June is another slow planting month in the garden. But there are a lot of other things to do in there.

You should be harvesting the last of the cool weather veggies (cabbage, carrot, Brussels sprouts, radishes, most greens…) and harvesting lots of warm weather veggies (tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, cucumbers…)

You might have noticed on some plants that you are getting a lot of beautiful blooms but no veggies. Not to worry.  There are some veggie plants that have male and female blossoms (squash, cucumbers, melons…).  Temperature has a little to do with which are formed and you will usually get a lot of male blossoms blooming (that will not bear fruit) before the female blossoms start forming. The first picture up there shows the male and female blossoms of a yellow crookneck squash. The female blossom that will bear fruit has a miniature little squash at the base of the blossom (which hasn’t opened in this picture). The male blossom has a plain straight stem (down and to the left of the female blossom in the picture)

Another reason you may not be getting fruit from these plants is poor pollination. I’ll show you in another post how to do this by hand.

Another problem you may be seeing in your garden is powdery mildew – particularly on squash, cucumber, and melon vines. Spraying the leaves – top and bottom – with an alkaline solution (2 tsp sodium bicarbinate [Arm and Hammer bicarb from the kitchen, also called baking soda] and 1 tsp dish soap in a 1 gallon of water) may help. The powdery mildew fungus doesn’t grow well in an alkaline environment and the dish soap helps the liquid stick to the leaves rather than just run off.

I’ve been having some good luck with using a milk solution. Full strength or diluted 10:1 water to milk. Any kind of milk will do; fresh, sour, whole, skim, powdered, canned… I put it in an inexpensive pump sprayer ($10-$20 at Lowe’s, Home Depot, etc.) or you can use a spray bottle – spray bottle is just a little hard on the hand.

And there is one more thing I want to talk to you about. This is the time of year that creatures establish territories and mate so many are on the move. Most you will never see or notice because they are small and secretive. Some, like birds, can give you pleasure. But some you need to be cautious of. Specifically alligators, large snakes, and BEARS! Even if you live in the middle of town or the suburbs it’s still possible to find these creatures. Read about our experience here at Mango Cottage Life I think you will really enjoy it.

As far as what you can plant this month:

• Okra
• Sweet potatoes
• Southern peas (crowder, black-eyed-peas, asparagus/yard long beans…)