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Garden Tips for June
Here are a few helpful suggestions and tips to keep your gardens
at their peak performance.
Weed once a week
Now is the time when tiny weed seedlings become huge monsters almost
overnight. Pull them by hand or hoe them before they use nutrients
in the soil that you'd rather have for your vegetables, annuals
and perennials.
Feed the Roses
Any other heavy feeders should be fed now too. Continue to feed
them once per month until frost. Most heavy feeders use a great
quantity of soil nutrients to produce those big bold blooms we all
love. Keep them producing regularly with regular applications of
liquid fertilizer. Some compost isn't a bad idea either.
Dead head remaining spring bulbs that have faded
Clip off any seed pods that may have formed on your daffodils, tulips,
grape hyacinths, etc. This will encourage growth underground for
next year's looms. Leave the foliage and let it die back naturally.
This lets the plant feed itself and the parent bulb for next Spring
as well. If the dying foliage bothers you, plant spreading annuals
like lively Petunias next to it to camouflage it.
Remove spent blooms from annuals and perennials
Pinch or clip off any dead or faded blooms once a week. This encourages
re-blooming and keeps the garden looking fresh and tidy.
Harvest fruits and vegetables regularly
Zucchini and Summer Squash may need to be harvested every day. Cucumbers
and Tomatoes need to be watched carefully and mature fruit removed
promptly so the vines are not damaged by the weight. Corn should
be harvested when the silk at the ends of the ears is just starting
to brown. Blueberries and strawberries should be harvested as the
fruits mature. Check them every day.
Don't forget hanging baskets!
Water them every day taking care to pinch off any spent blooms or
dead foliage. Feed with liquid fertilizer once per week. Hanging
baskets and container plantings need extra care in the heat. They
can dry out very quickly, especially around the edges where evaporation
occurs first due to the shallower soil.
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