It’s time to get ready for summer in San Diego gardens. Try to get your planting completed early in the month while temperatures are still mild, check irrigation and add mulch to save water and keep soil cool.
Be Part of National Pollinator Week June 17-23
Pollinator week is an annual event supporting pollinator health. There are several things you can do in your San Diego garden to help pollinators. Plant pollinator friendly natives and other non-invasive plants in clusters. Reduce or eliminate pesticides. Create a bee friendly garden. Support your local beekeepers and spread the word about pollinators.
We were lucky enough to have a bumblebee nest in our yard last year and got to watch the new bees emerge. But it’s not just bees that pollinate plants. Hummingbirds, butterflies, beetles, moths, and even flies are all pollinators. For more information on how to help pollinators in your yard, go to www.pollinator.org.
Feed Plants and Vegetables in Your San Diego Garden
Fertilize actively growing plants like roses, annual and perennial flowers, fruit trees, palms and plants in containers, but skip native and drought-tolerant Mediterranean plants.
Vegetables need a nitrogen fertilizer to promote growth. Feed corn when it is six inches and 24 inches tall. Fertilize cucumbers, melons, pumpkins and squash when they begin to produce runners. Eggplant, peppers and tomatoes should be fed when they begin to bloom and again after one month. Feed beans one month after planting or when runners start to climb.
Deadhead Roses and Combat Powdery Mildew
Deadheading your roses now will help keep them blooming through October. You can cut them when they are in full bloom and enjoy their flowers in your home, or prune them once the flowers have stopped blooming.
To get new blooms, cut above a growth node at a five-leaflet leaf that points outward at a middle point on the cane. If you cut too high, the stems will be weak. Cut too low, and you could be waiting a long time for new blooms. Feed the plant lightly and water it deeply. Deadheading after each bloom cycle will keep your plant blooming throughout the season.
If this month’s June Gloom is encouraging powdery mildew on those roses, take a look at my May Gardening Tips for ways to fight it.
San Diego Gardens Tips Source
A lot of information for San Diego Gardens comes from the Master Gardener Association of San Diego County. They are a great resource for all of your gardening needs including planting, pests, vegetables, and water use. They even have a free hotline where you can get your home gardening and pest control problems answered.