Garden Tips of the Month June/July

What to do in Your Garden This Month
by Suzanne Millard, Mendocino County Master Gardener

It has been quite an interesting month for weather. Rain has continued to fall through the month and cooler temperatures than the seasonal norms have prevailed. While we have seen the effects of El Nino since the beginning of the year, some weather bloggers now say it is over. Looks like we’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, we are still pulling up those weeds in the garden to keep the pests at bay.

What to plant?

For June and July you can directly sow beans, beets, chard, corn, turnips and kale. You can also start heat tolerant lettuce, chard, leeks and at the end of the month, brassicas for planting. Plants ready for transplant are lettuce and chard.

Flowers and herbs appropriate for June and July direct sowing are Lobella, Alyssum, Limonium, Zinnias, Amaranth, Petunias, Marigolds, Cosmos, Tithonias, Ageratum, Strawflowers, Calliopsis, Cleome, Celosia, Sanvitalia, Morning Glory, Nasturtiums, Dahlia, Heliotrope, Gomphrena, Geraniums, Sunflowers, Impatiens, Nicotiana, Thunbergia. Basil and heat tolerant flowers are ready at this time for outdoor transplanting.

For more Gardener's Tips, please click Greater Hopland Planting Guide (Peter Huff and Kate Frey's Monthly Planting Calendar for Inland Mendocino, also found at the "How to - Grow Food" page on The Garden's Project Website).

What to look out for…

This is prime tomato growing season. For best results here are some tips to maximize your tomato crop:

• Amend soil with good fresh compost. Too much nitrogen will create lots of green growth. Calcium is important for tomatoes so any fertilizers should be calcium rich.
• Support your indeterminate tomato plants. These are not the bush varieties but the tall tomato plants. With many of these plants, regular tomato cages just won’t hold the weight or the size of these plants. Heavy duty home built cages can be built, but be sure use supporting materials that allow you to easily get to the fruit. Cages should be 6’ to 7’ high to accommodate a healthy tomato plant.
• Water consistently to prevent blossom end rot. Water deeply twice a week at the beginning of the season and then reduce water as fruit ripens.
• Be on the lookout for wilting on your tomato plants. Verticillium Wilt (Verticillium IPM Pest Note) and Fusarium Wilt (Fusarium IPM Pest Note) are two plant diseases that can impact your tomato plants.

Towards the end of July, you’ll want to start planning your cool season garden. Now is the time to lay out your garden plan on paper and choose what plants you’ll want to have through the fall.

Just a friendly reminder that there is a tremendous body of knowledge about gardening in California, provided by University of California Cooperative Extension. This site, geared toward the home gardener can be found at http://cagardenweb.ucdavis.edu/.