When it comes to the question of what to plant in June, there is plenty to choose from.
With its long, warm days, and extra sunlight hours, June is a busy time at this midpoint of the gardening year.
What to plant in June – vegetable and fruit crops to plant now
When it comes to vegetables to plant in June, ‘this is a time to make sure you plant for the coming fall and winter ahead, while harvesting the produce from earlier plantings,’ explains Mr Mitford, who manages the kitchen garden ideas at Hawkstone Hall.
‘We use this month for repeat sowings of vegetables, such as growing carrots, beans, beetroot, spinach, cauliflower and all the salad crops, which will prolong the harvest period and ensure fresh pickings well into fall,’ he adds. This is especially important if you have a small vegetable garden to maximize the use of all available space.
If you started growing strawberries earlier in the year, they should be showing fruit in June, so continue to pick regularly to promote fruit production.
1. Summer cabbage
(Image credit: Hawkstone Hall)
‘Summer cabbage varieties can provide cabbages throughout the year and are easy to care for,’ explains Mr Mitford.
Space them 13in (37cm apart), with 11in (30cm) between rows as part of your vegetable garden ideas. ‘Take care not to grow cabbages in the same place that you grew them – or other brassicas – previously,’ advise the experts at the Royal Horticultural Society.
‘Grow summer cabbages in very firm soil, with plenty of aged manure or compost. Pick off cabbage butterfly and caterpillars and protect plants with netting,’ adds Mr Mitford. Also try companion planting to keep pests away from your cabbage crops.
2. Radishes
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You can direct sow radish seeds into the ground now that all threat of frost has passed and the soil has warmed up. With their crispy crunch and strong flavor, radishes are a lovely addition to summer salads.
It’s easy to learn how to grow radishes and you can harvest some of the varieties within just a few weeks of sowing, advises Amy Enfield of Bonnie Plants,
3. Okra
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Okra – otherwise known as ladies fingers – grows best in hot weather so is especially popular in southern states.
If you are keen to know how to grow okra, ‘by using seedlings, you can take 3 weeks or more off from its usual long season. As long as okra seedlings are handled gently, they can be added in to the garden just as the warmer season begins,’ explain the Bonnie Plants experts.
Space okra plants 10in (25cm) apart in the sunniest spot in the backyard, which has fertile, well-drained soil with a neutral pH of 6.5 to 7.0.
Okra is a ‘cut-and-come-again’ vegetable, so once they start producing, if you keep cutting the pods every day or two, they will keep on coming.
Salads to plant in June
If you are growing any of your salad leaves or crops as part of your greenhouse plans, make sure you provide some form of shading during the hottest days to prevent plant scorch.
Keep the greenhouse well ventilated, too, by opening vents and doors.
1. Chicory
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A versatile salad, the leaves of which can be cooked or eaten raw, chicory has wonderfully crunchy and delicately bitter leaves that have a distinctive flavor.
You can sow the seeds of ‘radicchio’ types of chicory outdoors, directly into well-prepared, free-draining soil in a sunny spot June. Sow seeds ½ in (1.5cm) deep and either scatter them or plant in rows 11in (30cm) apart, thinning seedlings as they grow.
The delicious crops should be ready to harvest from late summer into fall.
2. Lettuce
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Freshly picked lettuce leaves are so much tastier than store bought options that is it well worth your time learning how to grow lettuce.
You can sow lettuce direct in your vegetable garden or raised beds outdoors in June. In fact, lettuce can be sown from mid spring and throughout summer, so with planning and successional sowing, you can enjoy the nutritious and tasty salad leaves for most of the year.
You’ll need to space the plants 6 to 18 inches apart, depending on the variety.
Lettuce also makes an ideal crop if you’re considering vegetable garden container ideas.
‘For continuous harvesting, pick outer leaves and leave inner ones to grow,’ advise the experts at Bonnie Plants
3. Mizuna
(Image credit: Jonathan Buckley/Sarah Raven)
Mizuna is an asian leafy green with a slightly peppery, tangy cabbage flavor.
It can be used in salads, stir fries and soups, so is a versatile addition to the vegetable garden.
‘It is one of my favorite leaves for spring, fall and winter salads. It’s an essential plant in my garden that I grow almost all year round,’ says Sarah Raven.
Mizuna does really well grown in cool weather, but can also be sown in June and summer as long as it doesn’t get too hot and it can enjoy some shade.
Plant in fertile soil with plenty of organic matter added in, and space mizuna 8 to 10 inches (20-25 cm) apart. It is also easy to grow in containers and will furnish you with plenty of cut-and-come-again leaves to enjoy.
Flowers start to appear in abundance in June, and if you’re planning a cut flower garden, it is therefore also the time to ‘pick, pick, pick,’ advises expert plantswoman Sarah Raven.
June is the time to plant out summer bedding that was sown indoors in spring, such as geraniums, begonias, lobelias, to their final positions as part of your flower bed ideas.
‘June is also when we start sowing next spring’s biennials that need time to establish,’ adds Sarah.
1. Foxglove – Digitalis purpurea ‘Sutton’s Apricot’
(Image credit: sarahraven.com/ Jonathan Buckley)
Foxgloves are classic cottage garden plants, a magnet for pollinators and wonderful cut flowers.
‘‘Sutton’s Apricot’ is a lovely, soft pink foxglove that flowers at the same time as peonies and looks beautiful with them,’ explains Sarah. It is easy to learn how to grow foxgloves and the tiny, dust-like seeds can be sown in June, direct into a seedbed. ‘Thin in three or four weeks to 11in (30cm), and transplant to their flowering position in early fall.’
2. Wallflower – Erysimum ‘Winter Orchid’
(Image credit: sarahraven.com/ Jonathan Buckley)
‘Wallflowers come in the most wonderful rich colours, with one of the best-ever scents,’ says Sarah.
‘‘Winter Orchid’ is a brilliant short-lived perennial wallflower. Flowers emerge as a coppery orange, turning to purple as they age,’ she adds.
Hugely long-flowering from spring right through the summer, wallflowers are often the first things to come into full bloom with the hellebores and daphnes.
3. Honesty – Lunaria annua ‘Chedglow’
(Image credit: sarahraven.com/ Jonathan Buckley)
Honesty variety Lunaria annua ‘Chedglow’ is an unusual color form of honesty, and has rich black-crimson leaves and pods instead of green.
‘Honesty’s seed pods resemble silvery moons and ‘Chedglow’s’ are tinged with purple, providing fantastic architectural value through winter or for use in dried flower arrangements,’ says Sarah.
‘If you are short of space these will be perfectly happy in pots in a sheltered spot until the fall, when they can then be planted in their final positions,’ she adds.
What plants can be planted in June?
There are many plants than can be planted in June.
Now that the soil has warmed up and the threat of frost has passed if you live in a cooler area, you can plant out many young seedlings that were sown indoors in late winter or early spring. This includes vegetable and salad crops, as well as many bedding plants and more tender flowers.
Can I plant anything in June?
It is not the case that you can plant anything in June, as there are some plants and shrubs that are better planted in their dormant state in fall or winter, or others that need to be planted in spring, so that they have adequate time to establish before the onset of the colder weather and winter.
It is always best to check the planting instructions provided with the chosen plant so that you get it off to a good start. If you follow the instructions on planting, time, location and care, it will hopefully thrive in your garden.