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June Organic Maintenance


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JUNE

Plant*:
  • All warm-season grasses: Bermuda, zoysia, St. Augustine, and buffalo grasses by solid sod; Bermuda and buffalo grasses and other native grasses by seed.
  • Summer annual color: amaranthus, pride of Barbados, begonias, caladiums, coleus, copperleaf, cosmos, esparanza, gomphrena, lantana, marigold, periwinkle, purslane, portulaca, verbena, zinnia, allamandas, bougainvillea, fire bush, firecracker fern, hibiscus, ixora, mandevillas, pentas, etc.
  • Summer perennials: cleome, blue daze, (Evolvulus), cockscomb, cosmos, hardy hibiscus, fan flower (Scaevola) Salvias, yellow bells and others.
  • Warm season food crops: amaranth, okra, southern peas, sweet potatoes, Malabar spinach, pumpkins and squash.
  • Shrubs and trees, especially summer flowering varieties like crape myrtles.
  • Fall tomatoes and other fall vegetable crops.

Fertilize:
  • Avoid all synthetic fertilizers, especially nitrogen only products like 24-0-0.
  • Second Major Fertilization of the Year.
  • All planting areas with organic fertilizer. This should be the second major fertilization of the year. Use about twenty pounds of fertilizer per thousand square feet. To give plants an extra boost, use fishmeal or corn gluten meal. Add mycorrhizal products such as Garrett Juice Pro.
  • Spray all plantings and lawns with Garrett Juice every two weeks or at least once a month.
  • Iron and general trace mineral deficiency results in yellowed leaves with dark green veins on the youngest growth. Drench soil with Garrett Juice, greensand. Magnesium products will also help. Use high-calcium lime for calcium deficiency.
  • Apply the Sick Tree Treatment to any ailing trees and other woody plants.

Prune:
  • Long erratic shoots from abelia, elaeagnus, lady banks roses, etc.
  • Remove spent blooms and shear flowering plants by one-third that has started to decline. Don’t wait until they have completely stopped blooming.
  • Blackberries to remove fruiting canes after harvest. Prune new canes to three feet in height to encourage side branching.
  • Dead and damaged wood from trees, shrubs, as needed.

Water:
  • All planting areas deeply, but infrequently during dry periods.
  • Potted plants regularly. Daily watering needed for some plants. Add an ounce per gallon of Garrett Juice at least once a month.

Pest Control:
  • Yellow lower leaves on tomatoes - spray garlic and/or cornmeal juice, a commercial disease control product or Garrett Juice with hydrogen peroxide added.
  • Spider mites: Spray Garrett Juice or any seaweed product as needed.
  • Fleas, ticks and chiggers: dust with natural diatomaceous earth in dry weather and release beneficial nematodes anytime.
  • Gray leaf spot - reduce fertilizers and spray garlic and/or corn meal juice with Garrett Juice.
  • Bagworms and other caterpillars: Release trichogramma wasps and spray if needed with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Spinosad and mound drench products containing orange oil can also be used. Garrett Juice plus two ounces of orange oil per gallon of spray is also effective.
  • Scale insects, including mealybugs: Spray plant oil products or mound drench products.
  • Black spot on roses, mildew and other fungi: Spray Garrett Juice plus garlic tea or diluted skim milk and drench the soil with garlic tea or apply dry granulated garlic See Home Page of dirtdoctor.com for the entire Organic Rose Program. .
  • Weeds: Hand remove and work on improving soil health. Spot spray vinegar-based products.
  • Lacebugs, elm leaf beetles green June bugs, etc. Spray garlic pepper tea, summer-weight horticultural oil, plant oil products or mound drench products containing orange oil. Spinosad products will also work on this and other insect pests.

Odd Jobs:
  • Mow weekly and leave clippings on the lawn.
  • Turn compost pile as needed.
  • Mulch all bare soil but do not pile mulch on trunks and stems of plants.
  • Feed and water the birds!

*Planting recommendations based on North Texas climate, which is zone 8. Check with your local nurseries and extension service for specific varieties and timing. 
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