Time to plant pumpkin seed!

Sunday, June 22, 2025

Now is the time to plant pumpkin seeds!  Pumpkins love the hot weather.

Pumpkins are part of the squash family.  Squash originated in Mexico.  There are cave drawings from 8000 to 6500 BC depicting squash and the oldest remains found are from 8750 BC.  Squash was grown extensively by Native Americans as part of the “Three Sisters”-squash, corn and beans.  These three support each other's growth.  Beans provide nitrogen to the corn and squash.  The corn provides the stalks for the beans to grow up on.  The sprawling squash vines crowd out any weeds.

  

Pumpkins love organic matter.  If you throw a few seeds in your compost pile, you will be rewarded with exuberant vines.

Plant squash when soil temperatures are 70F for optimal germination.  Usually end of May through beginning of June are the best time to plant pumpkin but our weather has been so cool that the pumpkin seeds didn't germinate.  I have resown them this last week.

Add a fertilizer rich in phosphorous a week after transplanting, when flowers first appear and again when fruits begin to form.  They love water, too.  If growing in a pot, keep well watered and don’t let dry out.

Don’t panic when the first blooms fall off without producing any fruits.  There are male and female flowers.  If yours falls off, it was likely a poor guy that withered without the love a gal.  There can also be some false starts with malformed fruits.  Don’t worry, the plant will put on more blooms and you will be on your way to baby pumpkins before you know it!  Each vine does not produce many fruits. It is typical to get 2-3 pumpkins off a single vine.

Pumpkins you typically leave on the vine until the vine dies and the fruit loses its sheen in the fall.   Then bring inside and store in a cool, not cold, dark place.

The two biggest pest problems are squash bugs (left) and squash vine borer (below left are eggs and right is the adult).  Inspect the plant for squash bugs.  You can wear gloves, pick them off and throw them in a bowl of soapy water.

Natural, organic pest strategies and how to make your own bug sprays

The squash vine borer is best thwarted by planting early or late.  They fly in mid-June.  If planting early, be sure to inspect regularly the stems for any eggs.  Scrap off any that you find.  When the eggs hatch, the catepillar will dig into the vine and eat its way through its length.  You will have a strong plant one day and a wilted on the next.  You can wrap the stem base as a preventative.  The good news is that your plant does get infested, you can replace with another one.  They grow quickly in warm temperatures and soils of summer.

The cucumber beetle can infect the plant with a bacterial disease called wilt or cucumber mosaic virus.  The cucumber beetles we get here look like yellow/green lady bugs (left).  There are also striped varieties (below).

Again, the gloves, pick and throw in soapy water technique works.  Or if you are not squeamish, you can just squish them.

In late summer in areas with high humidity, you can get powdery mildew.  This can be treated by spraying with baking soda, copper, fresh whey and other organic fungal sprays and soil drenches.  When watering be sure to not get the foliage wet and water in the morning so any extra is quickly evaporated.  

 Summer garden tips

If you bought a heirloom or open pollinated variety from the store or farmers market, you can easily save the seed to grow next year's plants.  From your best plant with no disease, let one get large, remove from the vine and leave it out in the garden bed.  The inner flesh will deteriorate leaving the seeds.  Just scoop out the seeds, put in a plastic baggie, date and keep in the frig for next year.  You can also scoop out the seeds from the fruit right off the vine and leave the seeds indoors to dry on a paper towel or plate.  Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver

If there is a variety that you love the looks and/or taste of from the store or farmers market, save the seeds and grow some of your own next year!  If it is an heirloom, it will come back "true" to the parent.  If it is a hybrid, it may be a surprise squash.  Either way, it is fun to try.

What do the terms GMO, natural, heirloom, organic, hybrid really mean? 

Everything you need to know to grow okra, in the garden or pot

Red Burgundy okra flower

Saturday, June 21, 2025

Growing okra in the garden is a Southern tradition.  Okra is easy to grown and looks pretty cool, too.  The flowers are reminiscent of hibiscus flowers.  It is a tropical perennial but grown as an annual in zones further north.  They love the heat and are doing great in our Zone 7 garden this year.  

There is much debate about the origins of okra.  Ethiopia, West Africa and Southeast Asia all claim ownership its origin.  Wherever it originated, it came through Egypt to Ethiopia to Arabia and on to the Mediterranean region as far back as the 1100's.  It came to the Americas in the 1600's, landing in North America in the early 1700's.  

Okra is a good source of manganese, magnesium, fiber and vitamins C, K, thiamin, B6 and folate. 

 My go-to okra variety is Red Burgundy.  They produce beautiful fruits, have lovely stems and flowers, don't get fibrous too quickly and grow well in my garden.  Okra will be ready to harvest typically in July.  Guess they are like tomatoes, can expect fruits around the 4th of July.  They will produce until frost.  One plant is enough for us for eating fresh and preserving for the winter.

Early July garden with okra and zinnias in the background, chard in the foreground

Growing Okra

For growing, my first attempt was starting mine from seed then transplanting after all danger of frost had passed, giving 2 feet between plants.  The plants did not survive for some reason.  We are having lots of rain and the temps are much cooler than normal.  So, I started directly in the garden at the end of May.  They sprouted and are growing quite well.  Seeds should be planted 1/2"-1" deep.  Keep soil moist until sprouted.  Ideal germination temperature is 75-90F.  Start indoors until it warms up outside.  This time of year, they can be started directly in the garden bed or in an outdoor pot.   

