June advice for no dig vegetables 2023, with pest and weeds stories

Written by

Charles Dowding

Last Updated

May 31, 2023

See my newsletter for June with lots of advice for the coming few weeks. It’s a top time for sowing beetroot, carrots, purple sprouting broccoli, autumn cauliflower, savoy cabbage and chicory for radicchio.

No dig soil drains and holds moisture. Nonetheless what we do in June depends on the balance of sun and rainfall. “A dripping June keeps all in tune” is balanced by the need for good light levels. Current forecasts suggest rain for the south after about 10th June, and I hope for it.

Remember also you can subscribe to my weekly advice newsletter. And see the recent Homeacres tour video for more ideas, and to gain ideas.

The month of May saw 48mm rain in its first half with little sunshine, and zero thereafter with sun every day here. Watering makes a beneficial and big difference now to almost all plantings, especially recent ones.

If you find watering difficult in June, such as at Cotgrave Community Garden where their 2600L rainwater was nicked, best reflect on the positive aspect of sunshine. It’s so necessary for healthy growth, shown by this message I received 31st May:

“Northern Italy, extremely rainy May, and my poor pea plants are so ill with mildew that it literally smells like fungi walking by them. Makes me so sad, but spacing and climbing style are similar to yours.”

See next photo – from Le Manoir garden 31st May, Raymond Blanc’s near Oxford UK. I visited there to make a video, and use some of the photos to illustrate my June advice for no dig.

Tall purple peas at Le Manoir grown for their flowers mostly, protected yet eaten by pigeons

Onion bed at Homeacres, not watered and showing cracked soil even with no dig mulching of compost

Path weeds at le Manoir where they never laid cardboard, now is a big job to weed

Rabbits, unusual root vegetables and potatoes at Le Manoir 31st May

Pests influence many jobs. And the look of your plot.

Pigeons and rabbits are spoiling the gardening experience in the lovely garden at Le Manoir. They have to use a lot of netting, fleece, and mesh.

Whatever your pests are, you need appropriate protection and I’ve written a knowledge pack or online tutorial about dealing with pests.

Now is time also to be prepared for caterpillars. You can control them with a soil bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis. However we have to buy it as a product to treat box hedges, it’s the Bt as active ingredient.

Protecting carrots at Le Manoir against rabbits and root flies, overnight you can see new holes were dug by rabbits, some of which have droppings in. Notice clean paths where cardboard was laid in February, then a little woodchip over

Salsify and scorzonera sown direct, useful for the restaurant but I find them low yielding — Salsify and scorzonera sown direct at Le Manoir, useful for the restaurant but I find them low yielding

Clean paths and beds for potatoes Le Manoir 31st May, these look very promising, and there are several varieties

No dig weed advice, and polytunnel plantings at Le Manoir

Controlling weeds is another big story in gardening. At Homeaces we have them under control, just! Keep hoeing if you see masses of little ones, and lever out new shoots of perennial weeds.

No dig offers huge advantages and time saving, as in this video tour of my new area. Now clear almost of bindweed, within two years.

However you need to apply the appropriate mulches. I’m always disappointed when I see opportunities missed – second photo in gallery below. Also I don’t like using plastic, but sometimes it’s useful. At Le Manoir as in the third photo below, they reuse this fabric once.

Remember you can put all weeds on the compost heap!!