June Allotment Jobs

June on the allotment is a busy time, so it is a good thing that we get the longest daylight hours to work! It is the last month of the season for sowing and planting most vegetable plants and seeds and hopefully by now you will have many potted young plants to transport out if you have not done so already. The threat of frosts should be done with now. Your work has started to pay off with harvesting from earlier crops too!

Amongst the growing, there is the general maintenance of weeding; being careful around younger plants. Hand-weed where seedlings are too delicate, or plants that have shallow roots. Keep the weeds at bay and turn dried, compacted soil.

Plenty of watering for thirsty plants, especially if it is a hot month. It is best to water during the early morning or evening if we are experiencing particularly warm and dry, sunny weather. It is better to give a good soaking less frequently than a light showering each day, as this encourages the slugs and snails that love the wet and warm conditions and the plants' roots will stay shallow rather than digging deeper to find their water source.

Keep your eyes peeled for any pests and diseases as you may well manage to save your plants if any issues are caught early. We have a more detailed page about this here, which also helps to offer ideas on how to prevent them as well as cure them.

When you are directly sowing in the soil this month, it is worth giving the drill or hole/area a good drenching first and then you can lightly sprinkle once the seeds are sown and bedded in. 

Many growers like to stagger their sowing throughout the season for a continuous supply that are not all ready to harvest at once, such as radishes, carrots, salad vegetables and so on. You will probably be able to get two more sowing sessions in, if you still have the room! After this month, the growing will start to slow as we head towards the main harvesting season.

Hopefully, you will have some successful potted brassicas to plant out now too. Other plants can be transported out, such as tomatoes and leeks. Before they are moved to their final growing position, harden them off first. Bring them outdoors but still potted, bring them back inside at night for a few nights before planting them out so that they become acclimatised.

If you are growing beans and climbing vegetable plants, it should be safe for them to be planted out now, however you will need to have a structure in place to train them to grow up. The traditional Teepee design with canes works well and if made correctly, it should withstand the wind and carry the weight of the formed fruits and foliage.

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