There are many different varieties to choose from.  I have planted the dwarf varieties in a pot and they are about 2-3' tall.  The regular types can grow to 6.5' tall.  Both have beautiful hibiscus type flowers.   Typically, plants are spaced 2' apart in the garden.

Plants are available at many big box stores or nurseries.  I fertilize with a natural fertilizer and Azomite for minerals when planting.  I then fertilize monthly.  You can buy natural fertilizer or make your own from just a few ingredients.  I either make my own or use Espoma, Dr. Earth or ReVita Pro.  Make your own fertilizer, it's all natural and inexpensive

Okra needs about an inch of water each week.  If you are not getting rain, be sure to do a deep watering each week.  If growing dwarf varieties in a pot without a water reservoir, you will likely need to water twice a week.  With a reservoir, weekly will likely be sufficient.  Summer garden tips

Baby red okras

So far I have not had any pest or disease issues with any variety in my garden, although aphids, stink bugs and corn earworms are known to like them and they can succumb to fusarium wilt.

Like all veggies, harvesting them keeps them producing more for you.  For okra, you want to harvest them when tender.  They get hard and fibrous quickly; so if in doubt, pick them.  I read to harvest them between 2-4" in length.  For the green podded variety, this may be correct.  On the red pods, I have harvesting pods that are 6" long and they are nice and tender.  Typically, you can pick 4-6 days after the flower dies and the pod emerges.  Use a knife or scissors to cut the stem of the pod.  Some okra plants have spines.  If yours does, wear gloves when handling them; the spines can cause irritation.

Dwarf okra plant in foreground

They are even tasty eating right off the plant raw.  To preserve them, I chop them into slices and put into freezer bags.

Okra is a key ingredient in gumbo.  It can also be used as a thickener in any recipe.  My favorite way to prepare then is to slice, salt, coat with olive oil and roast them in the oven.

What to plant now in the June edible garden

Potted eggplant with petunia
Sunday, June 15, 2025

In our Zone 7 garden, June is usually summer with highs consistently in the 80's.  The cold crops planted in April like lettuce, mustard, kale and spinach have bolted (gone to seed).  The tomato transplants are blooming and almost all of them have baby tomatoes growing.  We have had a cool, cloudy and rainier May and June than normal.  Now is prime time to plant the tropical edibles.  No worries, these heat lovers will grow quickly in the summer sun.

For the true heat lovers like melons, beans and cucumbers, most of the seeds I planted in May did not come up as they typically would.  I resowed all my melon seeds, most of the yard long bean seeds, the winged bean seeds and my 1500 Year Old Cave bean seeds last week in pots.  Since pots will be warmer than the garden soil, this helps keep the seeds warmer.  Most of them have sprouted.  I'll transplant them out when they have at least one set of true leaves and there is rain in the forecast for a few days to give them the best start growing.

My peppers and eggplants that I transplanted last month, some of the peppers have baby peppers and some are still quite small.  None of the eggplants are flowering yet.  Eggplants are native to India so they really like the hot, humid weather so they should jump up next week when it is supposed to get to the 90's.  Think the peppers just need more sun and less cloudy weather.

I should resow some lettuce seed.  I did find volunteers in the lawn that I transplanted in pots a couple of weeks ago.  They are big enough now to harvest off of but they will bolt quickly with the warmer temperatures.  This time of year it is best o sow lettuce seeds every 2-3 weeks to keep yourself in sweet lettuce leaves if you enjoy salads during the summer.  Go for the bolt resistant types in late spring and early summer.  Bolt-free, sweet summer lettuces 

Below is a list of plants and seeds you can put in the June edible garden.  Transplants give you a jump on harvests and are still available at big box stores and nurseries, but seeds are inexpensive and you can get unusual varieties to try that you can't get as transplants.

 

June-transplants or seeds

Basil

Bee balm (monarda)

Beans-bush and pole

Beets

Borage

Broccoli

Catnip

Celery

Cucumber

Eggplant

Horseradish

Lavender

Lemon balm

Lettuce (heat tolerant)

Lovage
Mustard
Onions
Parsley
Parsnips

Peppers

Pumpkins

Radicchio

Radishes

Rosemary

Sage

Strawberries

Summer and winter squash

Tarragon

Thyme

Tomatoes

Turnips

Valerian

June-start from seeds directly in the garden

Beans (snap-bush & pole)

Beets

Carrots

Corn

Cucumber

Melons
Peas, Southern

Radishes

Squash

Turnips

For lettuce substitute, I am growing sprouting broccoli and a sweet Chinese cabbage, Hilton, along with orach, multi colored amaranth, cultivated dandelion greens, arugula and chard.  All can be sown now.

For spinach substitute, I am growing Perpetual Spinach, Red Malabar spinach, Japanese Mountain Spinach chard, and New Zealand spinach.  They all thrive in hot weather.  Malabar spinach is a vine so give it a trellis to climb.  It is quite pretty with its maroon stems and flowers.

