June offers a wonderful array of choices for what to plant, making it an exciting month for gardeners.
With longer sunny days, June marks a vibrant time in the gardening calendar. It's ideal for transferring flowers and crops started indoors in spring, while also allowing for repeat sowing of earlier vegetable plantings to extend your harvest season into fall. Colorful displays can be created using hanging baskets and containers.
As temperatures rise, ensure your plants stay well-hydrated.
Vegetables and Fruits to Plant in June
June is key for sowing vegetables for the upcoming fall and winter, along with harvesting early crops, according to a gardening expert.
This month is perfect for repeat sowings of vegetables, including carrots, beans, beetroot, spinach, cauliflower, and various salad crops, which helps ensure a continuous supply throughout the fall. This strategy is particularly beneficial for maximizing smaller garden spaces.
If you began growing strawberries earlier, they should be fruiting by now. Regular picking will encourage more production.
1. Summer Cabbage
Summer cabbage varieties can yield throughout the year and are relatively easy to maintain, according to a gardening expert.
Space them 13 inches (37 cm) apart, with 11 inches (30 cm) between rows. Avoid planting them in the same spot as previous cabbages or brassicas, as suggested by gardening professionals.
Plant summer cabbages in firm soil enriched with compost or aged manure. Remove cabbage moths and caterpillars, and consider using netting for protection. Companion planting can also help deter pests.
2. Radishes
Now that frost risk has passed and soil temperatures rise, it's an ideal time to direct sow radish seeds. With their crisp texture and robust flavor, radishes are a delightful addition to summer salads.
They're easy to grow, and some varieties can be harvested just weeks after sowing, as noted by a gardening expert.
3. Okra
Okra, also known as ladies' fingers, thrives in warm weather and is especially favored in southern regions.
Using seedlings can reduce the growing season by three weeks or more. If handled carefully, okra seedlings can be planted as the warmer season begins.
Place okra plants 10 inches (25 cm) apart in the sunniest area of your garden with fertile, well-drained soil that has a pH of 6.5 to 7.0.
Okra is a 'cut-and-come-again' plant; regular harvesting will encourage continual production.
Salads to Sow in June
If you're cultivating salad crops in your greenhouse, ensure they have some shade on the hottest days to avoid scorch.
Also, ventilate the greenhouse by opening windows and doors.
1. Chicory
Chicory is a versatile salad green with a delightful crunch and a slightly bitter flavor, suitable for both cooking and raw consumption.
Sow ‘radicchio’ chicory seeds outdoors in well-drained soil in a sunny location this June. Plant seeds ½ inch (1.5 cm) deep, spacing them 11 inches (30 cm) apart, and thin seedlings as they develop.
These scrumptious crops will be ready for harvest from late summer into fall.
2. Lettuce
Freshly harvested lettuce is far superior to store-bought varieties, making it worthwhile to learn how to grow your own.
You can sow lettuce directly in your garden or raised beds in June. It can be sown from mid-spring through summer, allowing for continuous harvesting throughout the year.
Space plants 6 to 18 inches apart, depending on the variety. Lettuce is also great for container gardening.
For ongoing harvests, pick the outer leaves while leaving the inner ones to grow, as suggested by a gardening expert.
3. Mizuna
Mizuna is an Asian leafy green with a peppery flavor, perfect for salads, stir-fries, and soups.
“It’s a staple in my garden for salads across spring, fall, and winter,” shares a gardening enthusiast. Mizuna can be sown in the cooler months, but it can also thrive in June and summer if provided some shade.
Plant in nutrient-rich soil and space mizuna 8 to 10 inches (20-25 cm) apart. It grows well in containers and yields plenty of leaves for continuous harvest.
Flowers to Grow in June
June brings a burst of flowers, making it a great time to start a cut flower garden. Expert gardeners suggest it's time to 'pick, pick, pick.'
Now is also the moment to transplant summer bedding plants sown indoors, like geraniums, begonias, and lobelias, into their final spots in your flower beds.
Additionally, start sowing biennials for the next spring that need time to establish.
1. Foxglove – Digitalis purpurea ‘Sutton’s Apricot’
Foxgloves are traditional cottage garden favorites, attracting pollinators and serving as beautiful cut flowers.
‘Sutton’s Apricot’ is a soft pink foxglove that blooms alongside peonies, creating a lovely display. The tiny seeds can be sown in June directly into a seedbed. Thin seedlings after three to four weeks to 11 inches (30 cm) and transplant them in early fall.
2. Wallflower – Erysimum ‘Winter Orchid’
Wallflowers are known for their vibrant colors and delightful fragrance.
‘Winter Orchid’ is a stunning, short-lived perennial wallflower that starts as a coppery orange and transitions to purple.
These flowers bloom profusely from spring through summer, often appearing alongside hellebores and daphnes.
3. Honesty – Lunaria annua ‘Chedglow’
Honesty variety ‘Chedglow’ boasts unique black-crimson leaves and pods, differing from the traditional green.
The silver-like seed pods of honesty offer interesting architectural elements through winter and are excellent for dried arrangements. If space is tight, they adapt well to pots in sheltered areas until they can be planted out in fall.
What Can Be Planted in June?
Many plants thrive when planted in June.
As the soil warms and frost risks diminish, it's an excellent time to plant seedlings started indoors earlier in the year, including vegetables, salad crops, and various bedding plants.
Can Anything Be Planted in June?
Not all plants are suitable for June planting. Some shrubs and plants prefer to be planted in their dormant states in fall or winter, or require spring planting to establish before colder weather.
Always consult planting instructions for each plant to ensure proper care and optimal growth in your garden.
