Year-round gardening: A hefty menu of tasks for June, with a side of crab grass | Lifestyle

Summer is quickly approaching, which means Colorado gardeners can expect a growing checklist of tasks to complete.

• Water like you mean it (but not too much, Drama Mama): June is when your plants start getting thirsty — like they live in the Atacama Desert. Resist going full monsoon mode. El Paso County soil is dry, but roots still hate soggy socks. Deep, infrequent watering is the goal. Yes, even your tomatoes prefer spa days, not swimming lessons.

• Stake your tomatoes before they crawl like a baby: They’re cute now, sure. But by the end of June, they’ll be flopping around like rebellious teenagers. Get your cages and stakes in before they start leaning on the basil like a bad influence.

• Mulch like a ninja: Surprise your plants with a blanket (2 or 3 inches) of mulch. It keeps weeds down and water in, and gives the garden that “I totally have my life together” look.

• Weed warfare — round two: Those dandelions? They’re back, and they brought their little friends. Time to do battle again, preferably with dramatic background music. Pull early, pull often and pretend you’re in an epic gardening movie directed by Quentin Tarantino.

• Watch for hail like you just bought a new car and the garage door won’t open: June storms can get spicy. Keep row covers or buckets nearby. Nothing says “Colorado gardening” like sprinting outside in your pajamas to save a pepper plant.

• Harvest spinach before it goes hog wild: The heat will turn your leafy greens bitter faster than a bad Google review. If it’s trying to flower, it’s basically yelling, “I’M DONE!” Time to harvest and make a salad — just add bacon.

• Plant warm-season crops like you believe in miracles: Corn, squash, beans — go forth and plant! Just keep an eye out for frost like you’re checking lottery numbers (because in Colorado, it just might freeze tonight).

• Deadhead flowers like a butcher trimming fat: Snip off spent blooms to keep flowers coming. It’s oddly satisfying. Your petunias will thank you by not giving up halfway through summer.

• Lawn love: Mow high and mow often — aim for 2.5 to 3 inches. Shaving is for Fort Carson’s recruit haircuts, not turf.

• Squirrel surveillance: Install netting or use natural deterrents to keep furry bandits from raiding your strawberry stash. They didn’t plant anything, yet they feel entitled. Classic.

• Bees are friends, not foes: If your yard’s buzzing, congratulations — you’re officially running an all-natural pollinator five-star restaurant. Keep flowering plants diverse and pesticide-free. Bzzz is beautiful.

• Talk to your plants (they’re better listeners anyway): They’ve endured snow in May and will probably have blazing sun in June. Give them a pep talk. You might look crazy, but so do the weeds. Sing to them, hum a tune. It works! “Like a Rolling Stone!”

Submit gardening questions to [email protected] or call 719-520-7684. The in-person help desk is open 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Visit elpaso.extension.colostate.edu and register for upcoming classes at epcextension.eventbrite.com.