June Gardening

Although few plants are suitable for sowing during June and July, there are plenty of things to do in the garden this month. It’s time to set up a support frame and sow broad beans. ‘Coles Dwarf’ and ‘Egyptian’ are better varieties for milder or windy conditions. It is also time to prepare beds for July planting of potatoes with plenty of compost and some seaweed tea – but no lime, which encourages ‘potato scab’.

Check soil pH where you are growing members of the cabbage family. Soil for these vegetables should be close to neutral (6.5–7). Soil that is too alkaline or acidic makes them very attractive to ‘cabbage white butterfly’ and ‘cabbage moth’.

Cut down asparagus foliage after it has yellowed. Dust the bed with lime after adding compost and cover the bed with mulch.

Dig bindii plants out of lawns. Or, you can spot spray them with undiluted white vinegar when weather is dry and sunny. By the time this nasty weed forms prickly seed heads in late winter, it will be too late to get rid of it this year.

Compost heaps need regular turning to keep them aerated and speed up decomposition so that they will be mature for spring planting.

The following gardening advice for
June is suitable for most areas in the
Manning Valley. Further advice on
individual plants and tips on how to
address gardening problems can be
found on my blog, aussieorganicgardening.com

For gardeners who do not use moon planting: sow or plant out any of the following list at any time this month, although you may find germination rates are low when the Moon is in Last Quarter phase.

During First Quarter phase:
[All day on 1st June to 2:20 pm on 2nd June.] Broad beans and peas can be sown directly into beds. If you have a spare bed or two, you could grow a green manure crop of broad bean (faba bean) or field pea for foliage only and dig it in later to enrich your soil for spring planting. Or grow fenugreek as a green manure to break up heavy soil.

During Full Moon phase:
[From 2:20 pm on 3rd June to 1:40 pm on 9th June.] Garlic can be sown directly into beds, and mid season onion seedlings, asparagus and rhubarb crowns, kiwifruit and pistachio can be planted. In frost-free areas, fig trees and daylilies can also be planted. Also protect young avocado, fig, mango and pawpaw trees and hibiscus from frost.

Last Quarter phase:
[From 1:45 pm on 9th June to noon on 17th June.] This is not a good phase for seed germination but an excellent phase for weeding, preparing beds and general garden maintenance. It’s also a good phase to prune grapes, pecans and other trees or vines that bleed heavily when pruned closer to spring. Prepare beds for July or August

planting of bare-rooted roses. Mulch prepared beds to prevent organic matter drying out. Set up a compost heap for growing pumpkins or melons. They love compost-rich soil.

Before the Full Moon:
[From noon on 17th to 9:05 am on 24th and from 9:05 am on 25th to the end of June.] English spinach and sweet peas can be sown directly into beds. Advanced seedlings of cold-hardy flowering annuals can also be planted into garden beds. In frost-free areas, lettuce, spring onions, calendula, dianthus, statice and annual lupins can also be sown or planted out.

During First Quarter phase:
[From 9:00 am on 25th to the end of June.] Broad beans and peas can be sown directly into beds.

Lyn Bagnall

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