Things to do in the JUNE garden

• MULCH ASPARAGUS generously after harvesting stops around the middle of the month. Do the same for rhubarb plants as their season of harvest winds down around the end of the month. Remove any rhubarb flowerspikes that develop.

• Sustain the beauty of the garden in June by WEEDING AND DEADHEADING. Remove weeds before they can form and shed seeds.

• Continue THINNING seeded vegetable plantings.

• PULL SOIL AROUND POTATO PLANTS to prevent any tubers near the surface from turning green (and poisonous) with exposure to sunlight. This procedure is called hilling or earthing up. As early potatoes begin to die back, reduce watering.

• Finish PLANTING SUMMER FLOWERS in beds and containers.

• Plant SUCCESSION SALAD CROPS of lettuce, radish and spinach in a lightly shaded location with a cool, moist soil.

• Remove dead foliage from SPRING-FLOWERING BULBS.

• Finish filling hanging baskets, patio pots, window boxes and planters with flowers.

• Keep COMPOST PILES dampened, and well aerated or turned for speedy decomposition.

• Remove suckers from staked TOMATOES.

• With the arrival of warm weather, MOW THE LAWN HIGH to protect the roots and crowns of the grass plants from burning. A thick and healthy, unscalped lawn also makes life awkward for weeds. During dry weather WATER LONG, AND DEEPLY. AVOID brief, frequent, shallow sprinklings.

• SOW FLOWERING KALE AND CABBAGE for colorful plants this fall and winter.

• CUT CHIVE CLUMPS down to a few inches from the ground, a small section of the clump at a time, to keep fresh, tender new growth coming along.

• Pick off rose leaves with BLACK SPOT OR POWDERY MILDEW, and apply a sulphur-based fungicide.

• Allow one or two runners to develop from the most productive plants in the STRAWBERRY PATCH.