June Gardening Tips 2006
by Thea Fiskin, UC Master Gardener

June marks the beginning of summer, the time that Mother Nature is at her peak in the garden. Flowers are in full bloom with fruit trees and veggies ripening. Don't forget Dad this month. Something so simple as helping with garden tasks, like mowing the lawn can make him feel special. Or buy him a nifty garden tool.

WHAT TO PLANT: There are plenty of plants that can take the heat of our summer.

Color: ageratum, begonias, coleus, cosmos, gerbera daisy, impatiens, marigolds, petunias, salvias, spider flower (cleome), sunflowers, verbena, vinca, and zinnia.

Vegetables: From seed plant beans, corn, cucumber, gourds, melons, and squash. Eggplant, peppers and tomatoes should be planted using seedlings. Harvest zucchini when young; it is not meant to hurt your back when you pick it up. Don't forget, June is the month to plant pumpkins to harvest for Halloween.

GARDEN CHORES: Plant, patch, or reseed warm season lawns like bermuda or St. Augustine. Now that the heat is here they will really take off and grow. Lawns need to be mowed regularly, at least once at week, every five days or so is better. On tall fescue lawns it's time to set the mower up a notch or two for the summer months. Keeping the grass a little longer conserves water and shades out weeds during the summer.

Regularly shear established woody herbs such as oregano, rosemary and thyme to keep producing fresh green growth for those summer recipes or use a bouquet of herbs in your home.
Pinch several inches off chrysanthemums, New England aster, Autumn joy sedum, and phlox to encourage branching and plenty of flowers in the fall.

Feed roses after each bloom cycle, remove spent flowers, and water regularly. Apply a light amount of fertilizer to summer flower and vegetables to keep them producing.

Have a brown spot on the bottom of your tomatoes? Blossom end rot is usually caused by either irregular watering or the lack calcium in the soil. Be sure to water regularly and apply gypsum or even crushed eggs shells to improve soil.

Some fruit trees may drop small fruit. This is normal; so don't be alarmed; the tree is getting rid of excess fruit. Help nature along and thin fruit to at least 6" intervals. Yes I know it hurts taking all those little guys off but you will be rewarded with large fruit rather than fruit the size of golf balls. To protect ripening fruit from birds hang reflective tape, metal discs, or place nets over your fruit trees just before fruit ripens.

Be sure to keep weeding your garden, each weed plant can have thousands of seeds so pull them before they develop flowers or worse seed heads.

CRITTER CONTROL: Watch for signs of spider mites; look for mottled leaves and fine webs; they always seem to appear with hot, dry weather. Plants along dusty roads are particularly susceptible. Hose off plants with plain water, or use insecticidal soap if necessary to prevent mite infestation.

Green caterpillars or "tomato worms" on tomatoes and corn are active now. Spray with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). If your petunia buds fail to bloom and have little black specks on the buds, try Bt on them also.
Prevent mosquitoes by remembering to clean birdbaths regularly, dump water left in pots and saucers, add fish to your pond or buy doughnuts of BT to float on the water.

Dripping trees, or curled or deformed leaves are signs of aphids. Controlling ants will help control aphids and scale in trees. Try using Tanglefoot around the trunks of trees and setting out ant baits. Visit our website under UC Info for the Pest Note on Aphids.

Hunt for snails in the evening as they come out to feed, you can usually discover an army of the little slimers coming out just at dusk.

WATERING: Be water wise! Water deeply and infrequently in the early morning to ensure minimum disease problems and maximum irrigation efficiency. Give water time to soak in between watering cycles. Use a timer if you have a habit of forgetting that the hose is on. If you develop dry patches in your lawn check the sprinklers and try pushing a screwdriver into the spot. If the ground is too hard for the screwdriver to go in, then you need to aerate the area to provide better water penetration.

Deep water all trees, ornamentals, fruits and nuts; this is especially important for any new plants.

BE SMART: Before you leave on the family vacation, mow, trim, weed and water, a well kept yard won't tip off anyone you are gone. Move pots into a shaded area, where they will be automatically watered by the sprinklers. Harvest your veggie garden to keep it productive. Give produce to neighbors or a local food bank. Check the battery on your automatic sprinklers and replace if necessary. Water houseplants thoroughly then place out of direct light so they retain moisture.