June 2025 Planting Guide and Garden Update
The lack of rain. I’m sick of whinging about it. My family want me to shut up. You possibly do too. But I can’t help it.
Last week the wind huffed and puffed. Then it howled and raged. Overnight the huge claret ash trees went from holding the final quarter of their red leaves to completely nude. The next morning everything was covered in red Mallee dust, blown south over hundreds of kilometres to coat every surface. The forecast for some accompanying rain was a false prophet. We got just enough drops to glue the Mallee topsoil to everything. My partner Caryn’s black car turned orange. Every surface feels gritty. Unwashed lettuce has that extra crunch, and not in a good way – it’s the crunchy bitter taste of drought.
If I’m extra generous and squint at the gauge, I can round up the “rain” that fell amid that blustery bulldust to half a millimetre. Making it a 3 mm total for May.
16.5 mm for April.
33 mm for March.
7.25 mm for February.
And on it goes, right back to January 2024. That was the last time we had anything resembling moisture in the soil.
The BOM says that Victoria’s autumn of 2025 was its warmest autumn on record. Parts of the state are experiencing the driest 15 months since rainfall records began over 120 years ago.
Two years ago, on June 8, 2023, I recorded in my gardening diary that all the rainwater tanks were full. Two years ago, the irrigation was well and truly shut off by now and all that tank water was sitting ready for the following summer. This year I’m still watering, using salty bore water. The parched garden needs it. I’m a tank half full kinda guy, but not this year. I fear I’ll be lucky to start next summer with more than a few puddles in the tanks.
My garden is resilient and most of my plants are surviving. But jeepers, right now I could really do with a good soaking from the skies above.
What about you? Were you blessed with an autumn break? Or are you still (im)patiently waiting for rain?
Mild May mix-up
It’s not just the lack of rain. May was so mild. The first few frosts were late, but even then, they were light and patchy. They inflicted little damage. Not heavy enough to wipe out the Cabbage White Butterflies. Nor enough to freeze the aphids. Both these pests marched on through my brasscias.
But it wasn’t all bad. Remember my third crop of brassicas? The ones that back in April I explained might have been planted too late? Well, it’s still early days, but it’s looking more and more like phenology has saved the day. The young seedlings haven’t stagnated like they may have during a cooler autumn. The lack of rain stopped the weeds from germinating and swamping them. The dry stopped the slugs from breeding up and feasting. I’m becoming more hopeful that waiting patiently for those long- overdue three consecutive morning dews was spot on. I think phenology has helped me successfully navigate my succession planting to avoid a huge glut and to lengthen my brassica harvest.
Interestingly, some of the cauliflowers from my first crop have a slightly bitter taint to them. They are edible (even the kids haven’t complained), but the bitterness is a downside of warmer than usual temperatures. I’ve heard that some commercial brassica growers are ploughing their early crops back into the soil as they are too bitter to sell.
The cabbage whites and aphids were undeterred by the mild frosts. So too, my summer crops, which kept rolling on until a mighty frost on May 20 wiped out the zucchini, basil, tomatoes and cucumbers. Even then, when removing the dead vines a few days later I found a zucchini hiding under the leaves. The fruit itself had no frost damage. We still have three zucchinis in the fridge – in June!
Citrus surprise
The mild autumn has confused my citrus and therefore me. I know the annual patterns for citrus in Melbourne. They’re predictable. But here in Kyneton, citrus growth patterns are unique. This year I’m appreciating how wildly erratic those patterns can be. Here in my cool temperate climate, citrus typically ripen later in the year. Most notably, the sweet citrus, such as oranges and mandarins, ripen in spring. I love citrus and I’m keen to find varieties that will ripen in late spring when the days are warmer. It should lead to sweeter citrus, which has so far eluded me (you need heat for sweet citrus). But I can’t reliably extrapolate data from elsewhere to help with choosing those varieties. Regardless, I’ve made some educated guesses and planted a few different candidates.
Well, this year everything in my trial has gone out the window. My Okitsu Wase mandarins are already ripe. That’s a lot earlier than they have been in the previous two years. The fruit is tangy and I’m interested to see if the sweetness increases any further, but it’s going to take some nerve to hold off harvesting. Mandarins aren’t great keepers. There is only a fortnight of optimal ripeness before they start to turn dry and puffy.
