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| Potted eggplant with petunia Sunday, May 28, 2023 |
In our Zone 7 garden, June is summer; highs in the 80's are here to stay. The cold crops planted in April like lettuce, mustard, kale and spinach are bolting (gone to seed). The tomato transplants are blooming and three varieties have a baby tomato growing. The bean vines I planted last month are 2.5 feet tall. I just transplanted the squash and cucumbers into their summer pots and garden bed. If planted earlier, they would all be flowering with baby fruits on them. This year, I started my summer loving peppers, basil and eggplant from seed late. No worries, these heat lovers will grow quickly in the summer sun.
I transplanted my seedlings of basil, rosemary, a couple more tomatoes, eggplant, salvia, and sweet peppers from peat pods to 4" pots this week. I started them indoors early in the month and moved them outside for a few days before transplanting them into 4" pots. Some still have only their seed leaves and a few have their second and third set of leaves. I'll transplant them out into the garden and large pots in another couple of weeks. I plant my eggplant and peppers in pots. The basil, salvia and tomatoes will all go in the garden bed.
I'll continue growing lettuce from seed about every 3 weeks to keep sweet leaves going for harvest. I do love salads. I have done a couple of rounds of wildflower seeds in a rectangular growing pot next to the patio. After the seedlings are a nice size, I transplant into my pollinator garden bed. Other than lettuce, I don't have plans for any more seeding for a month or so. Late July is the time to start fall veggies from seed.
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
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
Peas, Southern
Peas, Southern
Radishes
Squash
Turnips
I love to have fresh salads every day. It is tough in summer to keep the traditional salad greens like lettuce and spinach going in the hot weather. I sow seeds every 3 weeks in spring to keep greens going. Go for the bolt resistant types in late spring and early summer. Bolt-free, sweet summer lettuces I have also in recent years started planting substitutes for lettuce and spinach.
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 substitutes, I am growing Perpetual Spinach, Red Malabar spinach 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 don't come as often. Be sure to water your new plants when it gets dry or they wilt. Summer garden tips
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