Garden Chores for June

Here I am out in Seattle again. My daughter is recovering from ACL surgery and I'm helping out with children and household necessities as much as I can.

The weather here has been absolutely perfect. Warm and CLEAR! All the marvelous mountain ranges are out for all to see.

At any rate, June is here and that means a new set of things to do in the garden. Here they are!

JUNE

Plant your window boxes

Prune spring flowering shrubs when they have finished blooming

Thin seedlings

Use balanced, organic fertilizers around flowers

Be sure to fertilize your annuals with liquid fertilizer. They'll thank you for it by blooming continuously!

Stake tall perennials and tomatoes

Use a pine needle mulch for blueberries

Be sure your lawn mower is set to cut the grass HIGH

After the iris are done blooming they can be divided

Gladiolus corms can be planted

Dead-head (prune off) spent flowers from plants and shrubs

Remove rhubarb seed stalks as they form.

Cutting back perennials such as dianthus, veronica and other similar shrubby varieties, will possibly produce a second blooming. How great would that be? They'll also look better!

You may still plant container grown shrubs

Plant broccoli seed for fall harvest.

If you have a water garden, there's still time to plant water
lilies.

House plants can soon be moved outside to a shady, protected spot.

These same houseplants can be lightly fed with half strength
fertilizer.

Mulch perennials and roses to keep down weeds and conserve moisture.

Look for Jap. beetles either early or late in the day and shake them into a bucket of soapy water. The reason you don't do it mid-day is because they'll out run you!

Any annuals can be safely set out now.

If you have an amaryllis, now would be the time to move it outside.

Pinch the leading stems of your chrysanthemum's to encourage them to
be bushier and have more blossoms. Continue doing this every 6 inches
or so, as they grow.

If you have apple trees, hang red sticky-ball traps to control apple maggot flies. Small trees can get by with 2 balls. Larger trees should probably have 4-6 balls.

Stop cutting asparagus when the new spears get pinkie-finger thin. Let them grow into ferns instead. It will feed the roots.

Side-Dress Veggies to give them a little boost

Have you got Hosta's? Are there slugs chewing them? Try this solution, if you haven't already.
Combine 9 parts water to 1 part common household ammonia and spray it on the hosta just before dark. When the slugs hit this, they will dissolve!

Are you remembering to turn the compost every once in a while? You should also wet it down if the hose is close by.