Give your greens the coolest spot in the garden and moist to keep them sweet and succulent.  You can use taller plants to give them shade as well.  Growing summer salads

For tips on starting your seeds in the garden:  Outdoor seed starting tips  I also like to put a pot or two on our covered deck and start seeds there.  Once they are to a good size, transplant them into their permanent pot or into the garden bed.  Be sure your seedlings are hardened off as the heat and sun can be intense this time of year. "Hardening off" seedlings   I like to plant on a cloudy day when rain is being called for the next day.

In June, the days are getting hot and the rains usually don't come as often.  Be sure to water your new plants when it gets dry or they start to wilt.  Summer garden tips

What's in my 2025 garden

Saturday, June 14, 2025

I made a plan in December of what I would plant in my garden this year.  There are always changes to the plan as seeds don't sprout or I see a really beautiful flower I want to add to the garden.  So, here is what I ended up with in my garden beds and pots.  There will be a few minor changes as summer chugs along, but by this time, the plants are pretty well set for this year's summer season. 

As part of my plan, I looked back on what I had captured that went well, what I wanted to do differently this year and developed my gardening goals for this year.  Reflections on the 2024 edible garden and the 2025 plan  2025 Edible Gardening Goals

As I got seed catalogues, I updated what I wanted in this year's garden:  My 2025 Edible Garden Plan  

My garden consists of four parts: the perennials that come back year after year in the same spots and pots, the self-seeders that pop up in different spots, the stand by annuals I plant every year, and the new varieties I try each year.

 

Perennials

Existing perennials in my garden are herbs (thyme, tarragon, oregano, garden chives, garlic chives, spearmint, lemon balm, horseradish), vegetables (Egyptian walking onions, sweet Egyptian walking onion, potato onion, shallots, Elephant garlic, asparagus, sorrel), the fruits (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, Aronia bush, goji berry), and the flowers (daylilies, peonies, hydrangeas, daffodils, hellebore, surprise lilies, gladiolas, coreopsis, hollyhocks, jasmine vine).

New perennials are herbs (marjoram, winter savory, ringed all my beds with a variety of creeping thyme to keep away voles and deer, rosemary, woad, a variety of sages, a variety of lavenders, woad), vegetables (Violetta and Colorado Red Star artichokes, Jerusalem artichokes, American groundnut, pink dandelion), fruits (Alpine strawberries-Italian and Alexandria, elderberries-York and Johns, overbearing strawberries into a raised bed) and decorative plants (Sweet William around front bed, Aubrieta Whitewell Gem, Alyssum Gold Dust, Sunrise Lupine, a Summer Blues delphinium grandiflorum, a lime green creeping sedum, Grace Ward lithodora, Snow in Summer, Paprika yarrow, Blue eyed grass, blue fescue grass, and pink muhly grass, daffodils, hyacinths, Endless Summer hydrangea, David Austin roses, Utrecht Blue wheat).

I planted way more perennials than usual this year because we put in new flower beds around the addition to the house.  Next year, instead of 400 new plants, it will be more like 10 to fill in the spaces where some of the new ones didn't make it.

 

Self-seeders

 The ones from last year that came back again this year are zinnias, amaranths (Love Lies Bleeding and Chinese Bicolor), Cocks comb, carrots, celery, purple sprouting broccoli, Hummingbird vine, Morning glory, Ground Cherry, Red Malabar spinach, New Zealand spinach and Giant Blue Feather lettuce.  I did also get different varieties of other lettuces popping up here and there that I transplanted into pots.

The new self seeders that I planted this year are new colors of zinnias, borage, and Magadi Compact Blue lobelia.

Edibles and Herbs

Pole Beans-1500  Year Old snap or shelled beans, Christmas speckles lima beans, Purple and Red Chinese Noodle beans, Urizun Japanese winged beans.  All but the winged bean will be in the garden bed.

Okra-Red Burgundy (2)

Tomato plants (10) -Italian Pear paste, Cherokee Purple, Chocolate Pear, Brandywine, Ukranian Purple, Lucid Gem, Rebel Starfighter, a yellow Sicilian storage tomato, Better Boy, Sweetheart Cherry, Topcoat dwarf, A'Grappoli winter storage tomato

Eggplant (4)-Rotanda Bianca, Shiromaru, Amadea, Turkish Orange in pots

Cucumber (2) – Bush Champion and Beit Alpha vining cucumber

Summer squash-Trombetta since it is resistant to vine borer and squash bugs.

Winter squash – Butternut from saved seed and a new one

Snow peas in pots with peppers and eggplants

Dragon Tail radish in garden bed

Hilton Chinese cabbage

Lettuce (Royal Oakleaf, Grand Rapids, Butter King, Bronze Beauty, Giant Blue Feather, Red Romaine),  spinach, chard, blood veined sorrel in pots

Snow peas in pots with peppers and eggplants

Greens that stay sweet in summer-Purple Orach, Chinese Bicolor Spinach, Tong Ho Big Leaf, Chijimisai, Japanese Mountain Spinach chard, Tronchuda kale.

