It is important to plan ahead when gardening to ensure enough growing time before you harvest
June is also a great time to plant flowers including fuchsias and some geraniums(Image: Getty Images )
Though fluctuating weather conditions can make it difficult to predict the best time to get out in the garden, expert advice can help us to know when to plant different fruits, vegetables and flowers. With a roundup of plants to get started on in June, now is the time to get shopping for some late spring seeds.
Gardening requires a certain level of forward thinking. While some plants grow quickly others can take months or even seasons to sprout so it is best to plan ahead for your future harvests.
According to Gardeners World, June is the ideal month to plant many things, including pumpkins.
Planting these large orange fruits in the last month of spring will mean that they are more likely to see sufficient warm days over the coming months to develop a good size and flavour.
What’s more, it is advised that following this planting pattern will allow for a September or October harvest.
With Halloween falling at the end of October, it is likely that your home-grown produce will be ready just in time for some festive carving.
Alternatively, take advantage of the health benefits of pumpkins which include high levels of Vitamin A and C as well as potassium and magnesium by making a nutritious pumpkin stew or curry.
Other great recipes include pumpkin risotto or a simple warming soup.
Or for a sweet treat, try a pumpkin pie.
How to plant pumpkins
Gardeners World advises sowing pumpkin seeds directly into individual pots to plant out later.
They advise soaking seeds in water overnight to speed up germination, before sowing them in 8cm pots filled with peat free seed compost and placing on a warm and sunny windowsill.
Another tip involves placing seeds on their sides and not flat to stop water sitting on top and causing rotting. Alternatively plug plants can be planted in June.
Gardeners Worlds also advises that pumpkins can be sowed from as early as March and planted from as early as May though state June as the final chance for either of these activities.
Depending on planting times, pumpkins can be harvested from March to October.