If you haven't planted your garden yet, don't worry.
While many gardeners treat Mother's Day as the unofficial deadline for planting, Master Gardener Lynn Kunstman said there's still plenty of time to get crops in the ground.
"There's lots of stuff you can still put in the ground well into the month of June," she said, including tomatoes, peppers and many seeds.
But growing a successful garden is becoming less predictable.
"The way the jet stream is moving now, we can't count on weather patterns to be gradual," Kunstman said.
A cool June can quickly give way to triple-digit temperatures, putting stress on plants that haven't had time to adjust. To protect crops such as lettuce from bolting or scorching, Kunstman recommends using shade cloth or even old lace curtains during heat waves.
Gardeners should also keep an eye out for pests. Slugs and earwigs can destroy young seedlings before they emerge, making it look as though seeds never germinated. Kunstman uses Sluggo Plus to control pests but recommends applying products such as neem oil early in the morning to avoid harming pollinators.
As conditions change throughout the season, Kunstman said gardeners should pay close attention to how their plants respond. Extra watering may be needed during periods of extreme heat, while succession planting can help extend harvests of crops such as beans and corn.
Her advice is simple:
"Watch your plants. They're telling you what they need."
