Mid-June in the Garden & Greenhouse

 
Here we are in the month of June but it already feels like mid-July! So much heat for so long and so many plants well ahead of schedule.

It has been so warm that my De Cicco Broccoli is going to seed... time to clip off all the yummy side shoots, blanch them, and toss them in the freezer to enjoy at a later date.
Harvest any of your veggies that are starting to bolt as it is very difficult to stop them once they have started. Better to replace them with some other veggie that likes the heat!

Now to decide what to plant in this broccoli's spot? Think maybe some lettuce and beans!

In the greenhouse, the eggplants have doubled in size and are putting on flowers. Yay! Flowers means fruits! 

Keep your eggplants and peppers on the dry side and they will really thrive!

Tomatoes in the greenhouse are well on their way... hope to have some ripe ones by the end of the month! I was late potting them up this year, but they have caught up really nicely!



Tomatoes in the greenhouse! With this heat, it is beneficial to soak down the floor of the greenhouse in the morning and also spray down the plant foliage at the same time (yep, I know, I never tell you to do this!). It helps cool things down ...without running your fan for hours on end.

Though tomatoes like sunshine and heat, they only need 6 to 8 hours of it per day. If yours are getting very wilty and the tips are curling down, they are too hot.   

Shade cloth that you can roll down or slide across is an even better idea. Saves on water and electricity.

The garlic has been lifted and is curing in the wood shed, about 3 weeks earlier than usual!

Lift yours when the bottom three leaves have gone yellow or brown. They do not get bigger if left in the ground longer!

Each leaf on the stem is also a wrapper/skin on your bulb. The more leaves you allow to yellow, the more skins your garlic will lose... until it splits wide open and thus is no longer able to be cured for storage. Can still be eaten, just will not cure.

This Italian soft neck garlic bulb was left in too long, so the skins have dried off. This bulb will not cure so cannot be kept as a storage bulb but is still totally edible! Use in the kitchen when making your fabulous Caesar salads!

Time to lift some early spuds for your Father's Day feast! Pictured here are Banana, Blue Russian, and Ama Rosa potatoes. Now, these are not your typical early spuds varieties, are in fact late spuds, but I had to lift them ... so we ate them ; )

In your garden, stick to the early varieties like Yukon Gold, Warba, and Red Norland. Lift a plant or two, as needed, for a lovely early baby potato dinner.

  Strawberries as far as the eye can see... or 40 feet, in this case ;) 

The huge Honeoye June-bearing strawberries are pretty much done for this year, but these Alpines are going strong! 

Ever bearing and day-neutral types are just starting to come into their own now, flowering and setting fruit. To keep your berries plump, juicy and producing really well, water every second or third day if possible, and/or mulch they well so that they retain moisture. 

We are so gonna be loaded for bear with berries this year ; )  

Herbs and flowers are super important in the organic kitchen garden. Not only do they add a pretty pop of colour, but are also a great draw for bees, plus the birds and beneficial insects that eat the bad bugs.

Still time to add all kinds of herbs and to sow Nasturtium seeds to your garden beds or pots. 

Borage is a terrific addition to every garden.... a real workhorse with so many applications... is a companion plant, a pop of colour, a pollinator attractor, and a cucumber flavoured, beautiful herb for drinks or salads. Plant it once and you will have it forever ; )

What seeds to sow now... 


Beans
Cukes
Lettuce
Carrots
Beets
Rutabaga's 
Kohlrabi
Sprouting broccoli/broccolette/broccoli raab
Winter cabbage 
Parsnips
Cauliflower 

Happy gardening!