After the recent stretch of early March-like weather, temperatures have taken a sharp turn and it is now full speed ahead with these gardening adventures:
* Set out tomato plants now that night time temperatures are in the 50 degree range. When planting tomatoes, I make a short trench about 2 or 3 inches deep. After stripping off the lower leaves on each plant, I lay the root ball and lower part of the stem in the trench and cover with soil, leaving the top portion of leafy shoot exposed. Roots will form along the length of the buried stem giving the plant a strong root system that will sustain vigorous growth.
* Sow seeds of sweet corn, beans, and vine crops if this was not already done. If these were already planted, plan to make a second sowing when two weeks have passed since the first sowing.
* Continue thinning crops such as radish, turnip, beets and carrots. Don’t toss away these babies since you can cook the removed plants of beets and turnips as you would spinach.
* Harvest leaf lettuce as soon as the leaves are large enough to use. Use a sharp knife to cut off the entire plant at the soil surface or remove just the outer leaves as needed. With the latter technique, the plants will continue to produce leaves for many more weeks. Hot, dry weather will cause the lettuce to become bitter but deep applications of water once or twice a week will delay development of the bitter flavor.
* Tuck some straw under the ripening fruit of strawberry plants. The straw will keep the berries from contacting the ground and will reduce incidence of fruit rot.
* Complete planting of most trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, and herbs. There’ll still be opportunities for some planting, especially as retail nurseries and garden centers offer early summer sales, but most planting should be about done.
* Keep a close eye (That’s the one nearest your forehead!) on ornamental plants which are prone to powdery mildew. This fungus was plentiful last year and when hot and humid weather arrives this year, the disease will once again flourish. A solution of one tablespoon baking soda in one gallon of water sprayed on plant leaves will provide some control.
* Set up a rain gauge to monitor weekly rainfall. Though moisture levels at the moment are good, it doesn’t take long for soils to become very dry. For balanced growth, plants require the equivalent of one inch of rain per week, more where soils are particularly sandy or gravelly. With the aid of a rain gauge, gardeners can make up weekly rainfall deficiencies by watering.
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June is a month of transition. There is the transition from the wildly fluctuating weather of spring to a more steady state of warm nights and hot humid days of summer.
The transition is also evident in our landscapes and gardens. In spring, landscapes are dominated by the vivid blooms of bulbs and fragrant flowers of ornamental trees and shrubs. Most of these have now completed their period of bloom. Yet, the bulk of herbaceous perennials are still weeks away from showing off their floral features. Fortunately, during this period of transition we have irises and peonies to enjoy. They are just coming into bloom and will provide colorful interest over the next several weeks before the perennial garden hits its stride.
Our ancestors must have been well aware of this transition period since peonies and irises have long been fixtures in gardens. Even as a child, I remember that the appearance of these flowers signaled warmer weather and, perhaps best of all, school vacation wasn’t far away.
