It is tempting to just sit back and watch your garden grow the month of June. While there is some of this, it really is a time to fine tune and grow (no pun intended here!) your gardening skills. This is the month where you will observe how your plants and veggies are responding to the soil and watering levels. The maintenance and observations that happen in June will impact the size of your harvest July, August & September. June gardening is all about mastering the 3 W’s!
Watering
Your fruit and veggies need a drink of water every day. Make sure the soil is moist and does not completely dry out. However, you can overwater which will be a problem for your veggies. It is ok if the top of the soil looks dry, but stick your finger down into the soil a few inches and make sure it feels somewhat moist. It the soil is dry a couple of inches deep, you need to increase watering frequency and/or duration.
Weeding
Don’t let these pesky greens disrupt your beautiful landscape! Weeds will draw important nutrients away from your plants and veggies. Spending even 10-15 minutes each day pulling these guys from your landscape will keep them under control and prevent weeding from becoming an overwhelming task.
Watching
Yes, just like your kiddos (if you have them) your garden needs to be watched, fed and cared for. You may notice that some of your flowers are looking a little sad, feed them a little fertilizer and see how they respond. This also goes for your veggies, are they looking a little sad? Check the mulch around the base of the plant, maybe they need another layer of protection. Are their little critters that have been helping themselves to the leaves? These are problems that if caught early, can often be managed easily with little disruption to your veggie production.
A specific tip for your tomato plants: be sure to remove the suckers (pictured above). This is SUCH an important task to make sure you have garden fresh tomatoes to harvest and enjoy. You can have an amazing looking tomato plant that just won’t produce fruit, which is SOOO frustrating. Suckers are a main culprit. Be sure to go out at least every other day and remove these guys. You want to enjoy garden fresh tomatoes this summer don’t you??
