June in the Garden

The month of June is a time of great abundance in Lakeway. Seeds sowed and veggies transplanted many weeks ago are beginning to bear the colorful fruits of all that hard work. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and zucchini are starting to abound. Now is the perfect time to make the most famous recipe of all Provençal cuisine, Ratatouille, from your own backyard. Bon appetit!

If you haven’t already done so, don’t forget to join the Lakeway Garden Club. Our goal is to build a local community of fellow garden enthusiasts to share tips and help each other’s gardening endeavors. It is free and open to all. We are planning some in person garden tours later this year. Let us know if you would like to participate.

June Garden Tips

Flowers to Plant

• Aster
• Flowering Balsam
• Begonia
• Celosia
• Cleome
• Coleus
• Coreopsis
• Cosmos
• Dusty Miller
• Gomphrena
• Hamelia
• Impatiens
• Jacobinia
• Lantana
• Marigold
• Mexican Heather
• Nicotiana
• Pentas
• Periwinkle
• Petunias
• Purslane
• Saliva
• Verbena
• Zinnias

Seeds to Sow

• Cantaloupe
• Greens – warm season
• Okra
• Peas – southern
• Pumpkins
• Squash – winter

Things to Transplant

• Sweet Potatoes

June Garden To-Dos

Apply seaweed after sundown

Once temperatures reach 90°F, you should avoid spraying anything on plant leaves, even water, during the daytime. Treat your plants with this anti-stressor by performing a drench.

Water properly

Watering is the single most important activity in the garden, and one of the hardest to get right. In general, it’s best to water established plants deeply and less often, rather than shallowly and frequently. New transplants, seeds, and seedlings may need daily watering, but in the case of larger plants, shallow watering leads to shallow, weak roots. Get to know your yard’s specific conditions, and water only as needed.

Monitor for chinch bugs

The damage usually shows up in full sun areas during hot, dry weather as yellowing, then browning, irregular patches. Chinch bugs are only about 1/6” long, mostly black, (young ones can be reddish-tan) with a white marking across their back. They do not fly or jump up when you walk across. Be sure to get a positive ID before treatment.

Watch out for grasshoppers

Grasshoppers tend to be their most active this time of year. They’re controlled organically by spreading bait inoculated with the grasshopper disease, Nosema locustae. It doesn’t harm any other critters except for Mormon crickets, and when properly applied, the grasshoppers eat the bait and get sick. Future grasshoppers cannibalize current sick ones, spreading the disease through the population. Because of the grasshoppers’ sheer numbers and mobility, this method is most effective when used over larger areas, such as if you own a lot of acreage, or if you can get your neighborhood to coordinate their anti-grasshopper effort. Other control methods include spraying plants with kaolin clay, or using physical barriers like row cover.

Repel mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are a nuisance to be sure, but they can also spread disease to both us and our pets. Often a multi-layered approach is necessary for optimal control. Mosquitoes can breed in as little as 1/5 teaspoon of water, so be sure to patrol your yard on a regular basis and remove standing water. Treat bird baths and ponds with a natural mosquito larvicide, which won’t harm other insects or wildlife, and will prevent the mosquitoes from reaching adulthood. There are a number of granular and liquid repellants which can be applied to your yard to drive the mosquitoes away from hang-out spaces, and pheromone-based traps can be placed around the edges to further lure them away.

Garden Tips courtesy of The Natural Gardener.