In the month of June, greenhouse shelves are filled with seedlings, waiting to be potted on, and cold frames are packed with young plants being hardened off before they move outside. You may also be battling with slugs this month, trying to protect precious crops, and spending more time with the watering can in hand, as the weather warms up.
In the below collection of videos from BBC Gardeners’ World, Monty shares advice on some June jobs for the fruit and veg garden.
More fruit and veg advice:
Planting sweetcorn with lettuce
Monty plants out sweetcorn, explaining the best way to ensure good pollination and how to cook the cobs for maximum sweetness. He interplants the sweetcorn with cos lettuce ‘Maureen’ and gives advice about planting for a continuous supply of vegetables throughout the season.
How to support squash plants
Squash plants can be grown vertically to make best use of space, but they need strong supports that will take the weight of mature fruits. Monty usually grows his plants up tripods made of sturdy posts, but this year he trials a lattice arrangement. After constructing the framework, he plants out squash ‘Uchiki Kuri’, a particularly good variety to grow as a climber. Even if you haven’t sown squash yet, it isn’t too late. Sowing early this month should give you a harvest later in the year.
Caring for soft fruit in summer
The soft fruit in Monty’s garden is nearing harvest time. He notices aphid damage on the blackcurrant foliage, ties up the sideshoots on his gooseberry cordons to protect the ripening fruit, and discusses the advantages of growing cordons in small spaces.
