June Gardening Checklist

June has nearly gotten away from me and I have not gotten the chance to go over my checklist. Yep, that means I have probably gotten very little done on the checklist, and you can tell by looking at my garden.  It will be fine though, a little bit of catching up and no one will ever know I was behind, not even the tomatoes.

• Plant the rest of your tomatoes, peppers and basil if you haven't finished that yet.  There is still a bit more time. 
• Plant another round of beans, corn and lettuce to keep the harvest going after the first round is harvested.  Put lettuce under the cover of a larger plant to keep it from burning up in the heat and sun.
• Plant winter squash and start some seeds (in pots) for fall harvests of cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage.
• Plant more cilantro for another harvest.
• Mulch your berries.
• Fill in any bare spots with marigolds, zinnias or dahlias.
• Cover your potatoes with straw, soil or mulch.
• Keep those tomatoes staked up.
• Plant pumpkin seeds for a Halloween harvest.
• Thin your peach and apple trees so that the fruit is about 6 inches apart.
• Keep harvesting your lettuce, radishes and peas!
• Weed anything that is growing too close to your plants, especially anything that has overtaken your veggies in size, or looks unsightly to you. 
• Keep an eye out for pests.  Hand picking pests or dusting with wood ash or diatomaceous earth are great organic pest control options.  
• Keep your flowers dead-headed and watered to encourage constant blooms.  
• Pinch back the suckers on your tomato vines.
• Turn your compost pile! During long stretches of heat and dry weather, water it down.  You don't want it to dry out.
• Enjoy the beginnings of the summer harvest and start prepping your kitchen for the abundance that you want to put up for the rest of the year!