I’m not sure how long to leave them to sweeten up on the tree. The kids seem happy enough to eat tangy mandarins and I don’t mind them either. But I wonder if they are at their full sugary potential yet. Will patience reward or punish? To find out, I plan to harvest a few each week – although the kids are already sneaking extra fruit straight from the tree and I don’t have the heart to stop them.
If trees such as this mandarin are any indication, then I may never have a set season for harvesting citrus in my garden. Citrus season needs to be renamed citrus surprise.
Read more about the challenges of growing citrus in a cool-temperate climate here. There’s plenty of advice that’s also applicable to warmer climates, such as Melbourne’s.
You may notice that the leaves on your citrus are starting to turn a pale yellow. That’s normal. It’s caused by the cooling temperatures. More on that and what not to do about it here.
Harvest hauls despite Peter Rabbit’s mauls
There’s plenty of beetroot, celery and leafy greens in the garden to supplement the brassicas. And I will continue to enjoy stored pumpkins and spaghetti squash over the coming months.
This month, I’ll lift the remaining carrots for long term storage. Carrots are supposed to be biennial plants. That is, they grow for one year and then flower in their second year. But I find they flower like clockwork at the end of their first year. In warmer climates, such as Melbourne’s, you should be able to keep them in the ground for a second year.
Experience has taught me that any mature carrots in my garden need to be pulled up in June and packed down for long term storage. This enables me to enjoy fresh carrots through spring until the next crop is ready for harvest in December. More on my method for long term storage of carrots here.
This year I’m in more of a hurry to lift my carrots than usual. For the first time ever, I have rabbits on my property. And just like the ones in a Beatrix Potter book, they’ve started jumping up into the raised garden bed and tunnelling into my carrot patch. I’ve been finding half nibbled carrots everywhere and need to protect my patch.
Despite a lack of rain and no extra irrigation, the garlic crop is looking great. I planted it at the start of March. At the time I gave it a deep soaking to encourage it to shoot and then sprinkled on top a thin layer of sweet corn plants that had been fed through the chipper. The garlic shoots have popped through the mulch ok, and the mulch was thick enough to suppress most of the weeds. But as the mulch has dried out it has been strewn everywhere by the wind, so I might not use the sweet corn like that again. It’s probably better used in a hot compost. Now the mulch needs topping up but first I’ve been waiting for a bit of rain so it can soak in. With no rain in sight, I might have to just get on with it. I’ll give the plants another drink from the tap and then tuck them in for winter. Read more about growing garlic here.
It’s time to get bare-rooted
The optimum time to establish an orchard is in winter (particularly July and August in the southern hemisphere), when deciduous trees are dormant. Then they will have a chance to develop a strong root system during spring, before the onset of summer. Winter is also when there’s the greatest availability of bare-rooted fruit trees. Bare-root season kicks off at the start of June.
If you’re thinking about planting fruit trees, then don’t buy just any old tree from the bargain bin. Make sure it is on the correct rootstock so that it doesn’t grow too big and so that it is going to fruit at a time of year that suits you.
I’ve published many articles on backyard orchards (read them all here). But if you’re short on time and just want a quick overview of what’s important (and what’s not), check out the summary I’ve just written. Regardless of whether you’re planting only one or two trees or a backyard orchard with dozens, this post is a perfect checklist. Have a read before you race out and buy your trees.
If you want to see working examples and pruning demonstrations and have an opportunity to ask lots of questions, consider my Backyard Orchards Workshop, on next Saturday, June 14 – there are still places available.
My to-do list for June
As mentioned above, this June I’ll be lifting my carrots and storing them. I’ll also be taking care of the following tasks in my garden:
Once the solstice has passed the garlic plants will begin investing energy in bulb formation. I’ll give the crop a light feed in late June to assist with that. You can use a light dressing of either compost or fertiliser. I’ll use compost.
It’s nearly time to sow tomato seeds. That means I need to ensure that my seed collection is well stocked. If you need to, now is a great time to purchase seeds for sowing in spring. Then they are ready to plant when the time is right. Not sure what you’ll be planting this spring? There’s a checklist in this post.
My Nightingale persimmon is ready for harvesting. The leaves have now fallen from the tree but I’m going to enjoy the spectacle for another week. Then on a calm sunny day I’ll remove the netting so I can stand back and really appreciate those orange globes hanging against a crisp blue sky. Persimmon is my favourite plant to grow, and my Nightingale is developing into a stunner. Nightingale is an astringent persimmon, and the fruit will need to finish ripening indoors. When they’re soft and squishy, they’re ready to eat.
