When June arrives I am deep in planting in the garden from seeds to plants themselves. It is a busy time! Every Bed is prepped and ready to take on what summer has to offer. So I gathered up a few of my favorite things to plan by seed in June. I explain where and why I love each item and what to know so you can be successful and choose the right things for yourself and your garden this year whether you have a small plot, a few pots or a HUGE garden like myself.
What To Plant in June
1. Glass Gem Corn
I love decorative corn varieties but you can dry this corn and enjoy it into the winter. Lots of ways to use it from tamales to tortillas. But this is a fun one to grow because of all the colors. Plant it once the soil is 75 degrees and let it go. Make sure you plant it in blocks so it can pollinate properly.
2. Sunflowers
Sunflowers grow quickly and easily. I love to plant 3-5 varieties of varying heights and colors. They are wonderful. Save the heads and use them for feeding your birds later in the winter.
3. Zinnias
Zinnias would be my entire garden if I could eat them. I LOVE zinnias. They are so easy to grow and maintain and offer beautiful bouquets while bringing bees and more. I plant them around other veggies for pollination help. I do them in rows and then make sure to pinch them off once they are 12 inches. They like to be watered from below but I always go from the top. I just have never gotten too serious about it.
4. Carrots
I plant carrots beginning in early spring to get succession harvests. I do varying varieties for fun and to help my kids understand carrots are not solely orange. Plant them between your tomatoes or near them as they partner well in the garden along with marigolds and basil.
5. Tatsoi
This is a new one for me this year but I am excited about starting it both in a container and in our beds. It is PACKED with nutrients and is is a sweeter lettuce so kids supposedly love it.
6. Borage
This is a really fun edible flower and herb to grow. The sweet and cucumber tasting flowers are gorgeous and fun to add to cocktails and salads all summer. It grows quickly and fills in plus will reseed easily year after year.
7. Nasturtium
Another edible flower. The leaves and flowers are pepper. They act as pest deterrents as well. You can use the leaves like tortilla shells as well for a plant based meal. They grow quickly and easily. Plant now though if you get early frosts in the fall.
8. Bush Beans
Plant these now so you can enjoy them for a long time this summer. We do 2 different varieties and love harvesting them. Easy for little hands and easy to grow. They pop up quick and are so satisfying and easy to grow and maintain. Pick often (sometimes 2 times a day) and you will have quite an abundant harvest.
9. Acorn Squash
These guys come to maturity in 80 days so plant them now to harvest mid to late august. You can winter store them even. You don’t need many plants one or two is all you need to take because they produce so well!
10. Parsley
Parsley is a wonderful herb to keep in your garden. One or two plants is plenty. It also is biannual so it will come back the next year so you only replace it every other year. Pretty awesome!
11. Arugula
Though it likes cooler weather, I plant this under my tomatoes and trellised cucumbers so it gets plenty of shade while it grows. I find it is a great way to keep this yummy spicy green as an option in our garden salads.
12. Runner Beans
A really fun and cool way to play with trellises and fence lines. I like to harvest some of the beans to eat fresh but then I leave the others on the vines to dry and then store them for winter for soups and beans and rice.
So tell me what things are your favorites to plant this month? What do you find you are enjoying about growing food this year?
Like this post you may also like these posts:
Where to buy seeds | What to plant in your First Garden | My Top Tips for First Time Gardeners
