Monday, May 30, 2022

June 2022 Edible Garden Planner

Potted edibles and flowers in the June garden
Monday, May 30, 2022

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.

What’s growing in the garden right now
Most of the lettuce and spinach I planted in March and April as well as the sprouting broccoli and cress that overwintered are in stages of "bolting".  The lettuce transplants we bought last week are so far doing fine.   I have started heat tolerant lettuce seeds in peat pots this week end and will 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.  Red Malabar spinach has a bumper crop going from last year's seeds.  I will be thinning them and giving away a few.  Their leaves are of harvestable size now.  New Zealand spinach and Chinese Multi Colored Spinach amaranth also have a few volunteers.  I will thin them by moving to new pots and giving away a few.  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 had overwintered sprouting broccoli in the garden.  The sprouting broccoli has bolted and seed pods are ready to resow themselves.  Sprouting broccoli great for salad greens during the summer months, but cabbage worms do love them.   Sprouting broccoli- a year round fav  

Arugula, sorrels, chard, plantain greens 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 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.  What I planted this week end for the edible 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 a pot.  It has purple stems and the pods have a mild radish flavor.  I planted snow peas in pots in earlyApril.  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.  

The rosemary, sage, chives, oregano, lavender, tarragon, and thyme are filling out nicely.  There are no flowers yet which is later than the last few years. 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.  
Flowering chives
Tomatoes have started flowering so it won't be long before we will be able to eat fresh tomatoes!  I started peppers, eggplant, okra, beans and squash later so they are not flowering.  They come on quickly, though, this time of year.  Tomatoes 101, everything you need to know to grow great tomatoes    Peppers are for every taste and garden

This year, I will 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 should greatly improve the plants' health and harvest.  I'll alternate a Copper fungicide with Serenade fungicide after each rain.  I always try to spray when it is cool so they plant does not get stressed.  

I am staying with the best performing pole snap bean this year along with a pole Lima bean Christmas Speckles.  I planted purple Blauhilde instead of Purple Podded beans because it is more disease resistant.  I am trying an early winged bean as well for fun.  The type I tried last year never produced pods.  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.  Growing beans

I am growing a bush cucumber Bush Slicer this year since I still don't have my garden bed in place and will be growing them in pots.   I started them indoors and will transplant them outside in a couple of weeks.  You can also direct seed this time of year.  Seeds should be up in 7 days.  For cucumbers, keep an eye out for cucumber beetles and caterpillars.  Just pluck them off and throw into a can of soapy water.  How to grow cucumbers-in pots or in the garden

For squash, I am growing a couple that I will use as a summer squash that are resistant to pests and disease, a Trombetta and Serpent of Sicily I am growing from seed.  They are in peat pots and will be transplanted in about a week.  They are very long growing vines with very long fruits.  Don't be afraid of not being able to use all your zucchini, there are great ways to preserve them.  I am still using the zucchini spaghetti noodles out of the freezer from last year and Spaghetti squash "noodles".  I never need to buy pasta.  Veggie noodles are low in carbs and high in nutrition.  What to do with all that zucchini?!   Everything you need to know to grow squash 

Overwintered carrots are flowering.  Garlic and 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 am still getting strawberries and raspberries.  Both seem to be pest free in our garden.  You just have to get to the strawberries before the birds do!  I am growing a couple different kinds of Alpine strawberries from seed, Regina and Mignonette.  I love Alpine strawberries because they produce small, sweet berries all summer long.  Back yard strawberries
Ripe Alpine strawberries
 The blackberry bushes my hubby planted last year have some flowers.  The wild blackberries have been blooming for a couple of weeks.  Won't be long before there will be ripe berries.

This is the second year for the Chicago fig tree.  Much of the tops were killed over the winter, but it is leafing out nicely on the surviving branches.  I got many figs last year and should have even more this year.  I have it in a pot that I overwintered in my portable greenhouse.  Growing “exotic” figs  There are other varieties of fruit you can grow if you are space constrained.  I am growing a kumquat, lemon, goji berry, raspberries and aronia all 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 and Jericho Romaine, Simpson Elite leaf.  The Red Sails will typically 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.
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, bachelor button, and lilies, I am growing Cardinal basil, petunias, sunflowers, blue 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 in the frig with the stems in water for the day.  Just don’t store tomatoes in the frig; this ruins the flavor.

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.  

Fertilize all your fruit bearing veggies when the first flowers appear (right now we have flowers and small fruits on our peppers, eggplant and tomatoes).  Provide only compost tea or kelp 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.  

A list of all veggies that can be planted in June:
Arugula
Broccoli raab  
Brussels sprouts  Growing Brussel sprouts
Bulbing fennel  Growing fennel
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
Salsify
Sweet potatoes  Growing sweet potatoes

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.

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

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

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