Time for harvesting and pruning

By Don Davis
Published: June 3, 2008

There is no slowing down in June. You can stay busy by growing food and taking care of your yard.

The cool, moist conditions in May were perfect for superior growth and flavor of lettuce, peas and other spring vegetables. These crops are now ready to harvest, along with tender new potatoes. If you want potatoes with thicker skins for long-term storage in your basement or elsewhere, harvest your crop in July after their leaves and stems fade away.

Tomato vines are blooming and setting fruit this month. For best results, provide some kind of vertical supports for your vines and keep their root zone covered in a layer of mulch (straw, compost or tree leaves). There is less rot and pest damage on tomatoes grown off the ground on a stake or trellis or in a cage.

June is not too late for starting a new garden, and the list of vegetables to plant includes heat-loving crops such as cucumber, bean, sweet corn and summer squashes (yellow and zucchini). Late June is the time to plant pumpkin, winter squash (acorn, butternut, etc.) and additional tomatoes for harvesting in autumn.

The hot, humid weather expected this month will benefit any houseplants put outdoors on a porch or out in the yard under a leafy tree. Sun and wind can damage most houseplants, so be sure to keep them in a protected area. Even the plants you grow indoors all year long will enjoy a few hours outdoors. That could be an opportunity for repotting, trimming off dead leaves, and washing away dust and dirt with a garden hose.

The time has come for cutting off daffodil leaves as they turn brown and pulling up pansies. You can replace pansies with summer annuals such as vinca, petunia and celosia.

Pruning is a major chore this month. June is a month when all shrubs can be pruned, except plants that bloom in summer. This group includes hydrangea, abelia, vitex, rose-of-Sharon, crape myrtle and Japanese spirea. Pruning them now would eliminate flower buds.

Lawns are likely to require frequent mowing, more than once a week, if rainfall continues to be ample. Patches of off-color grass are expected in June, as diseases become widespread. Moisture and heat create ideal conditions for red thread and brown patch, two diseases that look worse than they really are.

If your autumn plans include overseeding your lawn, you may want to control weeds this month and next. Weed killers are harmful to lawns when applied too close to the date of seeding.

Japanese beetles are still in the soil today, completing their development as winged adults. They take flight around the middle of June, and their first meal will include your roses and grapes. Everyone hopes their numbers will be lower than last year.

Notes
Today is the 15th anniversary of the great windstorm of 1993. Winds topping 100 mph tore through Forest, Sandusky and Fairview Heights, along with hail and heavy rain. Trees broke apart and fell over, taking down power lines and cutting off electric service for much of Lynchburg. Cars and homes were plastered with green confetti, the shredded remains of tree leaves.