Gardening Tips for June

[Dulwich Gardening]

As the gates close on another outstanding RHS Chelsea Flower Show, so we turn to our own gardens and outdoor spaces. Longer and sunnier days, mixed with warm light evenings make June the month when even the most reluctant gardener will enjoy spending time outside.

Everything is filling out and starting to come into full bloom and although it?s really a time to sit back and enjoy all your hard work there are still some essential jobs to do for the month.

The Garden

? June is one of the most popular months for buying perennials and shrubs so give them a good start with compost and plenty of water.

? Think about the locations in your garden i.e. full sun, shady, damp etc and buy plants to suit the area rather than what they look like.

? If you are planting Summer bedding then remember that most of the plants only have small root systems so are going to need water and food regularly.

? Hedges and topiary can be clipped and feed

? Prune shrubs that have finished flowering. In mature plants, you can cut out whole branches that have flowered to open up the shrub and promote new growth.

? Spray roses against pests and diseases where necessary and dead-head large-flowered and cluster-flowered roses that have finished flowering- this will promote a second flush of flowers later in the year.

? If you have hanging baskets or containers, try and water these at least once a day preferably early morning or evening when the sun is cooler.

? Many young plants, including fuchsias, benefit from having their shoot tips pinched out to encourage branching. If left, shoots can grow very long while pinching out creates bushier plants with more stems that ultimately carry more blooms

The Lawn

? Feed your lawn with a fertilizer or after-cut, if you didn't do it last month. If weeds or moss are still a problem you could tackle them or just try and keep them under control till early autumn and apply a weed and feed.

? Mowing should now be done with the blades set low, unless the weather is very dry - in such conditions a medium setting will be better for the grass Aerating your lawn will enable it to take up moisture as well as improving drainage, so if you didn't do it earlier in the year it's worth doing now. However, don't do it in really dry conditions - best done after rain.

Fruit & Vegetable

? You can start planting out young leeks, Brussels sprouts and broccoli this month.

? Earth up potatoes. Drawing the soil up around the stems in this way will prevent tubers that form near the surface from being green and unfit to eat.

? Prune fruit trees and harvest soft fruit

? If you have a lot of herbs, another way of preserving them is by chopping them and freezing into ice cube trays. This is especially good for parsley, basil, mint and whole borage flowers. Add one tablespoon of water to each tablespoon of herbs.

Happy Gardening

Dulwich Gardening Company

In association with David Cheetham Gardens

[Dulwich Gardening]

Although the weather keeps changing with the odd day of showers now and again, it's probably a good time to start thinking about your 'watering techniques' as the environment agency and local councils are already talking about water shortages.

If you are on a water meter, then a hosepipe that uses approx 800- 1,000 litres per hour will have it spinning, so here are a few useful tips to help conserve water and the bank balance;

Put down a mulch either across the garden or around specific plants - not only does it help with water evaporation, it will also help to keep the weeds under control.

If you have easy access to a downpipe from the roof, why not install a water butt? There's a huge range available and costs start at about ?25.

Grey water - yes from the sink, shower and bath is OK (once it's cooled) for your plants providing it doesn't have high levels of detergents/chemicals. Do not use it on veg or fruit crops though.

I hope this helps.

Dulwich Gardening Company

in association with David Cheetham Gardens

[SteveT]

For a mulch covering are lawn clippings from the mower bag suitable?

[Dulwich Gardening]

Well Steve T, funny you should mention this but yes I have read that you can use them. Not done it personally myself as I'm not sure what they would smell like in the long term especially in this hot weather. But, they are ready availalbe (if you have a lawn) and will eventually breakdown into the soil.

I hope this helps.

Dulwich Gardening Company

in association with David Cheetham Gardens

[red devil]

Some tips courtesy of the Alleyn Park Garden Centre's monthly newsletter...

Beds and Borders

Plant out summer bedding if you haven?t done so already, as we can be fairly confident there won?t be any more frosts now.

Any early flowering perennials that have finished flowering (such as certain Geraniums, Tellima and Brunnera) can be cut back hard to encourage fresh new foliage and a second flush of flowers in a month or so.

Continue to tie in shoots on climbers. If not tied in now they will become woody and inflexible.

Deadhead roses regularly to encourage further flowering. (This also applies to bedding plants such as geraniums.) While deadheading, look for signs of aphid attack, black spot or mildew. These problems are much easier to remedy if caught early on. Mildew is most easily avoided altogether if the plants prone to it are kept well watered.

Feed your plants, either with a liquid feed when you water, or with a granular feed that can be sprinkled into the soil. Feeding is particularly important for anything that produces flowers or fruit.

