Summer is officially here in Minnesota as we welcome the summer solstice on June 21! Our lakes are filled with anglers and water skiers while campers sleep beneath a breathtaking starry sky. There is so much to do in the summer in the land of 10,000 lakes.

June is such a peaceful month in the garden. Jungle weeds have not taken over, and potted annuals are still looking fresh. Iris, honeysuckle, and lilies are in full bloom in my perennial garden and putting on quite a display of summer color.

Hopefully you have completed the hard manual labor now of amending beds and installing fencing/wildlife protection. Summer annuals and vegetables should all be planted by now, and any direct sown seeds are safe to go into the ground. Keep ahead of weeds by checking on plants daily and inspecting for pests before they become a problem.

June Garden Checklist

Harvest herbs and leafy greens before they go to seed
Finish planting warm season crops like corn, peppers, and tomatoes
Water planters daily when hot and dry, sometime even twice a day when windy
Be sure newly planted trees and shrubs are getting 2-5 gallons of water per week
Monitor for pests, especially on the underside of leaves
You can prune any spring flowering shrub after they are done blooming early this month, do not wait until fall or you will be cutting off next years buds
Leave the leaves on spring flowering bulbs to create energy for next season
WEED like everyday
Host a garden picnic party
Keep a journal and take photos
Mulch vegetable beds
Deadhead annual flowers
Enjoy your garden!
Take a food preservation class and learn to pickle, dehydrate, or ferment your summer harvests
Fertilize if necessary: signs include yellowing leaves

Happy Harvest

As we get closer to the 4th of July, we may start harvesting more edibles to bring to the dinner table.

Green onions/scallions can be used anytime now. I like to plant a bucket of yellow onion bulbs and harvest when young and small. I keep another plot of onions that I grow for slicing and storage.

Cool season crops like broccoli and romaine will need to be picked soon, as they do not tolerate the heat and will flower soon. A cool broccoli salad is perfect for summer picnics or dipping into a homemade sauce. Lettuce and leafy greens do not hold up well in intense summer heat.

Green Beans will be getting picked by the handfuls later this month. This is a great vegetable for kids to plant. Green beans are also very simple to grow from seed. Sugar snap peas, basil, kale, Swiss chard, raspberry, strawberry, radish, and most herbs are fully ripe and ready to be picked this month. If you planted summer squash like zucchini, it should be coming in like hot cakes now. The uses for zucchini are endless! You can bake it into bread, add to a grilled vegetable kebob, saute into a stir-fry, include it with a sheet pan meal, or slice in half lengthwise and stuff like canoe!