What to Do on Your Allotment in June

June marks the shift from "growing" to "managing and harvesting." The sowing rush is mostly done, the crops are growing vigorously, and the challenge becomes keeping up with what the plot is producing.

What to sow in June

There is still time for succession sowings of: - Lettuce, rocket, and salad leaves — continue every 2–3 weeks. - French beans — a late sowing will extend your harvest into October. - Beetroot — young, tender roots from a June sowing are ready in August. - Chard — for autumn and winter harvest. - Florence fennel — June onwards, as earlier sowings bolt in long days.

What to harvest in June

• Broad beans — pick when pods are full but before they turn leathery. Shell immediately and freeze any surplus; they freeze beautifully.
• Peas — pick regularly; leaving pods on the plant signals the plant to stop producing.
• Early potatoes — dig when the flowers open or petals fall. Scrape the soil to check size first.
• Strawberries — the main flush. Pick daily at peak season.
• Gooseberries — thin the crop in early June; use the thinnings for crumbles. Let the remaining fruits ripen to full sweetness.
• Salads, radishes, spring onions — from ongoing sowings.
• Asparagus — final harvest. Stop cutting by mid-June (see below).

Key jobs for June

Stop cutting asparagus by mid-June. After the last cut, allow the fronds to grow tall and feathery. These fronds photosynthesise and rebuild energy reserves in the crown for next year. Remove the barrier between harvest and long-term productivity by cutting too late and your yields decline year on year.

Earth up maincrop potatoes. Continue drawing soil up around the stems. This is the final earthing-up for most varieties.

Tie in tomatoes and pinch out side shoots. Cordon (indeterminate) tomatoes need weekly attention — tie the main stem to the support and pinch out the side shoots (the shoots that grow in the "V" between stem and leaf) to maintain a single stem. Bush tomatoes need no pinching.

Water consistently. June can bring dry spells. Irregular watering causes problems: split tomatoes, blossom end rot, and bolting lettuce. Water deeply at the base of plants, ideally in the morning.

Pests to watch

• Red spider mite thrives in hot, dry conditions. The undersides of leaves look dusty and mottled. Keep humidity up (mist greenhouse plants) and use biological control (Phytoseiulus) in greenhouses.
• Caterpillars — cabbage white butterfly eggs hatch and the caterpillars can strip brassica leaves in days. Check undersides of leaves weekly and crush any yellow egg clusters.
• Powdery mildew begins on courgette leaves in dry weather. Improve airflow and avoid wetting leaves.

Quick win: freeze your broad bean surplus

Surplus broad beans freeze better than almost any other vegetable. Blanch shelled beans for 2 minutes in boiling water, refresh in cold water, dry, and freeze in portions. They retain their flavour and texture far better than any shop-bought frozen bean.