“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.”
Robert Louis Stevenson
If the month of May was the beginning of the beginning of the gardening season, June is the second beginning. Nature provides forgiveness where planting and seed sowing are concerned. There is no ONE DAY when it all must get done.
However, there is a sense of urgency in June. After all, the radish that you don’t sow today is the radish you don’t harvest 45 days from now. Or so.
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Many plants are much happier planted in the first week of June than, say, two weeks ago. The ground is warmer (did you hear your tomato plants yell, “Hooray!”), and the days longer (the sun does not work its magic in darkness) and hopefully by now you have many of the rush jobs of early spring out of the way and more time to create the garden of your dreams.
The garden furniture is in the garden, the lawn mower primed and working, etc.
June becomes the month to finish the jobs that you started, even if they have only existed in your head up until now. It is a “project month” when you might install a still water feature (as Mark is planning to do), install a bird bath, build a gazebo, or shed. Or expand your garden for more colour and visiting pollinators.
We encourage all the above as June is cooler than July and August and the energy that we stored up in the winter is still in reserve somewhere in our psyche and hopefully body as well.
Come July first, after the fireworks celebrating Canada Day, everything inside of us seems to let down. We seek the nearest Muskoka chair and even the most land-loving among us will dip in a pool or find a lake to cool down in.
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Take advantage of June. Fresh growth on the trees, visiting bees, peonies, roses, clematis, and iris in full bloom. What is not to be inspired by?
If June doesn’t just make you want to order a load of cedar mulch, as Ben did last week, and spread it round the garden, reducing the need for water by up to 70% and weeds by 90%, we would begin to worry about you. As your loved ones should.
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For the purest form of inspiration, we recommend that you join a local garden tour. The Toronto Botanical Garden features Through the Garden Gate the weekend of June 11 and 12.
It is the grand daddy of all garden tours and takes place in the community of Wychwood, north west of downtown. This is perhaps the best kept secret of all communities in the city, with its Arts and Crafts architecture, mature trees, and a neighbourhood full of passionate garden lovers. If you possibly can, you really must see it.
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Full disclosure, Through the Garden Gate is sponsored by Cullen’s Foods. Truthfully, we invest in the Toronto Botanical Garden because we believe in it.
On that note, here is our monthly to-do list. Hope you don’t mind us loading you up with stuff to keep you busy, but really that is not the point. This is our attempt to guide your efforts towards a successful garden, making the best use of your time.
That is the extent to which efficiency and productivity have anything to do with gardening.
Above all, we remind you to relax, breathe deep, enjoy and sit a while.
This is nature therapy in its purest form.
To Robert Louis Stevenson, we would recommend that you don’t judge any day in June. Just absorb it. Come mid winter you will need these memories.
Mark and Ben Cullen
Merchants of Beans and Beauty
Btw, look for our mid month food gardening newsletter, delivered free to your inbox.
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THINGS TO DO IN YOUR JUNE GARDEN |
Plant all hot crops. Corn, zucchini, squash (all cucurbits), peppers, potatoes: virtually every crop that requires heat to thrive are ready to plant in the first week of June. Unless you live in Newfoundland. You fortunate souls should wait a week or two longer.
Mulch. June is mulch month because May is planting month. After you get most of your plants in the ground you can save yourself up to 70% in watering and 90% in weeding by laying down a 5 cm layer of shredded cedar or pine bark mulch.
It is blossom time for roses, peonies, clematis and many other 'early' season flowering perennial plants. If you have room for more, now is the perfect time to plant them! Make sure that the plants you DO have are supported.
Container plants. Time to finish planting up containers using fresh Container mix, plants that suit your exposure and be sure to add a slow-release fertilizer.
Herbs. Plant them. Harvest them as needed. Don't over water them. With the exception of basil, they love to get dry between watering.
Tomatoes. Stake with a Mark's Choice spiral stake and never tie them up again. Get them off the ground and double your crop. Mid-June start applying Bordo Mixture to prevent early and late blight.
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After a 2-year break, we are excited to announce that registration is open for our Annual Golf Tournament.
Date: Thursday, August 25, 2022,
Golf Course: Pheasant Run Golf Club, 18033 Warden Avenue, Sharon, ON
Event Fee: $200/golfer which includes 18 holes with a power cart, lunch-to-go, and a special celebratory dinner in a fabulous, covered outdoor dining area
Sponsorships: Reach a discerning crowd with your message, through a sponsorship. A few are still available between $500-$5000. All sponsorships are matched by a private anonymous donor. Automatically, your investment in Trees For Life is doubled.
Spaces are limited, to avoid disappointment, click here for more information and to register.
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GREEN FILE – Back Again!
This week a casual episode- straight to air, Ben and Mark touch base before the gardening season.
Tune in wherever you find your podcasts!
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Our friend and leader of the Canopy Planet organization in B.C. has been awarded the Meritorious Service Cross from Canada’s Governor General Mary Simon.
This award is richly deserved by a dedicated steward of our planet and leader among those opposed to the cutting down of Canada’s old growth forests. https://canopyplanet.org/
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MARK AND BEN IN THE TORONTO STAR |
We write a weekly column for the New In Homes & Condos section of the Saturday Toronto Star.
In case you missed it, these are the exciting gardening/environment columns we wrote in May.
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BIRDS IN FOCUS:
Yellow Warbler
By: Jody Allair
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Spring has finally arrived here in southern Alberta. The days are finally warm(ish), and most of our summer resident bird species are now setting up shop. But many small, brightly coloured songbirds known as wood-warblers, are still pushing through on the final leg of their incredible migration. By early June, most North American wood-warbler species are nearing their final destination in Canada’s boreal forest. Some of these amazing migrants have travelled from as far away as Central and South America. They all fly at night and use constellations and the earth’s magnetic field to help them navigate. Truly amazing stuff! |
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Yellow Warbler
Photo credit: May Haga
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One wood-warbler that can commonly be found in spring and summer across much of Canada is the Yellow Warbler. The striking males of this species are bright golden-yellow with fiery-orange streaks and females are greenish-yellow with softer orange streaks. Their “Sweet-sweet-sweet I’m so sweet” song is one that is probably quite familiar to those who spend a lot of time outside gardening (which I assume includes many of you!).
If you want to attract Yellow Warblers to your yard, make sure you have a good mix of native shrubs like Red-osier Dogwood and Choke Cherry with some scattered trees. I have often found Yellow Warblers nesting in backyards very close to houses, provided there is enough shrub cover. Wood-warblers like the Yellow Warbler eat primarily insects (one of the main reason they spend their winters in the tropics), so be sure to create a safe space for native insects to flourish.
For a complete guide to the types of native plants you can grow in your region of Canada, check out Birds Canada’s amazing new online resource BirdGardens.ca
Everyone who sponsors me will get a summary of my birding day, along with some photo highlights.
Good Birding!
Jody Allair
Director, Community Engagement
Connect with me on Twitter at: @JodyAllair
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HARROWSMITH MAGAZINE – Feature Recipe
Goat Cheese Pasta
This light, fresh Goat Cheese Pasta comes together in about 30 minutes. Serve it as a vegetarian main or as a side with grilled chicken, a peppery flank steak or a blackened salmon filet. It’s an easy dish that you’ll be craving all summer long.
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Don’t miss an issue of Harrowsmith’s gardening, cooking, sustainable living and DIY tips. The summer issue hits newsstands next week and features the sweet joys of country living including easy summer recipes, how to build a farm gate, DIY planter ideas, the best (and most fragrant) cottage garden plants from Mark and Ben Cullen & so much more!
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