RSSHome & Garden: Activity speeds up in the June garden
For the Yakima Herald-Republic
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June is the month when you can no longer fool yourself into thinking that the time to get going in the garden is still around the corner. Summer is upon us. It's time!
Suggestions for June garden activities include:
* Cultivation and mulching arguably should be placed high on your gardening priority list. Work soil deeply with a digging fork, but without turning it over. This helps maintain the microbe activity level in your soil. Add 1 or 2 inches of compost and top off with mulch. Keeping a good mulch layer in your garden helps retain moisture, slows weed growth and helps to keep the soil from compacting. As the mulch breaks down, it can be cultivated in as compost.
* Monitor watering. Plants prefer deep, early morning watering. This practice also helps reduce problems with powdery mildew and black spot.
* Fertilize annuals in containers, baskets and window boxes with a quarter-strength balanced fertilizer every seven to 10 days. Always water plants before adding a liquid fertilizer.
* Fertilize bulbs with a 9-9-6 or similar slow-release fertilizer. Leave the foliage on the plant until it dies and dries up on its own, but mark the spots with small stakes so you will not disturb the bulbs as you garden later, after the foliage is gone.
* Stake tall perennials and continue to tie annual and perennial vines to supports.
* Thin seedlings and pinch back annuals for bushier growth. Thinning and prudent pinching is vital in the process of encouraging and ensuring the robust development of plants.
* Flowers bloom to produce seed. Therefore, one of the best ways to prolong blooming is by cutting and deadheading. Deadheading is the process of removing spent blossoms from your plants to stimulate new bloom and prevent fruiting. For flowering plants, this process keeps your garden looking fresh and colorful well into the fall. Make deadheading, pinching back and cleaning up a daily routine. It keeps you in touch with your garden, allowing you to see problems early.
* Start a regular fertilizing program. Fertilizing is probably the single most neglected gardening practice. Fertilize regularly, using organic fertilizers if possible, as they help build the soil. Diligent fertilization with good compost and regular watering will reward you with a very happy and thriving garden.
* Make sure your watering system is in order. Check sprinkler coverage and inspect your sprinkler system for broken, malfunctioning or misaligned heads. If drip systems are clogging up too much, it may be time to replace them.
* The last part of May was wet and cool. Be sure to set up a program to combat mildew.
* With the warm weather of summer, monitor the moisture level of your compost pile and make sure it is sufficiently moist.
* Before the weather gets too hot, think about starting that garden project that's going to take some sweat and strain.
* Washington State University Master Gardener volunteers are available on a limited basis. Call 574-1600 for information about talking to a Master Gardener.
Take the 2008 Garden Tour
Get ready for a day of enchanting sights, sounds and scents during the Yakima Area Arboretum’s annual Garden Tour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 14.
Six glorious gardens are featured on this year’s tour, including those of:
• Ollie Weitz
• Metiner and Cynthia Kimel
• Neil and Leslie McClure
• John and Carol Barany
• Dave and Margie Van Cleve
• The Master Gardener Demonstration Garden
Garden Tour explorers will discover gardens filled with colorful perennials, spectacular views and stunning water features, shade gardens, children’s gardens, wildlife habitats, unusual plants and clematis gardens.
Garden Tour tickets cost $20, with all proceeds benefiting the Yakima Area Arboretum. Tickets are available at the arboretum, Loo-Wit Gardens, Cowiche Creek Nursery and Russell’s Nursery. Call the Yakima Area Arboretum at 248-7337 for more information.
