Planting your June Vegetable Seeds Tasks
Get ready to transform your garden into a vibrant oasis this summer! Here are some tips for growing a variety of annuals and vegetables that will add colour, flavour, and life to your outdoor space.
Carrots
Sow carrot seeds now for a bountiful harvest later in the season. Dig a 1cm deep drill in well-prepared soil, ensuring as many stones are removed as possible to avoid roots forking.
Lettuce
'Lollo Rossa', a loose-leaf lettuce with frilled red leaves, is an attractive addition to your garden as well as your plate. Sow seeds outdoors into a drill 1cm deep, and enjoy fresh lettuce between six weeks (for loose-leaves) and 10 weeks (for hearting lettuces).
Container Growing
Radishes, salad leaves, rocket, and round carrots such as 'Rondo' and 'Paris Market 5' are particularly suited to container growing. 'Tom Thumb', a butterhead lettuce with small green heads, is ideal for containers too.
Cornflowers
Cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus) are hardy annuals that provide an abundance of summer blooms. Sow seeds direct into well-prepared soil in a sheltered, sunny spot at a depth of 12mm. These vibrant flowers are a magnet for pollinating insects and benefit wildlife. Sow cornflower seeds in early spring or late autumn for best results. They prefer full sun exposure to develop upright stems and vibrant flowers. Keep soil moist but well-drained to avoid root problems. Provide occasional feeding with organic fertilizers or liquid feeds every 7-10 days during the growing season, especially in containers. Mulching around the plants helps conserve moisture, suppress weeds, and improve soil fertility over time.
Other Flowers
'Classic Magic', a mix of white, deep purple, and smoky mauve flowerheads, adds a touch of elegance to your garden. Forget-me-nots (Myosotis sylvatica) can be sown in-situ this month and will readily self-seed once established. Sweet Williams (Dianthus barbatus) can be sown outside at any point over the next few weeks.
Runner Beans
Runner beans such as 'Snowstorm' and 'White Lady' (with pure white flowers that are less prone to being eaten by birds) and 'Painted Lady' (an excellent bicoloured variety with red and white flowers) can be sown or transplanted into the garden now. To provide continuous cropping and avoid gluts, sow vegetables like lettuce, beetroot, spinach successionally over the next few weeks.
Vegetables
In June, vegetables like radish, beetroot, French beans, summer squash, pak choi, Florence fennel, honesty, and foxglove can be sown. 'Guardsman' is a mild-flavoured spring onion with strong, straight stems, and 'White Lisbon' is a popular variety, ideal for containers. 'Rainbow Mix', a variety of carrots with a paintbox of carroty colors, all with subtly different flavors, is another excellent choice.
Tomatoes and Lettuce
Tomato side shoots can be potted up to create new plants, which will root within a week and develop into healthy new plants. 'Hestia' and 'Jackpot' are compact runner bean varieties that only grow to 45-50cm in height and produce bumper harvests in containers. 'Romaine Ballon', a delicious cos variety of lettuce, is best sown in small batches every two or three weeks.
Zinnias
Zinnias can also be sown outside in June. 'Lilliput Mixed' produces bright yellow, orange, purple, and pink fully double flowers.
By following these tips, you'll be well on your way to a thriving summer garden filled with colour, flavour, and life!
- To create a vibrant home-and-garden lifestyle, consider using raised beds for growing vegetables like 'Rainbow Mix' carrots, 'White Lisbon' spring onions, and radishes, which are particularly suited for container growing.
- For an eye-catching addition to your outdoor space, consider planting 'Classic Magic' flowers in your raised beds along with annuals like cornflowers, forget-me-nots, and zinnias, all of which can be grown in well-prepared soil and thrive in a sheltered, sunny spot.