Sweet and hot peppers-variety to make chili powder (3 Ancho plants), Jigsaw and Baklouti hot pepper plants, and sweet pepper plants (a chocolate one, yellow banana, bells-an orange, Baron red, a Better Bell green and a Golden Wonder yellow, sweet Habanada and sweet Tricked You Jalapeño) 

Herbs-Dill, Basil (Nunum, Genovese, Cardinal, Purple Ball), Lion's Ear, Rosemary, Multicolor Sage, Papalo (cilantro substitute), Roselle Red hibiscus, a variety of onions (Flat of Italy, Australian Brown, Bronze D'Amposta, Red of Florence and sweet onion sets from Walmart)

Potatoes in the potato boxes - Yukon Gold, purple ones from saved seeds (yes, some potatoes actually develop seeds from their flowers)

Sweet potatoes-Purple Majesty, orange Beauregard and White Bonita variety pack from Southern Exposure

Dwarf Tamarillo-small orange fruits

Pumpkin-Ayote Green Flesh for pies and bread

Melons-Maybe Prescott Fond Blanc, Kajari or Lemon Drop?

 Vole repelling plants around the perimeter of all my beds-creeping thyme and daffodils around every bed

What's happening in the early June edible garden

Zinnias, basil and tomatoes planted in garden bed

Monday, June 9, 2025

 

Most of my summer edibles have gotten off to a good start this year.  Some of the pepper and tomato plants are flowering.  Many of the tomato plants have baby fruits.  The large tomato that we bought from a local greenhouse two months ago has several ripe fruits.  The bean, okra, eggplant and cucumber plants are growing.

  

Most of my garden is planted.  Tasks now are fertilizing, watering, pest and weed control.  There are a few seeds that didn't sprout that have been resown.  Soon enjoying the lush growth and harvesting of the summer veggies will be the biggest "task" in the garden.

This last week, I fertilized all my plants.  It is good to fertilize when your edibles start flowering.  Just my peppers and tomatoes were flowering and fruiting.  To keep it simple, I just did them all.  Fertilize about monthly in the growing season.  Water when you are getting less than inch of rain during the week.  Pots need 2-3" per week.

Summer edible garden tips

Squash-Both the summer (Trombetta) and winter squash seeds have sprouted in the garden.  The winter squash vine is about 4 feet long.   Everything you need to know to grow squash

Melons-Of the 4 varieties I planted in the garden, only one has sprouted.  I have restarted seeds in pots on the patio.  I'll transplant them when they get their first set of true leaves.  Melons like it when it's hot so if you sow seeds and it stays cool, they can rot before they sprout. 

Eggplant-I started them all from seed this year.  I moved them to their large pot summer home about a month ago.  I have Rotanda Bianca, AO Daimaru, Turkish Orange and Amadeo seedlings.  The plants are still small and have not flowered.  Everything you need to know to grow eggplant, in a...

Beans-I started all these vining types from seed in the garden bed.  The Christmas Speckles, Red and Purple Yard Long beans have sprouted.  The 1500 Year Old and winged bean seeds have not.  I have restarted some seeds in small pots and will transplant when the seedlings have their first true set of leaves on them.    Growing beans

Cucumber-I am growing Bush Champion and Beit Alpha vining cucumber in the ground this year .  The Bush Champion vines are growing well; the Beit Alpha did not sprout so I have restarted them in small pots.  Everything you need to know to grow cucumbers, in ...

Tomatoes-I planted the large greenhouse grown plant in a pot, 4 in the garden bed and they all have baby tomatoes on them.  I also have a few volunteers popping up in the garden bed and pots. 

The 10 seedlings I gave my hubby to grow upside down in 5 gallon buckets with an auto watering system are doing well with lots of baby tomatoes and flowers.  With the bucket system, they need daily watering and more frequent fertilizing.  He fertilized when he planted a month ago.  It is time to fertilize again.  You don't want to give too much nitrogen or you will end up with all leaves and no fruits.

  Everything you need to know to grow tomatoes

Snow peas-I have not gotten any pods this year.  They love cool temperatures and lots of moisture.  When heat moves in, they give it up.  Legumes-peas for spring, beans for summer

Greens-All the chard, spinach, mustards, sprouting broccoli and lettuce that overwintered and those planted in March has bolted.  I found some volunteer lettuces and sprouting broccoli in the yard that I dug and transplanted into large pots.  I should sow some more lettuce seed.  In warm weather, harvest first thing in the morning or after a rain for best tasting leaves.  Put in a bowl of water to plump up the leaves. 

 

The amaranth and orach volunteers have sprouted.  They will remain sweet all summer long.  There are volunteer sprouting broccoli in a range of sizes.  They will stay sweet all summer, too.  Volunteer Red Malabar and New Zealand spinach love the hot temperatures and are growing quickly.  Their leaves can be harvested all summer long as spinach substitutes.  Carefree summer salad greens

Herbs-The herbs are growing well-dill, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, horseradish, onions, and basil.  Dill, Egyptian walking onions and oregano have put on flower heads.  All do well right to winter except for basil; it dies as soon as the first frost comes.  Most winters in our Zone 7 garden, the sage, thyme, oregano, onions can be harvested throughout the winter.  I am growing papalo to use as a cilantro substitute.  It loves warm weather and is doing great!  Start a kitchen herb garden!

