Home
(Houseplants and indoor activities)
Indoor plants will require more frequent watering and fertilization as they increase their summer growth.

Houseplants can be moved outdoors to a shady location, but pay close attention to their watering needs.

Cut garden flowers for indoor beauty. Recut the stems again just before placing in water. Add a floral preservative, and change the solution frequently.

Root cuttings of houseplants and garden plants to increase your collection or share with a friend.

Yard
(Lawns, woody ornamentals and fruits)
Prune spring-flowering shrubs after blooms fade.

Apply fungicide to prevent and control black spot on roses.

Water newly planted trees and shrubs. Water deeply every seven to 10 days when rain is lacking.

Propagate deciduous shrubs, such as forsythia, lilac, pyracantha and weigela, by stem tip cuttings.

Remove faded flowers and seedpods on lilac and other spring-flowering shrubs.

Do not be alarmed at June drop of tree fruit. It is a natural thinning process for most trees to prevent excessive loads. Thin remaining fruit, if necessary, or prop up heavy branches to avoid breakage. Most fruit should be spaced 6 to 8 inches apart on a branch.

Continue applications of home orchard fruit sprays to maintain problem-free fruit.

Keep grass mowed regularly, but mow high to help protect the crown of the plant from heat stress.

Lawn clippings, unless excessive, should be left on the lawn.

To keep lawn green and growing, water as needed to supply a total of 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week. If left unwatered, lawns will turn brown and become dormant but will green up again when conditions are more favorable.

Garden
(Vegetables, small fruits and flowers)
Discontinue harvest of asparagus and rhubarb around mid-June to allow foliage to develop and store food reserves for next year’s harvest. Fertilize and water when dry to promote healthy growth.

Mulch to control weeds and conserve soil moisture after soil has warmed. Many materials such as straw, chopped corncobs, bark chips, shredded paper and grass clippings can be used.

Blanch (exclude light from) cauliflower when heads are just 2 inches in diameter. Tie leaves up and over the developing head.

Keep weeds controlled. They’re easier to pull when they are still young.

Start seeds of cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower for fall garden transplants.

Plan now for your Halloween pumpkin. Determine the days to harvest for the particular cultivar you want to plant (usually on the seed packet), and count backward to determine the proper planting date.

Harvest spring plantings of broccoli, cabbage and peas. Remove cool-season plants, such as radish, spinach and lettuce, as they bolt, or form seed stalks, during hot summer weather.

Continue planting carrots, beans and sweet corn for successive harvests.

For staked tomatoes, remove suckers (branches that form where the leaf joins the stem) while they are 1 to 1.5 inches long to allow easier training.

Remove spent blooms of peony, iris, delphiniums and other flowers.

Pinch shoot tips of chrysanthemums, impatiens, petunias and coleus to promote bushier growth.

Remove tops of spring-flowering bulbs after they have yellowed and withered.

Continue planting gladiolus for a succession of bloom.

Pick strawberries from the garden or a U-pick operation.

Supplement natural rainfall to supply a total of 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week to the garden.

This farm news was published in the May 31, 2006 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.