June is a really busy time (yes I know I say that every month) but it is partly psychological because there are two big tasks - planting out leeks and lifting garlic. In reality, lifting the garlic is a pretty quick job; it is the careful laying out and drying that takes the time.
Leek planting time can be any time from late May. My leeklings are rarely big enough to go out before mid-June, although this year they look pretty good so I'm planning on the first cool day of the month, hopefuly after some rain. I usually spread the job over two days because it is hard on the old back!
Repeat sowing continues - lettuces, radishes, turnips, beetroot, dwarf beans, possibly peas (depending on the weather), radicchio and perpetual spinach. I'll also be sowing January King cabbage, Florence fennel.
This is a month of management and also starting to harvest. Everything needs protection against slugs, snails and the weather, with the risk of blistering heat and torrential rain or hail storms, possibly all on the same day! A quick tidy up tying in clematis, dead-heading roses can easily swallow a morning.
The broad beans are nearly finished, their end hastened by galloping chocolate spot, a destructive fungal infection. I may have to rethink my broad bean strategy for next year. In the cleared space, I will add more garden compost and start planting out brassicas for the winter and next spring.
Feeding - weekly feeding with comfrey tea starts in June. Although the potassium levels are higher than those of nitrogen in comfrey aiding flowering and fruit productions over leaf and general growth, the nitrogen levels are still high enough to be of benefit. See here for an earlier post on making comfrey tea.
The tomatoes will need to be regularly pruned, removing the side shoots on the indeterminate varieties so they can be managed as a single cordon on a string. The 'armpits' can be rooted and planted up to boost stock if desired, see here. June is also the time to start thinking about tomato blight; although early season blight in tomatoes can be managed by removing infected leaves and stems, it will impact on fruiting. I had early season blight for much of the summer last year but still had a reasonable harvest. But we did have to buy tinned tomatoes from about March, something I really resent doing! Late season blight doesn't happen much later, but is much more virulent and will wipe out the plants in a matter of days. You can protect against this by growing under some form of cover; my tomato frame has a Perspex roof, my neighbour's has a roof and sides that he can roll down.
The secret is to keep moisture off the plant's leaves, and the air circulating. Alternatively you can spray with a fungicide like Bordeaux mixture, a mix of copper sulphate and slaked lime. It is permitted in organic production and I use it reluctantly; just how much copper do we want to ingest or add to the soil and water courses?
And taking time to watch the wildlife we share the garden with is at the very top of the to do list!
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