Fruits-Had a few strawberries early on.  They are ever bloomers so should get fruits throughout the summer.  One blueberry bush had a few berries.  They were planted last fall so not expecting a big harvest this year.  Raspberries and blackberries should be soon.

Flowers-Celosia, daylilies, hydrangeas, petunias, spiderworts, blue morning glory, hollyhocks, lantana, jasmine and zinnias are all blooming in my garden.  Many carrots have bolted, creating tall white flowers that look like Queen Ann's Lace.  Pollinators just love the small flowers on herbs and carrot flowers.  Love Lies Bleeding amaranth, purple coneflower, bee balm, blunt mountain mint, sunflowers, mums, Jerusalem artichokes, basil and thyme flowers should be coming soon.

My pollinator bed is filling in nicely.  It has taken 4 years to get it full.  It gets a good deal of shade so natives don't grow as quickly as they would if it was a full sun location.  Most of the flowers I started from a pollinator mix.  I'd sow a few seeds in a pot and when they got big, I'd transplant them.  I'd get in 1-2 sowings sowings each summer.  I just sowed some more seeds in a pot this week.  Since the seeds were free, it only cost me time and patience.

It's not too late to start an edible garden in June!

June edible garden in the flower bed

Sunday, June 8, 2025

Some think you can only start an edible garden in the spring.  You can actually start a garden at any time in spring, summer or fall.  If you are deciding to start your garden in the summer, there are a few techniques to use to figure out what to plant and help your plants survive and flourish through the heat and humidity.  Most of the vegetables and herbs we associate with backyard gardening are the ones that love summer weather. 

Step 1-I think the best way is to make a list of what you like to eat, then see which of your favorites are best to start right now in your garden!  This is the time of year of the heat lovers like eggplant, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and many herbs.  There is no time like the present to get moving on your gardening dreams.  A summer edible garden  Culinary herb garden for beginners 

Summer garden veggies

Step 2-Now that you have your list, take a look at your garden, patio, deck, porch, front yard to see how much space you have that gets 6 hours of sun a day.  Even the summer lovers appreciate afternoon shade this time of year.  There are so many dwarf varieties of every kind of vegetable to grow in pots or small spaces that you should not be put off thinking you don’t have enough space!

Get the most from your space-plant intensively!  
How to decide what to plant for small spaces? 
Companion planting tips    Edible shade gardens shine in summer

Step 3-Buy your gardening supplies for your garden bed or pots.  Pots are easy-just buy some organic potting soil and the decorative pot.  Most potting soils come with fertilizer already mixed in.   You do not want to use garden soil as it is too dense for pots.  Make sure you buy the right size pot for the vegetable you are growing.  If planting in the garden bed, use your flower beds to tuck veggies and herbs around your flowers.  Mulched beds help keep the soil temperature cooler and hold in moisture; just what plants need in summer.

Make your own all natural, complete fertilizer  Re-energize your potting soil!
Decorative container gardening for edibles  Weed free, self fertilizing, till free garden beds  

Step 4-Buy your plants.  I prefer to buy plants that are raised without chemicals so I look for an organic nursery to see if they have what I want.  The brand carried at many big box stores started carrying organic last year.  My next stop is my local nursery or big box hardware store.  Choose the plants that are green and look sturdy.  If they already have blooms, be sure to remove them.  You want all the energy of your plants going into good roots initially.  Plants will be ready to go directly into the garden or pot.  

The heat lovers like tomatoes, beans, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, and melons will also sprout from seed easily this time of year.  They sprout in just a few days.  I transplant sprouts into larger pots to give them room to grow sturdy.  I'll transplant them into the garden when they are around 5" tall.  Or just sow the seeds in their final spot and keep the soil moist.
What to plant in the June edible garden

Newly started seeds

Step 5-Plant!  Water each plant well before planting.  The best time to plant is before a rain or cloudy days.  Gives the plants a little time to get their roots jump started.  I add plant starter and fertilizer to each hole, mix with the soil and then place the plant.  Water again after planting.

For potted veggie or herbs, fill the pot with organic potting soil, water to get the potting soil settled, plant the veggie, and water again.  You can top with mulch to keep lengthen the time between waterings.  I also plant flowers in my pots to add color and attract beneficial insects.

Decorative container gardening for edibles

If planting in your flower bed or garden, the best thing to do is a soil test (you can buy a kit or take it to your local co-op extension office).  If this just seems too much trouble, use an organic balanced fertilizer following the directions on the bag. 

The next step in garden production and your nutrition-soil minerals

I like to put a handful of worm castings and char into each hole with the new plant along with a balanced organic fertilizer like Espoma.  Worm castings have lots of beneficial microbes in them that helps the plants absorb nutrients from the soil.  Compost is also a good option.

Newly planted pepper plant started from seed

Step 6-Monitor and water.  Keep an eye on your plants.  They may look sad the first week if it is really hot when they first go into the ground.  Consistent water is the key for success.  Like a lawn or flowers, the best time to water is in the mornings.  When you water your flowers, water your veggies and herbs.

