By: Don Kinzler, NDSU Extension Cass County Horticulturist
It’s great to visit with you again, as vegetable gardening is a special passion of mine. Watching vegetables sprout, grow and mature is definitely one of life’s simple, but awesome pleasures.
June is a fun and energetic time in the garden, and here’s a June to-do list:
For anyone who hasn’t started their garden yet, most vegetables can still be planted around June 10 with great success. Speed the process by watering immediately after planting for faster germination.
Carrots, radishes, lettuce, spinach, beets, and small-seeded vegetables that emerge thickly should be “thinned” in June. Seed packets indicate the preferred final spacing when thinning, but usually an inch or more apart is fine for carrots, radish, spinach and lettuce. If you’re following the Square Foot Gardening method, the guidelines tell how many plants should remain in each square foot.
If vegetables aren’t thinned, competition from too-crowded seedlings stifles normal development. Thin by gently pulling or cutting off excess seedlings with a small scissor as soon as they’re large enough to handle. The remaining seedlings sometimes wilt following thinning, and watering immediately helps them recover.
Thinnings can be used in soups, salads and sandwiches.
June weeding is important for garden success and it’s fun and addictive, if weeds are tackled when they’re tiny. My favorite tool for the job is a table knife, which slices just below the soil surface with precision, letting you weed close to vegetables without injury.
Mulching helps conserve moisture around vegetable plants, and reduces weeds. Add straw, shredded bark or dried grass clippings when soil has warmed sufficiently after mid-June. Mulching helps reduce blossom end rot, which is a common disorder of tomato fruits, caused in large part by uneven soil moisture.
If weed herbicides have been applied to the lawn, don’t use the grass clippings on the garden until after the lawn has been mowed at least twice following application
Avoid overhead sprinkling on vegetables prone to leaf blights, like tomato and potato. Water only the soil, keeping plant foliage dry.
Monitor raised bed gardens carefully for watering, as they can dry quickly on warm, windy days.
Provide good nutrition for young plants by adding granular 10-10-10 fertilizer following label directions, available in organic and synthetic forms. Water soluble types like Miracle Gro work well also.
Most of all, enjoy! If you have any questions, please send me an email. Thanks!