In June, the vegetable garden really begins to pay dividends.
Radishes, spinach, lettuce, green onions, peas, turnips, beet greens, and others will be in good supply, and—if you got an early start—even broccoli and cabbage before the end of the month.
So the gardener is inclined to take it easy and rest on his oars. But if he wants to continue having a plentiful harvest right up to hard freezing weather, he must plan ahead and do some more planting this month.
Succession Plantings
Succession plantings, as the term implies, are those which are put in to replace crops of the same kind which have been, or will be, used up before the summer is over.
In the case of vegetables that must have cool weather, such as peas, spinach, and lettuce, it is not advisable to make late plantings unless one happens to live in a cool climate or at a reasonably high altitude.
For many of these, however, there are substitutes available. Beets and carrots may be planted at any time.
The second sowing will provide a late-season supply before the end of the month.
Different Vegetables To Plant
We like Green-leaf (Long-season) beets and long-rooted carrots. (On shallow soil, select varieties would be a better bet.)
Beans, which grow quickly, should be planted again now and, if your growing season is a relatively long one, again in mid-July.
Lima beans require longer to mature, but a dwarf-bush variety such as Fordhook 242 will make it before frost.
Corn, which yields for but a short season, must be planted every 2 or 3 weeks to maintain a constant supply.
Early varieties can be put in up to the Fourth of July in southern gardens even a week or two later.
Lettuce likes cool weather, but there are some heat-resistant varieties.
For late sowing, try the new Salad Bowl or Slobolt. Peas also like really cool weather.
Our first planting came up this spring on March 10!
Wando, a new variety, will stand much higher temperatures than any of the older sorts.
Spinach just will not thrive in hot weather, but in New Zealand-spinach (really not spinach at all) we have an excellent substitute, and it may be cut continuously up until frost.
Cucumbers often play out or are vanquished by disease before the end of the season.
If you like them, make a second planting now—at a distance from the first planting to provide a late crop and little ones for pickling.
Cabbage and its close relatives, broccoli and cauliflower, will be gone before the end of the season.
Sow seed of these and the winter cousins, Brussels sprouts and kale, now to provide plants for setting out about mid-July.
Sprouts and kale, which thrive on frost, will yield until Christmas.
Keep Them Growing
While new plantings are important, the routine jobs for the month, upon which success with the crops already planted will depend on the following:
- Cultivating
- Watering
- Mulching
The more of the last of these you can do, the less time you will have to give to either of the former.
The object of cultivating is to keep the surface soil loose and friable so that both rain and water can penetrate it readily, and the growth of weeds will be discouraged.
Mulching accomplishes both of these purposes. You can use the following materials:
- Coarse compost
- Peat moss
- Buckwheat hulls
- Sawdust
- Straw
A 2″-inch layer is sufficient for most purposes.
Watering is necessary only when the soil becomes dry to a depth of several incites.
If you must water, soak the soil thoroughly, but light sprinkling is wasted effort and may even be harmful instead of beneficial.
A mulch conserves soil moisture to a remarkable degree.
Control Pests And Diseases
The insect pests most likely to prove bothersome at this time are the following:
- Bean beetles
- Cucumber beetles (which also attack melons)
- Squash bugs
- Corn stalk-borer
- Corn ear-worm
- Squash borer
Keep a constant watch for these invaders. Nowhere does the old adage that a stitch in time saves nine hold more true than controlling pests and diseases.
For bean beetles and squash bugs, use Diatomaceous Earth for cucumber beetles.
For corn stalk-borer and ear-worm, Diatomaceous Earth is recommended.
The modern all-purpose garden dust and sprays control most pests you are likely to encounter if you use them according to directions and on time.