What Bedford area gardener doesn’t love June? Warm weather is finally here and the veggie seedlings in the garden are growing like weeds. Speaking of which, hopefully the flowerbeds have been cleared of these pesky plants and a fresh layer of mulch has been applied. With all these tasks completed, June is a great month to concentrate on fruit crops.
June-bearing Strawberries
As the name implies, June-bearing strawberries produce their crop within a two to three week period in late spring. If you planted strawberries earlier in the season, it’s best to pinch back flowers and runners in the first year. This encourages the strawberry plants to put more energy into growing strong, healthy roots.
Those newly-planted strawberries will also benefit from mulching with one to two inches of straw. This helps control weeds which compete with strawberry plants for light, water and nutrients. June is also the time to add a fresh layer of straw to established beds. Mulching keeps ripe berries off the ground. This prevents molding and damage from ground-dwelling bugs.
Fruit Trees
June is the right time to finish thinning apples, pears and peaches. This can be a difficult task for backyard gardeners to fathom. After all, it seems counterproductive to remove young fruit from the trees. However, performing this task increases the size of the remaining fruit. Thinning also prevents overbearing, which can lead to limb breakage and diminished yields the following year.
To thin fruit trees, remove excess fruit by hand when the young apples, pears or peaches are less than the size of a dime. Leave one apple or pear per spur. These are the short, wrinkled stems that arise from the branches. Be sure not to break or damage the spur as they will continue to produce fruit in subsequent years.
Peaches and related fruit, like nectarines and apricots, develop on one-year-old wood. Thin these trees so that one fruit is left every six to eight inches. When thinning fruit, also take the time to remove any suckers which have sprouted during the growing season. This will improve the tree’s vigor and fruit production.
Tropical Fruit
Can you grow tropical fruit in Bedford? Yes, but mostly as container plants. Weather conditions in June are now stable and it’s time to move those potted fruit trees outdoors for the summer. They will benefit from the added sunlight and natural rainfall. Like most plants, it’s necessary to harden off tropical fruit trees to prevent burnt foliage and leaf drop.
Container fig and citrus trees can be a bit heavy to move, but placing the planter on a dolly allows gardeners to easily move these trees in and out of a sheltered location. Slowly acclimate them to full sun and wind exposure by increasing the time spent in these conditions everyday.
Proper care of fruit trees in June helps ensure large yields of flavorful fruit later in the season. Which means plenty of homemade pies for all those highly-anticipated summer picnics and cookouts.
