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Even though it is almost the end of June it is not too late to set out some plants.
We know that fruiting plants like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants need to be set out by this month, many, if not most, summer producers will grow even more quickly from seed planted in early summer when the soil is well warmed up and teeming with life and with the seasons changing your zone may well be getting a longer summer and it will be a pleasant surprise when you see how fast seeds will come up and deliver great growth. So if you have the time, space and inclination you might want to experiment with these things to see how well they do in your zone. We are in zone 6.
It is not too late to plant seeds for beans, summer squash, beets, carrots, and chard. But remember you must water them if you hit dry spells in your area. This is also a good time to start a crop of "cut and come again" salad mixes in a spot with bright light but out of the full, hot sun. Plant heat & sun loving herbs like basil, oregano, thyme and sage keeping the seed beds well moistened. Remember that these are Mediterranean herbs and would not be unhappy with some small gravel or pea stone mixed into your soil. I always like to plant some fragrant scented basil in containers to heighten summer afternoon garden fragrances.
This is the serious time to consider second crops, even if you already have beans, squash, chard, carrots and basil in the ground, and your plants are growing well, June is a fine time to start a second crop to have ready for another bounteous late summer harvest when the first crops of these staples have finished up. One can start seeds every month for a continuous harvest thus finishing sowing summer-producing vegetables in late June. In July and August you can start seeds for fall crops like all kinds of lettuces, spinach, radishes, kale, leeks and carrots, and Asian delicacies like pakchoi or even bok choy. Again you must remember to keep watering when you plant and continue during your dry spells thus learning the lesson that gardening is a responsibility that needs to be given you time and effort when Mother Nature needs help.
Don’t discount planting flowers in June. One can plant more sunflowers, cosmos, zinnias and marigolds since all of the annuals that usually burn out by late summer. Just imagine that you will enjoy a glorious second flush of bloom and can cut armfuls for Labor Day! June and July are also good times to start seeds for perennials and biennials to bloom next spring. You might consider sowing seeds in a protected seed bed and then transplant seedlings in fall to over winter, then bloom, ensuring that you have a delightful spring greeting in the garden next year.
We seem to forget that gardening is an ongoing process, and, while timing is important, we don’t need to daunted by a sense of being too late to plant by some arbitrary date, especially since the seasons are changing with all this global warming. Some all the “old wife’s tales” or almanac sayings we hear gardeners use a day of a particular month as though it the final world. I remember being told by someone who lived in the North West that sweet peas had to be sown by Valentine's Day and when I lived in New England it was gospel that Memorial Day the "do or die" critical garden planting day when we are discovering that each season is different and garden planting dates have been even harder to peg down than the traditional wisdom would lead one to believe. So just realize that it is not too late to plant yourself a great garden, even in June.
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Author Bio Box: Arlene Wright Correll
 Resources: Excerpted from “Food For Thought Series” by Arlene Wright-Correll
For more gardening or cooking information click http://www.learn-america.com/ and click on Arlene’s Books you can download or buy my gardening & cook books. All my royalties from the sale of my books go to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and we thank you for your attention to this site.
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