9 Tasks to Do in June for a Thriving Summer Garden
Temperatures are warming, bees are buzzing, and the garden is growing! The month of June is perfect for harvesting, mowing, and watering. Check these nine tasks off your summer checklist to keep the garden blooming and flourishing.
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As the seasons change, so do the garden’s tasks! Shifting your priorities is a normal part of growing with the changing seasons. Warming temperatures, lengthening days, and active insects impact the yard in many ways.
Watering becomes important, as ample sunshine and hot temperatures cause soils to dry rapidly. Strawberries and blueberries ripen, demanding picking. Lawns sprout fresh grass blades, requiring ample nutrients and regular mowing.
Whether you grow a lawn, veggies, or ornamental shrubs, these garden chores will have your yard looking the best of all the houses on the block! Consult this list each June for an easy checklist of garden tasks!
Plant Seeds
It’s not too late to plant seeds! Plenty of flowers, herbs, and veggies benefit from summer plantings. There are options for any gardener, from Maine to California.
Vegetables
Heat-tolerant vegetables like okra, amaranth, and corn will grow well when planted in June. Others, such as lettuce, beets, and radishes, can sprout underneath the taller crops. The partial shade will help them stay cool despite summer temperatures.
If you have a short, mild, and cool summer, consider using it to cultivate cauliflower, cabbage, and broccoli. Corn, squash, and beans need two to three months of high temperatures and direct sunlight. Plant those in June if your growing season ends in August or later.
This month is perfect for transplanting potted seedlings. Move your tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants to the summer garden. Harden them off for two weeks, then transplant them into raised beds, containers, or in the ground.
Herbs
Annual herbs such as cilantro, parsley, summer savory, and dill are essential in the kitchen garden. If you love making meals, you’ll want to tuck these aromatic annuals everywhere you can.
Others, like borage, calendula, and zinnias, are gorgeous and edible! Their pollen and nectar-rich flowers will invite pollinators to the site, and you can enjoy their flowers’ petals in salads and desserts.
Wildflowers
Wildflowers, though not as useful for food as herbs and veggies, are essential for wildlife. They add charm and whimsy to the garden, and they feed hungry insects, birds, and small mammals.
Plant heat-loving wildflowers in June. Sow native annuals for your local region, or grow well-behaved ornamental species like sunflowers, phacelia, and marigolds.
June is also an ideal time to plant dahlias and gladioli. Bury these bulbs under the soil, water them well, and keep them moist while new shoots and blooms appear.
Mow and Fertilize Lawn
Lawns sprout rapid growth in summer, as spring rainfall and summer sunshine combine to create ideal growing conditions. Some lawns need mowing once every two or three weeks, while others may need it more often. The warmer it is and the more moisture the lawn receives, the more it’ll grow.
Fresh growth requires nitrogen, a crucial nutrient for leafy green grass blades. All plants need nitrogen—it’s a core component of foliage, roots, and stems. Apply an organic fertilizer to your lawn according to the instructions on its label. Alternatively, use a spreader to spread compost throughout the site.
Water Regularly
Regular moisture is key to a successful summer garden! Without water, seedlings may wither while mature crops suffer. The hotter and brighter your garden is, the more moisture it’ll need to keep your plants happy. Hot regions in California and Florida may need daily watering in the thick of June.
Other regions, like the Pacific Northwest, may not need that much water. Lingering spring rains and cool night temperatures promote rapid growth without extra irrigation. Match the amount of water to the plants you grow, as different plants need different amounts of water.
Tomatoes, peppers, and other quick-growing crops require consistent watering. Others, like okra and amaranth, are heat and drought-tolerant. Leafy greens tend to bolt if the soil dries rapidly in June.
Support Growing Plants
After transplanting your summer crops, you’ll notice them sprouting high into the sky! Long, strappy growth from tomatoes, peppers, beans, and squash requires support. Use trellises, cages, or stakes to hoist them up.
One clever way to support your crops is with a Three Sisters garden. Plant corn, squash, and bean seeds in a mound of soil. The corn will grow first, providing support for the twining beans. Lastly, the squash will sprout broad leaves to shade the soil and conserve moisture in the ground.
Fertilize Crops
Quick-growing crops need plenty of nutrients! Your lawn isn’t the only hungry space in the summer garden. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are the three most important nutrients for plants. Others, like calcium and magnesium, are also important but in smaller amounts.
Before fertilizing the space, consider using a soil testing kit to determine how many nutrients are already present in your soil. When you know how fertile the area is, you can add sufficient amounts to ensure you don’t over- or underfertilize.
Harvest Fruits and Veggies
Fruits and veggies ripen quickly in June, making this garden task a crucial and exciting one! Fruits will swell to twice or three times their size when they have ready access to nutrients, moisture, and sunlight. Early ripeners, like strawberries and blueberries, benefit from regular harvesting to prevent diseases like gray mold.
Leafy greens like lettuce, arugula, and spinach also benefit from regular harvesting. Pick their leaves consistently to encourage tender new growth that isn’t bitter or tough.
Mulch Bare Beds
Avoid having water evaporate from the soil by mulching bare sites. Bare soil isn’t good for any plant! It encourages pests, diseases, and droughts. The lack of protection leaves the roots subject to drying out.
Mulch is the best material for insulating the ground. Use an organic type that decays, like compost, leaf mold, or wood chips. Compost both feeds and protects the soil, making it a supreme amendment. Use whatever you have available nearby, or find an organic mulch at a landscaping supply store.
Pull Weeds
Weeds, like veggies, love the month of June! They’ll sprout wherever there’s bare soil. Weeds take advantage of disturbed grounds and rapid change, which are both present in home yards. Lawn mowing, cultivating, and the process of weeding can encourage more weeds to sprout.
So, what’s the solution? The easiest way to prevent weeds from taking over your space is to pull them when they’re young. They’ll have small roots and a weak stem, allowing you to uproot them with little effort.
If weeds sprout flowers and seed heads, they’ll quickly grow unmanageable. Some sprout hundreds of seeds, meaning a single plant can fill the space with dozens of new seedlings!
Herbicides are one solution, though they can waft onto nearby plants and cause significant damage. They also hurt pollinators to varying degrees depending on their chemical makeup. Spray in the morning or afternoon, and avoid spraying on a windy day to prevent the herbicide from wafting onto your flowers and veggies.
Move Houseplants Outside
Your outdoor plants aren’t the only ones to take care of this month! Houseplants benefit from summering outdoors, especially if they’re heat-loving tropical plants like a banana, monstera, or philodendron. A sudden shift can lead to sunburn or scorching, so a gentle transition is preferable.
Most gardeners can move their houseplants outside in June, though some may still have lingering frosts to worry about. Wait until the danger of frost passes before moving the specimens outdoors for the summer.
Start by moving the houseplants outside for a few hours a day. Bring them inside for the night, and move them out of direct sunlight if it lasts longer than a few hours. After a week or two of hardening off, they’ll be ready to stay outside day and night until fall arrives.
