1. If you are growing Potatoes don't forget to earth them up and don't allow any developing tubers to come in contact with sunlight. On the subject of earthing up, Carrots will also benefit from being earthed up as a protection from the dreaded Carrot fly.
2. Keep your hoe moving in and around your vegetables and other plants, attack those weeds whilst they are small and easier to deal with. Don't wait until they have spread their seeds.
3. If you are watering small seedlings or young plants, keep 1 or 2 full watering cans somewhere warm overnight so that the water remains a few degrees higher than it would be straight from the tap or water butt. This is to prevent shock to the plants when watering them.
4. When growing Cucumbers keep them away from Tomatoes and Sage. They may benefit from being grown near, Carrots, Beet, Dill, Marigolds, Nasturtians, Peas, Radish and Sunflowers.
5. Planting Egg plants, Tagetes and Calendula will attract Hover flies into your garden or plot. They are avid eaters of Aphids.
6. Do you park your car at the allotment when you are there? If so and you are picking herbs to dry for later, leave them in the car on sheets of newspaper to dry, on a sunny day of course. Nice smelling car too.
7. Couch grass can be a real pain in the garden or down the plot. Sow some Tomato seeds in amongst it and wait for the results. Should be Tomato plants not Couch that survive.
8. Don't forget to check your hedges and shrubs, before you start to trim them. Birds may be nesting in there.
9. June is possibly the best month for planting perennial shrubs.
10. More to do in June:
2. Keep your hoe moving in and around your vegetables and other plants, attack those weeds whilst they are small and easier to deal with. Don't wait until they have spread their seeds.
3. If you are watering small seedlings or young plants, keep 1 or 2 full watering cans somewhere warm overnight so that the water remains a few degrees higher than it would be straight from the tap or water butt. This is to prevent shock to the plants when watering them.
4. When growing Cucumbers keep them away from Tomatoes and Sage. They may benefit from being grown near, Carrots, Beet, Dill, Marigolds, Nasturtians, Peas, Radish and Sunflowers.
5. Planting Egg plants, Tagetes and Calendula will attract Hover flies into your garden or plot. They are avid eaters of Aphids.
6. Do you park your car at the allotment when you are there? If so and you are picking herbs to dry for later, leave them in the car on sheets of newspaper to dry, on a sunny day of course. Nice smelling car too.
7. Couch grass can be a real pain in the garden or down the plot. Sow some Tomato seeds in amongst it and wait for the results. Should be Tomato plants not Couch that survive.
8. Don't forget to check your hedges and shrubs, before you start to trim them. Birds may be nesting in there.
9. June is possibly the best month for planting perennial shrubs.
10. More to do in June:
SOWING/PLANTING IN JUNE
1. Plant out Brassicas, Broccoli, Calabrese, Brussel Sprouts, Summer Cabbage and any beans which are in pots.
2. Sow the following: French Beans, Runner Beans, Beetroot, Cabbage, Cauliflowers, Chicory, Courgettes, Cucumbers, Endive, Kohl-rabi, Marrows, Squashes, Swedes, Sweetcorn and Turnips.
3. Successional sowing of certain seeds, should be done throughout the Summer.
2. Sow the following: French Beans, Runner Beans, Beetroot, Cabbage, Cauliflowers, Chicory, Courgettes, Cucumbers, Endive, Kohl-rabi, Marrows, Squashes, Swedes, Sweetcorn and Turnips.
3. Successional sowing of certain seeds, should be done throughout the Summer.
OTHER JOBS IN JUNE
1. As June is usually warm and dry do not neglect to water plants, a good soaking of plants is better than frequent amounts of a little water.
2. Keep weeds down, hoeing will aid water to soak in also.
3. Salad crops should be ready for harvesting, along with other early crops.
4. Check Lettuce/Brassicas for slugs/snails especially after rain or watering.
2. Keep weeds down, hoeing will aid water to soak in also.
3. Salad crops should be ready for harvesting, along with other early crops.
4. Check Lettuce/Brassicas for slugs/snails especially after rain or watering.
We have a carpet of poached egg plants on the plot which show up in aerial Google maps photos. It's something you only need to plant once!
ReplyDeleteI use my hoe a lot but notice few other plotters seem to use them.
Hiya Sue, I probably use my hoe more than any other of my gardening tools. This week has been no exception. Its the same on our allotments very few other plotters seem to use them regularly. One thing I have noticed with heavy clay though is that if it gets compacted around developing plants they don't seem to develop as well or as quickly as when it is loosened with a hoe.
DeleteOK, so why should tomatoes not be planted near cucumbers? Is this an Old Wive's Tale or is it rwally true? If it's the latter I may have just made a big mistake...
ReplyDeleteHi Mark, this is a bit of a feeble one on the "companion planting list". If the Cucs are growing rapidly its possible they can smother the Tomatoes. The only other reason is that Cucs can be susceptible to mildew which they can pass onto the Tomatoes.
DeleteThanks. Sounds to me like an acceptable risk then. I'll let you know what happens! Hope you have got some sunshine at last down there in Taunton. It's a beautiful morning here - just what we need.
ReplyDeleteI normally grow ridge cucumbers straight outside. From this year I'm keeping my Tomatoes in the polytunnel/greenhouse (away from blight). We've had wall to wall sunshine for the past 3 days and the annoying persistent cold wind has finally stopped. Been concentrating on my front garden clearance for the past 2 days, hot work.
DeleteHave you tried the couch grass and tomato seed trick - does it really work?
ReplyDeleteHi Elaine, sorry for the late reply on your comment. (busy harvesting/watering). This one cropped up a while ago in a discussion down my allotments about couch grass creeping into the beds from nearby grass paths. I haven't tried controlling couch with Tomatoes but I have noticed (this season) that couch in my paths near my roots bed has stayed back near the Turnips etc. I think this may be effective, but couch will always creep unseen, under the soil.
ReplyDelete