GARDEN TIME with DOUG – June Gardening Tasks

SUMMER OFFICIALLY STARTS THIS MONTH AND WE HAVE SOME VERY IMPORTANT GARDENING CHORES TO DO THIS MONTH.

Before we get into June I want to do a little re-capping of the weather we had in May.  May was 6 degrees warmer than average.  I certainly believe this after the heatwave we had the last few days of May.  The coldest night was on May 15 when we dropped down to 44 degrees.  And, most importantly, our rainfall was a little above average. May decided to go out with a bang with the storms we had in the area on the 31st.  Many of us got upwards of 1 to 3 inches of rainfall.   I find rainfall totals to be one of the more important factors for gardening.  Now that we are entering the hotter summer months it is good to know that our plants do not have to stress over the lack of water.  And, we do not have to worry about any water restrictions – at least not now.  But, as we do enter the summer months, let’s all be water-wise and not be irresponsible citizens and be wasteful of this precious and needed resource.

HERE ARE A FEW JUNE GARDENING TASKS

1. Keep deadheading your annual flowers in order to keep them looking their best.  And, don’t forget to feed them on a regular basis.
2. Pinch back your hardy chrysanthemums, fall asters, and upright sedums.  Don’t let them become weak and straggly.  Keep these plants pinched back until the end of July and then let them grow. This way you will have a beautiful compact plant.
3. Keep up with weed growth.  Weeds love our June weather.  Do a little weeding each day.  Adding mulch can help with eliminating weed growth.
4. If you have a Bermuda or Zoysia lawn, June is the time to apply lawn fertilizer.
5. Clean and refill your hummingbird feeder with clean sugar water every few days so a fungus harmful to the bird does not develop in the feeder.
6. With the warmer weather upon us, check your annuals, vegetables, and perennials for pest, especially aphids on the new growth.  An infestation of aphids can be easily controlled with a soap and water bath or a safe product such as CAPTAIN JACK’S DEAD BUG BREW, which is organic and safe on to use on vegetables and herbs. REMEMBER, MOST INSECTS IN THE GARDEN ARE NOT PESTS BUT CAN BE BENEFICIAL.  LEARN   THE DIFFERENCE AND BE CAREFUL USING CHEMICALS UNNECESSARILY.
7. Now is the right time to take cuttings from azaleas or boxwoods if you want to try to start new plants.  Have some rooting hormone available.
8. Did you have BAGWORMS on your evergreens last fall?  Bagworms spend the winter as eggs inside the bag.  Each bag could contain hundreds of eggs.  They begin to hatch now.  Upon hatching the young larvae crawl out of the bottom of the bag and start to feed.  Now is the time to apply chemical control.  I recommend the products by Bonide called THURICIDE or use CAPTAIN JACK’S DEAD BUG BREW.

REMEMBER, READ ANY CHEMICAL LABEL. NEVER SPRAY CHEMICALS DURING THE HEAT OF THE DAY. EARLY MORNING & LATE EVENING ARE BEST TIMES FOR BOTH YOU AND MANY OF OUR BENEFICIAL INSECTS.

HAPPY GARDENING!!!!