Stephen Albert
The first day of winter will arrive later this month in the southern hemisphere, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and South Africa. Many birds have headed north and nature has finished its preparation for the cooler and cold days ahead.
June is a good month to mulch strawberries and protect them from winter cold. Fall-bearing raspberries and other brambles should be pruned to the ground during June in the southern hemisphere.
If you are growing herbs in containers, you can pinch off sprigs this time of year to remind you of the summer garden. ‘Pixie’ is a small tomato that you can grow with parsley in an indoor container. Keep that in mind for next winter.
Autumn planted carrots won’t be big right now, but they will be sweet. Other winter crops to enjoy are crisphead lettuce, chard, scallions, leeks, Brussels sprouts, and turnips. Winter fruits ready this month include pears, seen above, apples, and citrus fruits.
June is a good time to sit with your seed catalogs and think about next spring.
Here is a list by region of vegetables and herbs to be planted in the Southern Hemisphere during June:
Temperate regions: Vegetables: artichoke suckers, asparagus crowns, broad beans, cress, lettuce, mustard, onions, peas, shallots, spinach, strawberry runners. Herbs: garlic.
Tropical and sub-tropical northern regions: Vegetables: asparagus crowns, beans, beets, broad beans, cabbage, carrots, celery, Chinese cabbage, cress, endive, fennel, lettuce, mustard, spring onions, parsnip, peas, potatoes, radish, shallots, silverbeet (Swiss chard), spinach, strawberry runners, tomato, zucchini. Herbs: angelica, basil, borage, caraway, celeriac, chamomile, chervil, chives, coriander, dill, garlic, hyssop, lemon balm, marjoram, oregano, parsley, salad burnet, thyme.
Cooler southern regions: Vegetables: asparagus crowns, cress, lettuce, sonion, peas, spinach, strawberry runners. Herbs: garlic.
June Harvest Schedule for the Southern Hemisphere:
Here is a roundup of vegetables and fruits ready for harvest during June in the Southern Hemisphere:
Vegetables: beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, celeriac, Chinese cabbage, corn, kale, lettuce, parsnip, peas, purslane, radish, rutabaga (Swede), spinach, turnips.
Fruits and nuts: apples, avocadoes, banana, feijoa, grapefruit, guavas, kiwifruit, kumquat, limes, early mandarins, olives, oranges, passionfruit, pears.
