As soon as June arrives, we find that a lot of people start to panic, thinking that they’ve missed the season if they haven’t planted out yet, and this isn’t the case. You can plant an entire veg patch from scratch in June and get a brilliant harvest right through till autumn…
Salads and Leaves
Leafy crops will grow incredibly quickly when they are planted in June – the soil is so warm, and the days are so long, that they just grow like crazy. You can plant lettuces and salad leaves and start using them as cut and come again, or harvesting outer leaves, in just two or three weeks time. Spinach and Chard won’t be far behind! (The salad plants pictured have only been in the ground for ten days, to give you an idea…!)
Sweetcorn
This is a great month for planting sweetcorn – it much prefers the warmer temperatures, and will do well and soon will be head height ready to produce juicy sweetcorn cobs in early autumn.
Brassicas
June and July are just brilliant months for planting up brassicas – think kale, broccoli, cabbages, caulifower – you’ll get a wonderful harvest in autumn by planting now. Try and keep them cool though, by mulching and watering well, to prevent them from bolting and to grow cabbages and cauliflowers with tight heads.
Peas and Beans
Again, these plants love June, and they will grow much faster and you’ll be able to start harvesting perhaps as early as late July, and right through August and even into September.
Carrots & Beetroot
You’ll be surprised at how quickly these grow now – even if you’ve already got some growing, it’s well worth planting a few more this month to harvest in late summer.
Parsnips, Turnip & Celeriac
These crops are all good for planting in June – and if you already have some, you could add more so that you extend the harvesting period.
Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Chillies, Peppers & Aubergine
June is THE month for planting these outdoors if you don’t have a greenhouse. Pop them in a nice sunny spot that is out of the wind and they’ll do brilliantly as long as we have a good(ish) summer!
Courgettes, Squash & Pumpkins
All these will grow fast now. The only thing you need to be sure to do is give them plenty of compost when you plant, water them well and often as they are thirsty plants, and give them a liquid feed once they start to produce fruits.
Leeks
A great addition to the veg patch at any point between June and mid August, ready to be harvested through winter (which is a great thing, to be able to harvest delicious leeks for risotto, pies and other homely, warming dishes in winter!)