7 Vegetables to Sow in June – for a Bountiful Supply of Homegrown Produce Through to Fall
Plant now to enjoy during the cosy season
Growing your own food can be a hugely satisfying experience. Healthy and nutritious, pesticide-free food on your doorstep with zero food miles and no plastic packaging, the benefits are huge. But how can you ensure a continuous supply through the fall?
Having managed kitchen gardens and community food growing projects for over a decade, I share my tips and advice on the best vegetables to sow in June to make sure you have enough produce to last until autumn.
With the temperature and number of daylight hours increasing, June is a busy month for any gardener, filled with planting, watering and weeding. However, if you are wondering what you can plant in June, here are seven vegetables to sow this month that will supply you with a delicious bounty before the season is out.
Vegetables to sow in June
For many gardeners, the main sowing period is late spring, or possibly earlier, with the help of a greenhouse.
However, to ensure a continuous supply of fresh produce over the growing season, you can practice succession sowing or sowing the following crops in June, which will provide a harvest before winter arrives.
1. Dwarf French Beans
Prized for their flavorsome, tender pods, French beans are a staple of vegetable gardens. Similar to climbing or pole beans grown up a support, dwarf French beans, or bush beans as they are also called, mature and crop quickly, making them ideal for later sowings.
However, given their generally shorter harvesting period, successional sowing every 2-3 weeks will help guarantee a continuous supply.
Being small and compact, dwarf French beans are a great vegetable for growing in containers or any spare gaps in your vegetable patch. Preferring full sun and a fertile, moisture-retentive soil, sow 1-2 inches deep and allow 8-10 inches between plants to give them room to mature.
Furthermore, with impressive yields come harvest time, dwarf beans are perfect for freezing and stocking up for the winter. Maturing in as little as 55 days, you can purchase ‘Porch Pick’ bush bean seeds from Burpee.
2. Zucchini
Zucchini are easy to grow and, being prolific croppers, will supply a bountiful harvest for you to enjoy. Like summer squash, courgettes are tender and cannot tolerate frost, which makes June an ideal time to sow or plant them out, with the soil warmed up and any risk of frost past.
With green and golden colors and bush, climbing and trailing varieties available to grow, there is a zucchini to suit every growing space. Sow roughly half an inch deep where they are to grow or in a pot to plant out later. Courgettes thrive best in full sun and a moist and rich soil with lots of room to grow.
Producing dark green, tender fruits, you can purchase zucchini ‘Black Beauty’ seeds from True Leaf Market.
3. Corn
Although often sown under glass for a head start, June is a good time to sow corn. Requiring full sun and a fertile soil, corn generally takes 8-12 weeks to harvest from sowing, meaning a June crop should be ready to pick around August or September.
A perfect vegetable to plant in early June, sow direct where they are to grow 1 inch deep and in a grid pattern to aid pollination. Water regularly, especially during dry spells, protect young seedlings from slugs and snails and fertilize to increase yields.
Maturing in as little as 74 days, Corn Nirvana F1 hybrid is available to purchase from True Leaf Market.
4. Pumpkin
Maturing in 90-120 days, pumpkins require a long growing season to reach their impressive size. Commonly started off earlier in the year under cover to plant out after any risk of frost has passed, you can still sow pumpkins in early-to-mid June. However, to allow them time to ripen before winter arrives, selecting a fast-maturing variety is wise.
Versatile, sweet-tasting and with great carving potential, pumpkins grow best in rich, fertile soil where they receive 6-8 hours of sun per day.
Harvestable in around 90 days and ideal for making pumpkin pie, you can purchase Early Sweet Sugar Pie pumpkin seeds from Burpee.
5. Kohlrabi
Faster-growing than most other brassicas, kohlrabi can be ready to harvest in 50 to 70 days, depending on the variety and if successionally sown can provide an ongoing supply. Grown for its bulbous stems, kohlrabi is usually harvested when the stems reach 4 inches in diameter.
Perfect for sowing outdoors in June, sow half an inch deep and space around 6-8 inches apart. However, as a cool-season brassica, growing it in partial shade during the hottest months can help protect it from the worst of the summer heat.
For a striking variety, you can purchase Organic Purple Vienna kohl rabi seeds from Amazon.
6. Butternut Squash
Another vegetable to sow early in June is butternut squash. Loved for its sweet, nutty flavor and orange flesh, butternuts are commonly used for baking, roasting and making curries and soups. Furthermore, with a long shelf life, they are great for storing and enjoying over the fall and winter.
In cooler parts, butternut squash are often sown indoors in spring to give them a head start. However, in warmer climates with a long growing season, you can sow the seeds outdoors where they are to grow.
As trailing plants, often in excess of 12 feet or more, butternut squash can take up valuable growing space. If space is at a premium, they can also be grown vertically up a support.
That being said, once laden with multiple, heavy fruits, any supports need to be sturdy and secure to hold their weight. Options to support a butternut squash plant include the Outsunny steel garden arch and Concord composite vinyl trellis, both available from Amazon.
7. Lettuce
My last vegetable to sow in June is lettuce. Easy to grow and quick to harvest, lettuce is a perfect crop for any gaps you might have or for a container. Depending on where to live, lettuce can be grown outdoors from spring until the fall. However, for midsummer sowings when it is hottest, growing bolt-resistant varieties is recommended.
Having grown lettuce in every garden I have managed over my career, I have found summer crisp and romaine types to be among the best to grow in summer.
When sowing lettuce in June, choosing a site that receives some afternoon shade will help protect your lettuce crop from the harshest heat. You can purchase Heatwave Blend lettuce seeds from Burpee. Alternatively, and if you would rather plant out garden-ready lettuce plants, you can buy lettuce plug plants from a local garden center.
Depending on your local climate, you may think of June as the height of summer and believe the window for sowing flowering plants has closed.
Thankfully, this is not the case and there are many fast-growing annuals to sow in June that will provide you with bountiful blooms before the summer is out.
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