THE ALMANAC - JUNE

LAWNS 
1. Mow lawns regularly to maintain a good sward. Little and often is the secret to success.
2. Apply a high nitrogen 'summer lawnfood' if not done last month to encourage a good looking, healthy lawn.
3. Cut the lawn edges to create a neat and defined line around your lawn. If it needs reshaping, then use a half moon tool.
4. Add grass clippings to your compost heap in thin layers to hasten decomposition. Applied to thickly and the result will be a sticky wet 'goo' which no air can penetrate.
5. Keep newly sown or laid lawns well watered during any hot weather as seeded areas will just burn up and turves will shrink and not knit together.
6. Move garden furniture and other objects regularly to prevent yellow patches developing.

VEGETABLES 
1. Harvest indoor Cucumbers regularly to encourage more fruit to set.
2. Harvest Rhubarb stems till the end of the month, but leave crowns 'forced' earlier in the year to recover.
3. Early peas may be ready for harvest. Cut off the tops of the plants, leaving the roots in the ground to to conserve valuable nutrients to the soil.
4. Harvest salad onions , salad leaves , beetroot and radishes as they mature.
5. Continue successional sowings of salad crops, beetroot, Chinese cabbage, pak choi and radish to ensure an even supply over the season.
6. Asparagus is a perennial vegetable. Harvest spears from established plants for six to eight weeks from May into the early summer. Do not harvest spears from crowns less than two years old. After harvest and flowering it is a good idea to feed them so that they have sufficient energy for next years crop.

GREENHOUSE
1. Harden off, half-hardy bedding plants that were started off under cover.
2. Apply shade paint to the outside of the glass or use blinds on sunny days to prevent temperatures from rising and from scorched foliage.
3. Open doors and and vents on greenhouses to increase ventilation on warm, sunny days and damp down the floor to increase humidity levels .This greatly reduces the risk of pests such as Red Spider which dislikes moist atmospheres .
4. Give greenhouse plants more space as they grow. This will help prevent disease and possible pest infestations.
5. Hang up yellow sticky traps to catch the many flying and crawling pests that inhabit a nice warm glasshouse. These can not only eat your plants but are also a source of virus transmission.
6. If you suffer a bad attack of any pest under glass and dont like using sprays, then consider using live preditors. These can be obtained through Mail Order and addresses of companies can be obtained in monthly garden mags or via the Internet.

TREES AND SHRUBS
1. Prune deciduous Magnolias once the plant is in full leaf. If this is done in winter, when the tree is dormant, dieback can occur, and pruning in late winter or spring will result in bleeding. Midsummer is therefore recommended.
2. Rhododendrons can be lightly pruned after flowering. More severe pruning should wait until the following early spring.
3. Clip evergreen hedges such as privet, box and Lonicera nitida if needed. If they are not too woody, shredded clippings can be added to the compost heap.
4. Remove any reverted green shoots on hardy variegated evergreens , to prevent reversion taking place.
5. Prune wall-trained Pyracanthas, removing any shoots that grow outwards away from the wall, and shortening other new growth to about 3. This encourages spur formation, and increased flowering relative to green growth.
6. Loosen any tree ties that are digging into the bark, or could do so as soon as the trunk girth expands.

ROSES
1. Tie in climbing and rambling roses as near the horizontal as possible. This will restrict sapflow causing more side shoots to form thus more flowers will be produced.
2. Check plants for signs of Aphids and other pest and disease. Spray with suitable pesticides or fungicides.
3. Check stakes and ties and replace if required.
4. Keep beds clean of weed and grass. Apply a mulch to retain moisture levels during hot weather and keep well watered.
5. Dead head roses regularly to maintain fresh buds.

PERENNIALS
1. Finish planting out Gladioli.
2. Stake tall plants that may be exposed to strong winds.
3. Lift and divide overcrowded clumps of bulbs after they have finished flowering. Wait until foliage has died down as moving to early can result in 'blindness'.
4. Divide Primulas after flowering, planting them in a nursery bed until they are ready for planting out next Autumn for a display the following Spring.
5. Divide Hostas as they come into growth.
6. Liquid feed containerised plants every two to four weeks.