VEGETABLE PATCH : A warm June morning suits fruiting crops well. Cucumber plants can move into their final positions now — space them 60 cm apart in rows 100 cm wide, with compost worked into each hole before planting. Melon seedlings raised under cover are ready to go out too: 80 cm apart, rows 100 cm, in the warmest corner of the bed. Lay a straw mulch around each stem to hold moisture through the weeks ahead.
ORCHARD : Take soft-fruit cuttings from healthy raspberry canes today — select firm, non-flowering shoots, trim to 15 cm, and heel them into a shaded nursery bed. Cherry trees and plum trees will benefit from a side-dressing of well-rotted compost spread just beyond the drip line. Pinch kiwi lateral shoots back to five leaves to channel vigour into developing fruit.
LANDSCAPING : Roses respond well to a 4 cm compost mulch around the base today, feeding roots and suppressing weeds. Wisteria that has finished flowering can receive its summer trim: shorten the long whippy shoots to five or six leaves, keeping the framework tidy and encouraging next year’s spurs.