Kitchen garden

Fan-trained fruit

Unwanted shoots should be cut off plums and apricots to maintain the fan shape. With figs, prune out the tips of any unwanted sideshoots after the fifth leaf, or remove them completely.

Herbs

Woody stemmed herbs such as sage and thyme produce lots of fresh healthy new shoots at this time of year, which will quickly root if taken as cuttings. Learn the best way to take cuttings of woody stemmed herbs.

Harvesting

Harvest beetroot and other crops while they are still young and tender. Early potatoes will be ready to harvest soon. Check one plant first to assess the crop size. Leave them to develop further if the potatoes are too small, and water the rows every week.

Fruit crops

Enjoy the fruits of your labours by picking rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries, currants, cherries and gooseberries. Remember to net fruit bushes to keep birds away, but it is important to check the netting daily to ensure that no birds have become trapped.

Sweet corn

Plant out pot-grown sweet corn. Place the plants in blocks, not rows, spacing them out about 45cm (18in) apart each way.

Crops to sow

From June to early July the following vegetable crops can be sown directly outside: lettuce and salad leaves, radishes, kohl rabi, spring cabbage and endive, plus dwarf French beans for a late crop. Winter spinach can be sown from July to September.

Water onions

Never let onions go short of water or their yield will be severely reduced. Water plants thoroughly once or twice a week if conditions are dry, and keep down weed competition by hand or using a hoe.

Cordon-trained fruit

Sideshoots on cordon gooseberries and currants should be pruned back to about five leaves or 10cm (4in) long.

Fruit trees

The natural June drop will thin out a heavy fruit crop to some degree, but it is worth lending a hand. Pick off any small, damaged or diseased fruits to leave those remaining spaced 10cm (4in) apart.

General care

Remove suckers or unwanted shoots

Some trees and shrubs have a habit of producing unwanted shoots from their base, or from the stems of those trained as standards. These can regularly be seen growing around rowan trees, sumach and older fruit trees. Cut them cleanly away with secateurs to prevent them sapping strength from the plant.

Pruning

Cut out plain green shoots growing on variegated shrubs to prevent them spoiling the appearance of your shrubs.

Weeds

Keep up the battle against problem weeds, removing any flowering stems before they have a chance to set seed. Many can be removed by hand, digging deeply to get out every last piece of root, or some chemical treatments can be effective. Larger areas can be cleared by smothering them with a large sheet of black polythene, left in place for many months.

Lawns

Mow it at least once a week, twice if possible, and finish by cutting the edges neatly. Feed lawns, if this hasn't been done already, and treat any weeds and moss. The clippings can usually be mixed into the compost heap, but remember to discard them for the first few mowings after applying weedkillers.

Mulch

Protect new and established plants by mulching the soil between them with composted bark, cocoa shells or another ornamental mulch. This will not only look attractive, setting off the surrounding plants, but will reduce annual weed growth and conserve soil moisture. Always mulch over moist ground, never on to bone-dry soil, so be sure to water well first if necessary. Use our guide to using mulches to choose one for your garden.

Pest problems

Take action against the following pest problems immediately:

• sawfly on gooseberry leaves
• whitefly on tomato leaves
• greenfly on rose shoot-tips and flower-buds
• red lily beetles on lily leaves
• sawfly caterpillars on Solomon's seal
• red spider mite on greenhouse crops