Monthly Gardening Calendar For June

June is that wonderful time of the year when the weather is truly settled and summer makes her grand entrance. Cold weather is a fading memory, and the promise of many warm months ahead holds true. It is a time for weddings and graduations, a time for lazing out back or at the beach. Fishing and boating, swimming and sailing, outdoor activities rule the day. This is the beginning of the porch sitting season, a time to savor and enjoy Nature's best.

June is one of the best months to be a gardener. Everything is lush and green, and it seems that all of Nature is in overdrive to get growing! This month is quite a busy one for the home gardener, so let's look at some of the chores that we can tackle this month:

1. Continue to pinch chrysanthemums to encourage bushiness and more blooms this fall.

2. Once the dying foliage of spring flowering bulbs "gives" with a gentle tug, it can be safely removed.

3. Tuberous begonias, cannas, calla lilies, dahlias, caladiums, and gladiolus can be safely planted in the open ground at this time.

4. Many perennials that flower in the spring can still be safely divided at this time. Don't divide any perennials that flower later on in the season. That task needs to be done by now.

5. Plant the seeds of heat-loving and quick-growing annuals early in the month. These include zinnias, marigolds, cosmos, and four o'clocks.

6. Keep up a regular weeding schedule. Do a little every day to keep ahead of the weeds and grasses. Apply mulch, as needed.

7. Plants of the real heat lovers such as tomatoes, peppers, squash, and eggplant can be safely planted in the ground without added protection. Plant more bush beans and fast-maturing corn.

8. Replace worn-out pots and plantings of pansies with summer annual plants.

9. Continue to prune spring flowering shrubs after their blooms have faded.

10. Set the mower up a notch or two as the month heats up. Keep the grass a little longer in length.

11. Apply plant supports to plants that tend to drop over.

12. Check for plant pests and diseases such as spider mite, scale, white fly, powdery mildew, and black spot. Treat with good organic controls.

13. Monitor spots and objects in your yard that might be harboring standing water. Drain these areas for mosquito control. Change birdbath water every few days, and clean birdbaths with a firm blast of water and a scrub brush weekly.

14. Houseplants can be completely moved outside for the summer, if you have not been able to do so by late May. Place them in a shady spot.

15. Continue to carefully remove the spent blossoms of rhododendrons and azaleas. Be careful not to remove the growing tips. Fertilize with a good, organic fertilizer. Cottonseed meal and other organic fertilizers with an acid base can be gently scratched-in, shallowlly, of course, as these plants are shallow rooted. Finish this task no later than June 10th.

16. Pinch the growing candles of white and other pines by about 1/3 to encourage fullness. Shearing of needled evergreens, particularly pines, can be done at this time.

17. Thin the fruit of apricots, pears, peaches, apples, and other orchard fruit after fruit drop. Keep a vigilant eye out for pests and diseases, and treat promptly and organically. Keep the ground clean of litter and fallen fruit.

18. Going on vacation? Get someone to water for you. If that is not possible, set soaker hoses in your beds. Group your pots and hanging baskets in a shady spot. Loop the hoses over your pots and hanging baskets, and set them on a timer.

19. Don't water during the hottest part of the day. Also, stop watering at least an hour or two before sunset.

20. Try manure tea and fish emulsion on your in-ground plants. It is like candy to them, and they will really respond in a big, big way!

21. Use liquid organic fertilizer on your potted plants every two weeks. The frequent watering can lead to leaching of valuable nutrients.

22. Deadhead and pinch annuals and perennials to keep them bushy and full.

23. Set up a program of organic fertilizing for your roses. Do this for mums and other heavy feeders, as well.

21. Deadhead spent blooms of early perennials.