjoy. Spring tasks like mulching and heavy-duty planting are done. Flowers are going gangbusters. Veggies are plumping up. But, as ever, there are a few things to do. So revel you must, but keep those garden gloves at the ready to ensure your garden keeps looking good and producing well.
Pinch back fall-blooming plants such as asters, mums, and tall sedum to prevent them from getting leggy. Use this trick to avoid supports for perennials that tend to flop, such as Shasta daisies.
Are there empty spaces in your vegetable beds from harvested crops? Consider planting a second crop of beans, beets, radishes, or cucumbers. This is called succession planting. The UME Vegetable Planting Calendar can help guide you.
Fruit trees naturally drop excess fruit this time of year. That is normal thinning that helps to produce fewer, larger fruit. You also can manually thin plum, peach, apple and pear trees. Just leave 5 to 6 inches between fruits.
Just say no to mulch volcanoes! The excessive mounding of mulch around trees and shrubs can injure and even kill them. Mulch should be only one to three inches deep and not be in contact with the base of your trees and shrubs.
The hum of mowers is a constant serenade. Are you remembering to let those grass clippings lie to provide up to a quarter of the nitrogen your lawn needs? It’s free fertilizer, folks. We just had a week of rain, but hot dry weather is coming. Mow high – 3 to 4 inches – to keep your lawn healthy and reduce weeds and disease issues. No scalping, please.
How is your compost pile doing? If all the rain has made it damp and a bit smelly, stir in some dry, carbon-rich materials such as straw or shredded leaves or newspaper. You need a mix of green (nitrogen-rich) and brown (carbon-rich) ingredients to keep compost cooking. Turn compost regularly and keep it slightly moist to create the best ever soil amendment.
Mosquitoes love wet weather. It makes tiny breeding pools more likely in pot saucers, buckets, tarps, outdoor toys and more. Look for standing water and remove it regularly.
The wet weather also has made millipedes emerge from damp leaf litter to wander up the exterior house walls, patios, basements and even one area hot tub. These inch-long brown worm-like creatures get their name from the many tiny legs. They do no harm and will disappear once things dry out. There’s no need to treat for them.
This is also snake mating season. A few years ago I came across a happy couple in a slithery embrace in my yard. My neighbor’s young boy asked me what they were doing. His mom smiled and nodded so I started with, “When a girl snake and a boy snake like each other very much…” Oh dear. Some people have a snake phobia. I don’t, but I get it. Just remember that snakes are good garden buddies, helping to rid our yards of mice, moles and voles. Let them be. It’s illegal to kill snakes in Maryland.
Enjoy this time in your glorious June garden…snakes and all!
By Annette Cormany, Principal Agent Associate and Master Gardener Coordinator, Washington County, University of Maryland Extension. This article was previously published by Herald-Mail Media. Read more by Annette.