The plot in June

Jobs on the plot

• Plant out everything tender. Tomatoes, courgettes, squash, sweetcorn and beans can all go out now.
• Stop cutting asparagus. Stop on the longest day and let the fern grow.
• Pinch out tomato side shoots. On tall varieties, every week.
• Water in the evening or early morning. Aim at the roots, not the leaves.
• Mulch. Grass clippings or compost round thirsty crops keeps moisture in and weeds down.
• Plant leeks. Into the space the early potatoes or broad beans leave behind.

Times are for an average year in the English Midlands. Go two weeks earlier in the mild south, and two to three weeks later in the north and in Scotland.