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Let’s Get Gardening in June, Part 1

File photo of veggies in baskets.

(Chelsea Update would like to thank Jennifer Fairfield owner of the Garden Mill for the information in this column. Part two will run tomorrow.)

Don’t let things get in your way this month – it’s time to get planting:

If you haven’t gotten your warm-weather vegetable and herb plants in yet, you should do that ASAP. Many of them need all summer to really produce, so the longer you wait, the less you will likely get from them.

It’s really getting too late to even think about planting these plants from seed in the garden now – there won’t be enough time for them to grow to maturity at this point – so get plants that have already been started. This will give you a jump on the necessary growing time. This is true for tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and squash, and even some cucumbers, though there may be time enough for seeds of those if you hurry.

Photo by Jennifer Fairfield. Plants and veggies in pots need lots of water.

If you are considering planting seeds, check the seed packet for the “days to maturity.” That’s how long it takes from the time the seeds first come out of the ground to when the plants will begin to produce. Since our average first frost is around Oct. 5, we just over four months from today for growing. If a tomato seed takes 10 days to germinate and 90 days to maturity, then you won’t even begin to see tomatoes until just before it starts to frost, let alone get many tomatoes.

The time to stake or cage your plants is when you are putting them in. If your tomatoes are the type that will do better with staking or caging, doing that now will help ensure that you don’t damage the roots trying to get them in later. Peppers and eggplants also often do better when staked, so put the stakes in when you put the plants in.

The other thing to do as soon as you plant your tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers (and really everything else), is to begin a program of spraying your plants with fungicide. If we continue to get the amount of rain we have been, conditions will be ripe for diseases that can decimate your garden.

The only way to deal with these issues is through prevention, as once the diseases set in, there is nothing you can do to stop them. So, start spraying early, and keep doing it. Follow directions on the fungicide’s packaging to determine how much and how often. If you’re not sure what to use, come talk to us – we have a few options, depending on what you are growing.

Dogs like veggies, too.

Plant bush bean seeds now, and for the next few weeks. Bush beans produce in one big flush over a week or two, so planting some every couple of weeks into mid to late June will ensure that you have a continuous harvest all the way up to first frost. You can also plant successions of beets, carrots, dill, parsley, and cilantro through the end of July to ensure a prolonged harvesting season. You can still plant pole beans now, but don’t delay too much longer. Unlike bush beans, pole beans produce throughout the season – all the way to frost – but they need a little longer to start producing, so get them going now.

Cabbage and broccoli can be started at the end of the month or early July for fall harvest. Plant seeds directly into the garden, or start them indoors and transplant the seedlings into your garden by late August. They’ll be ready to eat by late September or early October. To protect these cool-weather loving plants from the heat of summer, try planting them in a shady part of your garden or in the shade of other plants, or use shade covers to keep them cool.

Keep your gardens weeded. Pulling weeds out when they are small makes it much easier to get the whole thing, and keeps the weed from spreading as easily. I try to fit in a little bit of weeding at a time, while I’m doing other things, such as planting beans – that way I don’t notice that I’m actually working at weeding.

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