One watch out on watering, many summer crops are susceptible to leaf fungus, like cucumbers, zucchini, squash, and tomatoes.  Be sure to water at the base of the plant and not the leaves.

Tips for the summer edible garden

Here are a couple of garden ideas:

If you have a picky eater, try the kid’s pizza/spaghetti garden.  If they grow it, they want to eat it!

Tomatoes-any you can’t eat, you can easily freeze for winter pizzas

Basil, oregano, chives, garlic for seasoning

Onions-you can grow Egyptian walking onions in a pot or ground and they are perennials to boot

Kale, arugula, and sprouting broccoli for a little green in your pizza toppings (easy to freeze for later)

Green peppers, eggplant, zucchini for summer pizzas (maybe some hot peppers for the adults)

For those that are real adventuresome, you can get mushroom kits to grow mushrooms.

Pizza garden for the kids

Here is an Italian/Sicilian garden that you can grow in as little as a 6’ x 6’ space or pots:

Herbs (1 each)-thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano, and flat leaf parsley

3 basil plants (for pesto and seasoning)

2 tomatoes-1 Roma type for sauces and 1 slicer type for salads

2 sweet pepper plants

1 zucchini

1 eggplant

8 red onions (you can substitute Egyptian walking onions for a summer garden)

8 garlic plants (planted in the fall for summer harvest)

Arugula, spinach and lettuce scatter sown

Heirloom Sicilian kitchen garden

It is great fun, a time saver, and nutritious to grow your own food in your yard!

June 2025 Edible Garden Planner

Potted edibles and flowers in the June garden

Sunday, June 1, 2025

June is a productive time in the garden.  Cool season crops are peaking while summer vegetable crops are just starting to produce with herbs in full swing.  Everything is a lush green at the beginning of the month.  As your fruit producing veggies flower, they will need a boost of fertilizer.  As the rain slows down, consistent soil moisture is key.  There are many edibles that you can start this month, too.

What to plant in the June edible garden

What’s growing in the garden right now

The lettuce and spinach I planted in March and April as well as the sprouting broccoli and lettuce that overwintered are in stages of "bolting".  I need to start heat tolerant lettuce seeds in peat pots and resow about every 3 weeks for the summer lettuce harvesting.  I'll start all the seeds in pots so I can keep them in a cool spot or with a shade cover as lettuce doesn't like it hot!  Growing fabulous lettuce and greens

I also have heat loving greens going that are volunteers from last year's plants and some that I started in April indoors.  Red Malabar spinach is just coming up because it has been so cool this May from last year's seeds.  I will be thinning them so they don't take over like they did last year.  Purple orach, New Zealand spinach and Chinese Multi Colored Spinach amaranth also have a few volunteers.  I will thin them by moving to new pots.  They do great in a pot and are quite pretty together.  Red Malabar has pretty purple vines and flowers that just keep on growing.  New Zealand spinach is a pale green that really fills out a pot and the amaranth has pale green and purple leaves that grows upward.  All thrive in our hot summers.

Don't worry about insect damage to the leaves on the cabbage and broccoli as long as the heads are forming nicely.  A little insect damage will not affect the quality of the head produced.  If you are getting over run with worms, you can use an organic Bt spray that only affects worms and not bees or other pollinating insects.  Natural, organic pest strategies and how to make your own bug sprays   Broccoli and cauliflower growing tips  

I have sprouting broccoli volunteers in the garden and pots.  The early ones have gone to seed.  I have transplanted a couple to large pots with heat tolerant lettuce volunteers.  Sprouting broccoli is great for salad greens during the summer months, but cabbage worms do love them.  The leaves taste just like broccoli.  I have planted Woad in the pot with them as they are supposed to repel cabbage moths.   Sprouting broccoli- a year round fav  

Arugula, sorrels, plantain greens, chard and cultivated dandelions are all harvestable.  As it gets hotter, these greens become stronger.  Since they are perennials, they are the first up in the spring for fresh salads.  Harvest the new leaves in summer mornings for the mildest taste.  You can cut them back, too, to get fresh new leaves.  It doesn't hurt them at all.

This year I am also growing new varieties of mustard and other types of greens along with a winner from last year Hilton Chinese cabbage.  A listing of what I am growing is in this blog.   My 2025 Edible and Decorative Garden 

Dragon's Tail or Rat's Tail radish is fun to grow and the seed pods are tasty in salads.  I am growing Dragon's Tail radish again this year in the garden bed.  It has purple stems and the pods have a mild radish flavor.  I planted snow peas in pots in March.  I used the type that the vines don't get too long.  The pods, flowers and leaves are great in salads and stay sweet tasting into summer.  

Growing summer salads

The sage, chives, oregano, tarragon, dill, Egyptian walking onions and thyme are filling out nicely.  The flowers from herbs are edible, too.  They are fun to use in salads or as a garnish in cooked meals.  Very pretty to add in baked potatoes and grill.  We slice our potatoes, add some diced onion or chive flowers, butter, seasoning, wrap in foil and throw on the grill.  Yum.

Start a kitchen herb garden!

