Lots of gardens are well on their way to being established by June in Delaware, but have no fear! If you haven’t yet planted, you can still go for it throughout June, you just may need to use more nursery-bought transplants to get it done! And some seeds can even be sown directly in the ground and can easily catch up due to our extended growing season.
Gardening in Delaware June Schedule
Delaware has 3 gardening zones depending on where you live: 6b, 7a & 7b. Be sure to know which zone you are in so you plant at the right time for your zone.
Pollinator Highlight: The Sunflower
The sunflower is a top pollinator plant for all insects, especially bees and butterflies! Gorgeous colors for bouquets, a great food source, and a kid-favorite, these quick-growing blooms are a rewarding way to nurture our pollinators. The mammoth is our favorite, but any sunflower variety will do.
If you are interested in specifically helping the monarchs this year, consider planting milkweed in your garden, which is their primary food source. You can learn more and get free seeds here: www.livemonarch.com and you can also find established milkweed to transplant at your local plant nurseries.
Indoor sowing
Most of the indoor sowing is finished for spring and summer, but don’t forget about Fall crops! Here in Delaware, we can get a jump start on our fall gardens by sowing these seeds indoors:
- All winter squashes for a fall harvest
- Pumpkins for preserving (wait till July for Halloween pumpkins!)
- Kale
Direct Ground Sowing
These are the seeds you can still sneak into the ground as it heats up in our region, and still have a decent harvest.
- Beans
- Corn
- Chives
- Okra
- Summer Squashes
- Melons
- Cucumbers
Transplanting
If it’s in the nursery, it can go in the ground. You may even be able to find good sales as nurseries try to make room for new plants for the Fall!
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Melons
- Green beans
- Kale
- Collards
- Chard
- Zucchini
- Summer squash
- Winter squash
- Peppers
- Celery
- Herbs
- Pumpkins
What’s in season now?
Even if you don’t garden, you can take advantage of seasonal foods in our region! If you like to preserve food by canning, pickling, dehydrating, or freezing, then consider these harvests that are available in abundance now:
- Beans
- Blackberries
- Strawberries
- Cucumbers
- Cherries
- Various herbs
- Peaches
- Potatoes
- Rhubarb
- Squash
- Strawberries
Happy Gardening!