Watering is key this month. A really good drenching every few days is far more effective than just a little water every day, as it encourages your plants to send their roots down deep towards the water table. However, most containers will need to be watered daily, of course.

Keep an eye out for garden pests which need to be kept at bay. In particular, look for Lily beetle and Rosemary leaf beetle as they can decimate plants in a matter of days. Lily beetles are bright red, their larvae are orange-brown and the larvae surround themselves with black slime. Rosemary leaf beetle only appeared in this country about 4 years ago and have stripes of shiny, almost oily looking, bronze and green across their backs. They attack lavender as well as rosemary. The pesticide Provado is the only one recommended by the RHS as effective against these pests, but DO NOT use on plants in flower as bees will be visiting at that time and doing so will kill them too.

Hoe regularly between plants to keep weeds at bay, and remember you can add a layer of mulch at any time during the year. Bark chippings or well rotted horse manure both help keep the weeds in check whilst also retaining water in the soil, but don?t use manure round acid loving plants (Azaleas, Camellias etc).

Prune deciduous shrubs that have just flowered such as Philadelphus, Weigela and Deutzia, if they are becoming overgrown.

Trim your hedges. Young hedges can have a substantial prune, while older established ones just need a light trim. Use a string guideline to ensure you cut straight along the top, and neatly trim back the sides too.

The vegetable patch or allotment

Fruit trees will naturally shed their surplus fruit this month or early in July (this is called the ?June drop?). You can take out any remaining fruit that appear damaged or misshapen so that what?s left will be larger and of a better quality.

Heavy cropping gooseberry bushes can be thinned in the same way.

Potatoes planted in March may be ready to harvest. Carefully lift one plant with a fork to check if they?re ready and then harvest as required. They always taste their best harvested just before they?re needed. Later planted potatoes should continue to be earthed up.

Keep sowing salad vegetables in small quantities every 2 to 3 weeks for a constant supply through the summer. You should by now be enjoying harvesting your first salad leaves.

Pinch out side shoots that form in the fork of the leaf joint on tomato plants, so that the plant?s energy is not wasted on non-productive branches. Tie them in to their stakes as they grow, so that they don?t become top heavy. Start a regime of feeding once you see the first ?truss? appear. Also, remember that planting basil or marigolds nearby will help avoid whitefly attacking your tomato plants as they act as natural repellents.

Plant out young strawberry plants now for an almost instant crop within a few weeks. To avoid the fruit becoming damaged use the old fashioned method of putting a layer of straw under the plants for the fruit to rest on. If we get lots of wet weather try to protect the strawberries by covering with a cloche.

Look out for the caterpillars of the cabbage white butterfly which will be attracted to your brassicas. They will appear on the underside of the leaves as clusters of black eggs or young caterpillars. Pick them off and squash them!

[David Cheetham]

As this mini heat wave contiunes and the threat of hosepipe bans are looming, this maybe a good time to rethink your watering techniques;

On average a hosepipe uses 1,000 litres of water an hour, so if you are using one focus on watering individual plants instead of spraying generally.

If you have large shrubs or plants, then cut the end of some water bottles, stick them in the soil near the roots and use as a mini reservoir - helps to hold water and feed direct to the plant.

Soak you plants every 5-8 days (depending on the heat) instead of watering on a daily basis

Finally, grey water from the sink, bath and shower if fine for the garden providing it does not have high levels of detergents/chemicals. If you can use it, let it cool and use it on the same day. Avoid the fruit and veg.

Happy Gardening

[MrBen]

Hi David,

I have some colourful planted boxes in my back garden, a few other pansies and things and some glorious sun flowers. However with the recent high humidity the underside of all of their leaves has become infested with small black bugs - thousands of them.

Do you know what these little terrors might be and if so how I get rid of them - they don't seem to be doing much damage - but I fear mass destruction if I don't deal with them promptly.

Many thanks.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Attack of the Aphids!!! Spray them with a washing-up liquid and water mix.

[Karrie]

[Deleted] Safety reasons

[David Cheetham]

Hi Karrie,

The fruit is produced from shoots which are in their second or later year. One of the aims of pruning is to produce a balance (roughly half and half) between side shoots produced this year and side shoots produced last year.

This will provide a crop of apples in the current year and sufficient shoots for next year's crop.

Second, when you prune during winter (while the tree is dormant), this will invigorate the tree, causing it to grow more during the following season. If you prune during summer this will cause the tree to grow less during that growing season. Spring pruning has an effect somewhere between winter and summer pruning.

You can follow similiar pruning patterns for most bush trees inculding the pear.

Regards

David Cheetham MSGD Dip EGS

[Karrie]

[Deleted] Safety reasons