Another great thing about herbs is they are a good deterrent to deer.  Deer do not like strong smells so avoid fragrant herbs.  I plant them and marigolds all around the garden to keep the pesky critters away.  We now live out in the country and deer will even bed down in the yard.  What has worked to keep them out of the garden is a combination of herbs throughout the garden, a pod deer deterrent, WD40 on socks, and marigolds around the perimeter of the garden bed.  This year, I also put daffodils and thyme around every bed.   Both are supposed to repel voles.  

Flowering chives

Tomatoes have started flowering and we have lots of baby tomatoes so it won't be long before we will be able to eat fresh tomatoes!  We have baby tomatoes on the Cherokee Purple, Sweet 100 and Chocolate Pear plants so far.  The large Better Boy tomato we got from a greenhouse has already given us a ripe tomato.  

I started peppers and eggplant indoors and transplanted outside at the end of April.  Only the pepper plants have flowers and baby peppers on them so far.  The eggplant are still really small.  They should start growing next week with the warmer temperatures.  Tomatoes 101, everything you need to know to grow great tomatoes    Peppers are for every taste and garden

I started beans, squash, cucumbers and melons directly in the garden at the end of April.  Not all of the beans are up yet (winged and 1500 Year Old Cave), none of the melons, one type of cucumber has sprouted and another has not, and all of the squash plants have sprouted.  With the warmer temps this next week, it will be more to their liking.  If they don't sprout, I will resow.

When temperatures and humidity rise, it is time to treat the tomatoes, squash, beans and cucumbers with an organic fungicide.  We have hot humid summers here in the Midwest and fungus loves those conditions!  Keeping fungal growth down greatly improves the plants' health and harvest.  Natural fungicides I have used in the past are Copper fungicide and Serenade fungicide which need to be applied after each rain.  I always try to spray when it is cool so they plant does not get stressed.  

I went with Purple Yard Long pole beans, a winged bean and 1500 Year Old bean for fresh snap beans this year.  The Purple Yard Long are crazy productive and I just like growing a bean that was here 1500 years ago.  I am also growing the Lima bean Christmas Speckles.  I am growing an early winged bean again this year.  It was super productive and had really pretty blue flowers.  I prefer pole beans because you get so much from one plant and they produce over the entire summer.  I grow them on a trellis so they are easy to harvest.  The advantage of bush beans is that the harvest duration is short so you don't have to worry about picking fresh beans all summer. Everything you need to know to grow green (or yellow or purple) beans

I am growing a bush cucumber Bush Champion this year and Beit Alpha.   I started both outdoors at the end of April in the garden bed.  You can also direct seed this time of year.  Seeds should be up in 7 days.  Bush Champion is up but Beit Alpha is not.  May have to resow it next week.  For cucumbers, keep an eye out for cucumber beetles and caterpillars.  Just pluck them off and throw into a can of soapy water.  Everything you need to know to grow cucumbers, in pots or the garden bed

For squash, I am growing 2 kinds, Trombetta and a sweet, productive Butternut squash.  Trombetta can be used as a summer squash or left on the vine to ripen as a winter squash.  It was impervious to pest and disease in my garden.  I use the Trombetta mostly as a fresh zucchini and the butternut for pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie.  What to do with all that zucchini?!   Everything you need to know to grow squash

Overwintered carrots are flowering.  Egyptian walking onions Egyptian walking onions.  are filling out well.  I am harvesting the walking onion any time I need onions for cooking.  The green stalk is great as a fresh chive, too, for salads or potatoes.  I had some volunteer garlic come up.  I transplanted them over to a permanent bed.  They will be too small to harvest this year.  I'll leave them in the ground until next year.

I am getting strawberries and blueberries.  Both seem to be pest free in our garden.  You just have to get to the strawberries before the birds do!  Back yard strawberries

Ripe Alpine strawberries

 The wild blackberries are flowering and there are some berries forming.  

I am growing blackberries, raspberries, goji berry bushes, aronia bush and strawberries in the garden bed.  I have several blueberries in pots.  Fruit for small spaces and pots

Now is the time to provide shade for your lettuce and sow bolt resistant varieties like Summer Crisp Magenta, Green Towers, Butter King, Jericho Romaine, Simpson Elite leaf and Giant Blue Feather.  The Butter King and Red Sails stay sweet even after it has bolted.  You can move your lettuces if in pots to a shadier part of your patio or porch.  Shade cloths can be used for those in the garden.  You can also plant taller veggies on the south and west side of your lettuces so as they grow, they provide shade to the lettuces.  I move most of my greens around to the northeast, shady side of the house this time of the year to keep them sweet as long as possible.  Be sure to keep them moist as this helps prolong the harvest.

Bolt-free, sweet summer lettuces

I always have to have lots of flowers interspersed in the garden for color, fragrance and to attract beneficial insects.  In addition to the perennial jasmine, daylilies, hollyhocks, gardenia, gladiolus, mums, irises, and lilies, I am growing Cardinal basil, petunias, sunflowers, morning glory, Pride of Madeira and wildflowers.

Best time to harvest

The best time to harvest almost any vegetable is mornings or right after a rain; this is when they are the crunchiest, fullest and sweetest.  Harvest greens in the morning before you go to work and store with the stems in water for the day.

