June brings long days, warmer weather and rapid growth to the allotment. Most tender crops can now be planted outside, while regular watering, weeding and feeding become increasingly important. Early crops are ready to harvest and there is still plenty that can be sown to keep the plot productive later in the year.
Sowing & Planting
By June the risk of frost should have passed and tender plants raised indoors can be planted out. Tomatoes, courgettes, pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, sweetcorn and French and runner beans can all take their place on the plot.
There is still time to sow French and runner beans directly into the ground, and early June is the last opportunity for sowing sweetcorn if you want a worthwhile crop. Plant sweetcorn in blocks rather than rows to improve pollination.
Continue successional sowings of beetroot, carrots, lettuce, radish and other salad crops. A small amount sown every few weeks is usually more useful than everything becoming ready at once.
Winter brassicas raised earlier in the year can be planted out now. Make sure they are well firmed in and protect them from pigeons and cabbage white butterflies with suitable netting.
Watering & Weeding
As temperatures rise, watering becomes increasingly important. A thorough soaking less frequently is generally better than giving plants a little water every day, as this encourages roots to grow deeper into the soil.
Newly planted crops, beans, peas, courgettes and other developing crops will need particular attention during dry spells. Tomatoes also benefit from consistent watering; allowing them to dry out and then soaking them can contribute to problems such as blossom end rot.
Hoe regularly between crops while weeds are small. A warm, dry day is ideal, as weeds left on the surface will quickly shrivel rather than re-root.
Mulching around established plants with compost or other organic material can help retain moisture and suppress weeds.
Potatoes
Continue earthing up maincrop potatoes as the foliage grows. This helps prevent developing tubers from being exposed to light and turning green.
Early potatoes may be ready towards the end of the month. Rather than digging up the whole plant to investigate, carefully feel around beneath the soil to see whether the tubers are large enough to harvest.
Tomatoes, Beans & Peas
Tie tomatoes to their supports as they grow. On cordon varieties, regularly remove the side shoots that appear between the main stem and leaves. Once the first fruits begin to form, start feeding with a suitable high-potash tomato feed.
Make sure climbing beans have supports and encourage any wandering shoots towards the canes or netting.
Broad beans often attract blackfly at this time of year. Once the lowest flowers have set pods, pinch out the soft growing tip at the top of each plant. This can help discourage aphids as well as directing the plant’s energy towards the developing beans.
Peas and broad beans should now begin providing one of the first substantial harvests of the year.
Fruit
Strawberries should be cropping well this month. Protect the fruit from birds and keep plants watered during dry weather. Straw or another suitable mulch beneath the fruit helps keep it clean and away from damp soil.
Soft fruit such as gooseberries and currants will also begin to ripen. Netting may be necessary if you want to eat the fruit before the birds do!
Thin overcrowded fruit on apples, pears and plums where necessary. Removing some young fruit can seem rather wasteful, but it allows those remaining to develop properly and reduces the strain on heavily laden branches.
Pests
Keep checking crops rather than waiting until damage becomes obvious. Aphids can multiply rapidly and slugs and snails will happily take advantage of tender young plants.
Cabbage white butterflies will now be looking for brassicas on which to lay their eggs. Fine netting that prevents the butterflies reaching the plants is much easier than dealing with hundreds of caterpillars later.
Carrots are vulnerable to carrot fly, so avoid unnecessarily disturbing the foliage and consider protecting crops with fine mesh.
Harvesting
June is when all the earlier work finally starts appearing on the plate. Depending on what you planted and when, you may now be harvesting strawberries, broad beans, peas, lettuce, radishes, spinach, beetroot and early potatoes.
Harvest regularly and don’t leave crops past their best. Apart from tasting better, clearing finished crops creates valuable space for another sowing or planting.
June growth can be remarkably fast, including the weeds, so this is one month when a little-and-often approach to visiting the plot really pays off.