The Dartmouth Gardener - June 2011
Lot's to Do! - The Dartmouth Gardener
Following the long dry spring (April being the warmest on record) and the unsettled weather in May, June can be a wonderful month on the allotment, with things looking almost perfect when the first flush of spring has passed. The gardener will need to juggle their energies for the garden to continue prospering into the fullness of summer.
At this time of year, little and often tends to be the best policy in the garden, as it helps one keep an eye on the lush growth of garden plants and the tenacious weeds. Though thoughts of long days spent in the garden during warm sunny weather is the ideal that we all dream of, the everyday tasks will always get in the way and most times have to take preferance.
Early summer mornings spent dead heading, with a mug of coffee in hand and feet adorned with ones best gardening slippers is surely not a bad way to start the day.
As this month is so busy, here’s a long list of jobs for the month.
General Care
• Peas need staking with pea sticks, netting or pruned garden twigs.
• Continue to earth up potatoes
• Hoe between rows on hot days to make sure weeds dry up and die without re-rooting or they will compete for moisture and nutrients.
• Continue to tie in sweet peas removing side shoots and the tendrils to encourage extra long flower stems.
• Continue to pick cornflowers and other early flowering annuals from the cutting garden to ensure repeat flowering. Also dead head to prevent seed setting, as this will stop flowering.
• Mulch beds after wet weather to trap moisture and smother any weed seedlings. Home made garden compost or bagged from the garden centre works well especially if spread over 2-4 layers of newspaper. The broad sheets work best as tabloids leave more joints
• Dahlias should now be in full growth filling the flowerbeds; remember to stake with a corral of bamboo and string. Do this as soon as possible so that the new growth will mask the supports.
• Be ever watchful for slugs and snails and any other night time visitors. I recollect when I once grew dahlias on the Jawbones allotment site, badgers would dig in and around the mulch material, up ending plants and canes.
• Bulb catalogues will be arriving by now so it’s not too early to be thinking of where to be planting out ready for next spring.
• Take photos of the garden for reference when planning for next year.
Sowing and planting
• Continue sowing salad crops, such as beetroot, Chinese cabbage, Pak choi and radish. Leafy salad crops may do better when sown in partially shady sites since hot dry weather can lead to bitter tasting leaves.
• Sow French runner beans, peas, squash, sweet corn, and outdoor cucumbers directly into prepared beds outside.
• French beans are best sown in traditional rows, (18in) apart, at (6-9in) spacing.
• Sweet corn works best planted in blocks, at 45cm (18in) spacing, with two seeds per hole. Any seeds sown earlier under cover can now be planted out into the same block pattern.
• Runner beans need well-prepared ground and suitable supports (often a frame or wigwam of bamboo canes tied together with twine) for the shoots to twine around and grow upwards.
• Courgettes, marrows and pumpkins can still be sown outdoors in early June. Encourage good fruit set by hand pollinating.
• Plant vegetables sown indoors earlier in the season including winter brassicas. These can be planted out in ground cleared of early potatoes.
• Gaps between winter brassicas plants can be used for quick-maturing catch crops, perhaps radishes or gem lettuces.
First Published June 2011 By The Dart