The best time to harvest aromatic herbs like rosemary, thyme and oregano is in the afternoon when the oils are most concentrated.  Harvest herbs like parsley, cilantro and dill in the cooler part of the day.

For more tips on preserving the extra, see Preservation garden

Watering & fertilizing tips

With the heat coming, it is time to start watering.  In general, garden plants like about 1" of water each week.  Pots require more.  Keep consistent moisture to your lettuces to keep taste sweet and your lettuce from bolting as long as possible.  When your lettuce does bolt, let it go to flower and seed.  The bees and beneficial insects enjoy the flowers and the seeds can easily be saved for fall and next spring planting or allowed to self sow.  

Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver

Fertilize all your fruit bearing veggies when the first flowers appear (right now we have flowers and small fruits on our peppers and tomatoes).  Provide only compost tea the rest of the season.  Too much nitrogen will cause your plants to grow lush foliage with no fruits.  Nitrogen stimulates green growth so is great for greens but should be used in moderation for fruiting plants.  I like to add Azomite or kelp to each plant once a year.  Both have a variety of trace minerals that can really boost a plant's health and harvest.  Kelp has hormones which stimulate growth.  I learned last year to not use kelp on my tropicals I have in pots because the kelp caused them to shoot up in height.

For more on summer garden care, Summer garden tips

Summer greens and herbs

Can I still plant a garden in June-Yes!

There are many vegetables and herbs that you can still plant right now.   Any of the summer vegetables love these temperatures and sun.  As a matter of fact, this is the best time to plant cucumbers and squash to avoid the vine borer.  Even if you have planted zucchini and tomatoes already, late June is a good time to plant a second crop.  If your seeds don't come up within a week, it is likely that they were either bad or they rotted.  Seeds can rot when the ground is really wet and chilly.  It is still a great time to start seeds.  You can also buy transplants to get a jump on the harvest.  

It is not too late to start a garden in June!

A list of all veggies that can be planted in June:

Arugula

Beans  Legumes-peas for spring, beans for summer

Beets  All about beautiful beets

Broccoli  How to grow broccoli and cauliflower

Broccoli raab  

Brussels sprouts  Growing Brussel sprouts

Cabbage  Cabbage is nutritious and easy to grow

Carrots  All you need to know about growing carrots

Cauliflower  How to grow broccoli and cauliflower

Chard  For year round steamed greens, grow chard!

Collards  Grow a southern favorite-collards

Corn  Growing corn

Cucumbers  How to grow cucumbers-in pots or in the garden

Eggplant  Eggplant-add this native from India to your garden

Bulbing fennel  Growing fennel

Leeks  Everything to know about growing onions

Lettuce (heat tolerant varieties)  Everything you need to know about growing lettuce

Mediterranean herbs (basil, thyme, sage, oregano, rosemary, chives)  Start a kitchen herb garden!

Parsnips

Pumpkins   Everything you need to know to grow squash

Peppers  Peppers are for every taste and garden

Radishes  Easy to grow crispy, peppery radishes

Salsify

Summer squash  Everything you need to know to grow squash

Sweet potatoes  Growing sweet potatoes

Tomatoes  Tomatoes 101, everything you need to know to grow great tomatoes

Turnips  All about turnips

Watermelons  Everything you need to know to grow melons, in a pot or the garden bed

Savory, thyme, lettuce, onions with day lilies in the background

Here are a couple of garden ideas

If you have a picky eater, try the kid’s pizza/spaghetti garden.  If they grow it, they want to eat it!

Tomatoes-any you can’t eat, you can easily freeze for winter pizzas, salsa, or sauce

Basil, oregano, chives, garlic for seasoning

Onions-you can grow Egyptian walking onions in a pot or ground and they are perennials to boot

Kale, arugula, broccoli and peas for spring and fall pizza toppings (also easy to freeze for later)

Green peppers, eggplant, zucchini for summer pizzas (maybe some hot peppers for the adults)

For those that are real adventuresome, you can get mushroom kits to grow mushrooms.

Pizza garden for the kids

Or if you want a culinary garden, here is an Italian/Sicilian garden that you can grow in as little as a 6’ x 6’ space:

Herbs (1 each)-thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano, and flat leaf parsley

3 basil plants (for pesto and seasoning)

2 tomatoes-1 Roma type for sauces and 1 slicer type for salads

2 sweet pepper plants

1 zucchini

1 eggplant

8 red onions (you can substitute Egyptian walking onions)

8 garlic plants

Arugula, spinach and lettuce scatter sown

Heirloom Sicilian kitchen garden

For other garden themes and ideas:
Small space French kitchen garden

How to decide what to plant for small spaces?
Decorative container gardening for edibles
Get the most from your space-plant intensively!
You can garden year round in small space
Start a kitchen herb garden!

Colonial Vegetable Garden

Preservation garden  

Grow your own smoothie and juice garden

The First Victory Gardens

Mediterranean diet-yummy, healthy and easy to grow anywhere

Edible shade gardens shine in summer

Easy kitchen garden

Fruit for small spaces

It is great fun, a time saver, nutritious and cost effective to grow your own food in your yard or patio!