The persimmon will always be safe from the axe. But I’ll be removing a few other “bonus” fruit trees this winter. More on that in next week’s post.
I conduct most of my fruit tree pruning in summer. But my espaliers usually need pruning three or four times per year. I’ll be tidying up a couple of scraggly specimens in my upcoming Backyard Orchards workshop on June 14.
I have over 20 rhubarb plants, so I don’t need any more. But winter is a great time to lift and divide crowns, or plant new ones. Last week I sent out my guide to growing rhubarb.
I won’t be collecting many eggs from the chickens. Most of them have stopped laying to put their energy into moulting and growing new feathers. They’ll be back on the lay soon after the winter solstice, when the days start lengthening again. Read more about integrating chickens with your fruit trees here.
I also won’t be spraying my peach and nectarine trees for curly leaf. Have a read of this very popular post and decide whether to spray or not. If your answer is yes, then June is a great time to get it done.
This month I’ll still be gathering fallen leaves to make into leaf mould. We have scores of deciduous trees, and they generate a mountain of leaves. It’s a valuable resource and in a year or two I’ll appreciate the final product. But it’s a lot of work to gather them all up.
Fortunately, once the leaves are gathered, that’s it. A chance for me to enjoy the quiet of winter. I’ll be focusing on writing, reading and spending time with my family. The gardening year kicks off again once the winter solstice has passed. June is typically grey and dreary, but beyond that it’s all snow drops and rainbows, seed sowing and soil prep. Admittedly the July restart is gentle. But June is usually my last chance to hunker down and enjoy the quiet before the pre-spring rush
Keep an eye out for my How to Grow Guide for tomatoes. It will arrive in your inbox on June 24.
What to plant in June
Now that we're into winter, your planting options are slim. For readers in warm temperate climates, like Melbourne’s, there's still time to get some late broad beans or maybe some broccoli (particularly sprouting varieties) planted. Leafy greens such as spinach, silverbeet, kale and lettuce will also grow well over winter.
My Vegetable Patch from Scratch series is popular with both novice and seasoned gardeners alike. It covers everything you might want to know about growing vegetables. It could save you a bit of time and frustration by steering you away from preventable crop failures.
My planting guide generally refers to vegetables planted in the garden (as opposed to a greenhouse). This planting may consist of seeds directly sown (my usual and preferred method) or plants transplanted as seedlings. Read more about using this guide here.
Here's my guide to some of the things you could consider planting this month in a warm temperate climate like Melbourne’s:
You can start a herb garden during most months of the year. In winter, most of the herbs won't grow very much, but if you plant larger plants, they'll happily sit there dormant, and you can snip away as needed. Try growing the following and save yourself a heap of money you’d otherwise spend on those over-packaged bunches of herbs at the supermarket:Parsley
Mint
Curry plant
Rosemary
Coriander
Chives
Oregano
Spring onions
Most of the leafy greens will handle the cold weather in the garden now.
Lettuce
Spinach
Rocket
Endive
Silverbeet
Mustard greens
Chervil
Kale
The following root vegetables can be planted in June:
Radishes
Parsnips
Onions
Garlic (getting very late though)
Leeks
Most fruiting plants are grown over the summer. The exceptions are the following which can be planted in June:
Articles like today’s – which is free to everyone – wouldn’t exist without the support of paid subscribers. I’m a paid writer, my dream job, and it’s all thanks to you. To express my gratitude, I want to send paid subscribers a little gift of tomato seeds saved from my garden. Paid subscribers will receive an email over the weekend detailing how to claim this gift. Please keep an eye out for it.
If you’re not yet a financial supporter of my work, then please considering upgrading to a paid subscription. There’s the promise of tomato seeds in it for you.1
Happy gardening
Duncan
Because of biosecurity risks and quarantine requirements, I’m sorry, but I can’t post tomato seeds to Western Australia, Tasmania or overseas. Only residents of the Australian states of Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland, and , the ACT and the Northern Territory, can claim the seeds. All the details and fine print will be included in the email sent to you over the weekend.
A bit of wet the last two days in Templestowe, but a large water bill is expected soon!!
Duncan it’s finally raining here in Doreen today. Drizzling soaking rain. I knew it would rain , not because we’re watching the weather service closely but because we had our car washed , polished yesterday.! Let’s pray it’s here for a few days and soaks into the soil and washed all the red dust away.
l am tempted to do nothing but watch the rain falling!