June 2003 Gardening Tips
by Thea Fiskin, UC Master Gardener

Can you believe its June already, what happened to spring?

WHAT TO PLANT
Annuals: Choose ageratum, begonias, coleus, cosmos, gerbera daisy, impatiens, marigolds, petunias, salvias, sunflowers, verbena, vinca, or zinnia. Don't plant vinca where you grew pansies this year, they succumb to a fungal disease.

Vegetables: Seed beans, corn, cucumber, melons, and pumpkins. Peppers, summer squash, and tomatoes should be planted using seedlings. Make a teepee or trellis for your climbing vegetables and don't be afraid to be creative when adding height to your garden.

GARDEN CHORES
Lawns: Plant, patch, or seed bermudagrass, St. Augustine, or zoysia lawns. This is the month they take off and grow. For fescue and other cool season lawns, raise mower a notch or two and mow grass a little higher to help conserve water and shade out weeds during the summer.

Annuals and perennials: Shear established woody herbs such as oregano, rosemary and thyme regularly to keep producing fresh green growth for those summer recipes. Pinch chrysanthemums back about 4" every few weeks until the middle of July to encourage branching and plenty of flowers in the fall. I also pinch back Mexican sage, Michaelmas daisy, and evening primrose to prevent them from getting too leggy. Feed roses after each bloom cycle, remove spent flowers, and water regularly.

Fruit trees: In June some fruit trees may drop small fruit. This is normal, so don't be alarmed. The tree is just getting rid of excess fruit. You can help nature along by thinning fruit to a 6" spacing. Protect ripening fruit from birds; just before fruit is ripe hang reflective tape or use nets over your fruit trees. Citrus and avocado trees benefit from an application of a special blend fertilizer.

Vegetables: Have brown spot on the bottom of your tomatoes? Blossom end rot of tomato is usually caused by irregular watering which leads to the fruit not being able to accumulate enough calcium. Calcium is a water soluble element naturally available in our soils. Many tomato plants are setting fruit now. Don't let vines stress for water when green fruit is small or a temporary calcium deficiency could develop which leads to blossom end rot. Help conserve moisture in the vegetable garden with a thick layer of mulch.

WATERING
We say it every month, be water wise! Water deeply and infrequently in the early morning to insure minimum disease problems. Give water time to soak in between watering cycles. Use a timer if you have a habit of forgetting that the hose is on. If you develop dry patches in your lawn check the sprinklers. Try pushing a screwdriver into the spot. If the ground is too hard for the screwdriver to go in, then you need to aerate the area to provide better water penetration.

CRITTER CONTROL
With the last two winters being so relatively mild, bugs are already a problem this spring. Watch for signs of spider mites; look for mottled leaves and fine webs. Plants along dusty roads are particularly susceptible. Hose off plants with plain water or use insecticidal soap, if necessary to prevent mite infestation. Marigolds are particularly susceptible.

Worms: Green caterpillars or "tomato worms" on tomatoes and corn are active now. Spray with Bacillus thuringiensis commonly called BT. If your petunia buds fail to bloom and have little black specks on the buds, try BT on them also.

Mosquitoes: Prevent mosquitoes, clean birdbaths regularly, dump water left in pots and saucers add fish to your pond or buy doughnuts of BT to float on the water.

Ants: Controlling ants helps control aphids and scale insects in trees. Use Tanglefoot around tree trunks and set out many ant baits. In general, protein based baits (like Combat) work better at controlling red ants, whereas sugar based baits (like Grant's ant stakes) work better at controlling black ants. Baits work better than sprays in the long term and are less toxic to beneficial insects.

Going on vacation? Water houseplants thoroughly then place out of direct light so they retain moisture. Check the battery on your automatic sprinklers and replace if necessary. The last thing you want is a power outage to stop the controller. It happened to me, I came home to a nearly dead, crunchy lawn and it was NOT pretty.

May 29, 2003