Gardening tips for the month of June

Jessica strickland

While we welcome in the summer, our gardens are in full swing. With the summer weather, we need to water our gardens regularly and be on the lookout for insect and disease problems. Below are some gardening tips to help your garden grow throughout the month of June.

Lawn

• Mowing at the right height and at the right frequency is one of the most important things you can do to keep your lawn thick and weed-free. Different types of grass have different ideal mowing heights. Centipede, Bermuda, and Zoysia lawns are best kept at 1 inch to 1 1/2 inches. St. Augustine lawns should be mowed to a height of 3 to 4 inches.
• If you are using a broadleaf weedkiller that contains 2-4-D, buy two sprayers and use one for herbicides and the other for insecticides and fertilizers. Label sprayers with permanent markers so use is obvious to avoid accidentally spraying herbicide on desired plants.
• The seeds of centipedes, Bermuda shorts, and some varieties of zoysia can be sown in June but require frequent watering to germinate. Do not allow grass seeds to dry out after sowing. St. Augustine weed cannot be established by seed.

Trees, shrubs and flowers

• For container gardens in shady locations, try shade-loving plants like begonias, caladiums, ferns, coleus, fuchsias, hellebores, heucheras, and impatiens.
• Mid-June to late June is a great time to take softwood shrub cuttings to start new plants. Some shrubs propagated in this way are spirea, boxwood and azalea.
• Remove dead flowers from bedding plants for more flowering. Removing dead flowers or “deadheading” prevents plants from flowering and going to seed and before the end of summer.

Fruits, vegetables and herbs

• Plant sweet potato cuttings in June for a fall harvest.
• Most vegetables require 1 inch of water per week. Avoid wetting plant foliage when watering as this increases disease problems. Use weeping hoses or duct tape to apply water to ground level.
• Remember to fertilize your tomatoes while they are growing. Fertilize with 2 to 3 tablespoons per plant after the plant has started fruiting and 4 to 6 weeks thereafter throughout the growing season. Use 8-8-8 and 10-10-10. Keep the fertilizer 4 to 6 inches from the plant stem to prevent fertilizer burn.
• Squash borers can cause a squash plant to wilt here and there, even if no other plant is suffering. Check near the base of the plant for a small hole and a mass of greenish-yellow droppings. Opening the stem can reveal the bad guy: a big white caterpillar. It may be possible to save the plant by removing the caterpillar and then covering the injured vine with moist soil to promote rooting.

Jessica Strickland is an Agricultural Extension Officer specializing in horticulture for the North Carolina Cooperative Extension in Wayne County.