June is a cusp month in gardening: All the seedlings you’ve nurtured all spring, from tomatoes to onions, have finally left the nest and are going into the ground. After you breathe the sigh of relief at the end of May to simply enjoy the landscape for a moment, it is time to pick up the seed box again. All the mid-summer vegetables need to be seeded, and in some cases, you can luck out and direct sow outside. But as weird as it may seem, it’s also time to start thinking about seeding starts for fall. All the while, there’s still plenty to be direct sown outside, from summer cucurbits to annual flowers.
Direct seeding outside
Last week, I direct sowed this year’s first succession of pickling cucumbers at the base of a brand new, very aspirational trellis. It’s part of an attempt to be more daring about direct sowing outside, rather than growing starts inside and planting them out. There are risks, of course, to this tactic. The seeds might not germinate, or they might get taken out as mere seedlings by slugs or any other animal. I’ve aggressively overseeded and have given the cucumbers two weeks to show themselves, or I’m off to the garden center for starts. At this point in the summer, I feel like you can go either way for cucumbers: direct seeding or planting starts. Direct seeding requires a little more trust and a little more patience—but less work.
One seeding experiment that rarely fails is the planting of bean seeds. Whether planting bush or pole beans, beans are fast and easy to germinate, and they prefer to grow in place. Overseed them (I plant about 30% more than advised in case I have loss to local wildlife), and provide sturdy trellises. My white climbing beans (pictured above) have already started to show themselves, ten days after planting. Corn seeds are also best sown in place, and should go in by early June.
beans emerging from the soil Credit: Amanda Blum
An in-between method I’d decided on this year is to plant some seeds in trays, but the trays will remain outside. This takes advantage of the heat of the sun, but means I can control the seedlings. Particularly for pumpkins, this method made a lot of sense for me. Because they’re in trays, I know which varieties have germinated, I can ensure that only sturdy seedlings go into the ground, and go precisely where I want them. Planted about a week ago, about half the tray is up. This method has been so rewarding, I will likely use it on squash, melons, basil, herbs, and plants I can’t seem to find in the nursery right now (like napa cabbage).
pumpkin seeds growing in a tray Credit: Amanda Blum
A challenge this time of year is to remember that if you don’t succession-plant lettuce, beets, radishes, and scallions, you won’t have them all summer to harvest.
Annual flower seeding
nasturiums growing Credit: Amanda Blum
Sunflower seeds went into the ground this week, in rows according to height, with mammoth varieties in the back that will grow twenty feet in the air, and shorter five-foot teddy bear varieties in front. Creating a sunflower wall is an easy way to create a border in the garden, and even if you don’t plant sunflowers this year, the ones you planted last year will pop back up where the flowers or birds dropped seeds. You can also start planting zinnias outside now. Remember that zinnias come in heights ranging from a foot to four feet. Mix and match them for a greater impact, and consider the zinnia mixes from Renee’s Gardens. They always have spectacular mixes by color and size that I enjoy. You can still seed nasturtiums, and should, throughout your garden. They act as an aphid trap.
sunflowers self seeding Credit: Amanda Blum
Consider getting cosmos into the soil now, they’ll grow to five or six feet and grow bushy, with delicate flowers that fill the late summer season. Ammi, a carrot flower that makes a good filler flower for gardens, can be sown now, as can amaranthus.
Start your perennials for next year
coneflower growing Credit: Amanda Blum
Once the summer starts are cleared from my growing room, I think about the perennials that I have space for. These are expensive starts to buy at the garden center, so they’re always worth nurturing at home. Agastache, also known as hummingbird mint, can be found in a wide swath of colors from Etsy growers. I haven’t found as many colors from commercial seed houses, and you could grow an actual rainbow of starts. Echinacea, one of my favorite July bloomers, now comes in so many electric colors and beautiful shapes, and will return each year. Starting seeds now means you’ll have a well-developed four-inch start by the end of summer to go into the ground. Consider perennial salvia (there is an annual salvia, too). Yarrow is no longer confined to the yellow and whites you’ve seen everywhere: Summer berry yarrow comes in sweeping reds and pinks. Columbines make delightful summer blooms, like upside-down bells. You can start them now. Lastly, consider giving delphinium, a notoriously tricky seed to germinate, a try. Having this perennial spike come up each year in the garden is always worthwhile.
Start to think about fall
You shouldn’t need to start fall starts until early July, but you should prepare lists and get your seeds now. It’s a great time to do so, because seeds are on sale everywhere. I receive sale notices daily from every seed house I subscribe to, so check in with the seed houses closest to you and grab what you’ll need.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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