Top Vegetables to Plant in June for a Bountiful Harvest

Broccoli plant in June

You’ll see that broccoli or cabbage is Plant in June of the summer garden. Here are my plants from a few weeks ago, and they are beginning to take off now. But we need to sow some sprouting broccoli to keep the party going into winter and beyond. This winter-hardy favorite is delicious and lightly steamed. It is royalty among veggies. This is one brassica that’s well worth starting where it will grow. That way, you can overlap crops so that this one could begin while the previous crop is still in the ground. You can overlap crops by as much as two months, which is super savvy space-saving.

The plan is to have sprouting broccoli go in where my favorite broad beans are currently growing plant in June. This makes it a well-rated succession Plant in June . Enough of the chat; let’s get on and sow. I’m sowing into this all-purpose potting mix, preparing little depressions for the seeds.

I will sow just 2 to 3 seeds per plug and then thin them out to leave just one seedling in each once they are all up. Then, I’ll add a little more mix to cover the seeds before finishing with a label so we remember what we’ve got here. Eventually, we’ll have just one seedling per plug. Once we see the roots coming out the bottom, that’s a good sign they are ready to be planted out. However, timings only sometimes work out perfectly.

There might be cooler weather that holds back the crop I want to get out so this can go in. In that case, no dramas—I can put it into a container this size to grow on until the ground is ready. No two seasons are the same, which gives a little flexibility. When all is good to go out, I will space them about 16 inches or 40 cm apart in each direction, and I should be harvesting those first sublime spears in early spring.

Kohlrabi plant in June

So, what on earth is this? I’ll pause the video here for a few seconds to give you a moment to think about it. Be bold and out shouting it out if you know. This obscure member of the family comes from the German for cabbage, “kohl,” and “turnip,” “rüben.” Most of the brassicas that we know and love are the same species, just bred for different characteristics: kohlrabi for swollen stems, cabbage for enormous leaves, Brussels sprouts for enlarged side buds, kale for more giant leaves and broccoli and cauliflower for enlarged flower buds. They all cross with each other. It’s just remarkable and never fails to blow my mind.

Like all brassicas, kohlrabi is a cool-season crop, so if you get pretty warm summers, early in the month might be your last chance to sow it, but you can always pick things up again in the autumn. They can be planted into pots, and the seedlings can be carefully transferred into their plugs. Seeing as I’ve got space here, I will show them the same way as my sprouting broccoli next to them to fill up the rest of the tray.

It’s a few seeds per plug, and again plant in June, I will thin them out to leave just one seedling in each plug. Slightly cover them over with this lovely warm weather, and I reckon they’ll be up in as little time as a week. Like the broccoli, I might pot them on if the ground still needs to be available. They will eventually go about 10 inches or 25 cm apart in both directions. My broccoli and kohlrabi will need protection from pesky pigeons and butterflies using netting. In the case of our alien-looking kohlrabi, I will soon tuck those savory stems in a salad or make kohlrabi fries or chips.

Carrots plant in June

Root vegetables like beetroot, carrots, rutabaga, or swede are the mainstays of the winter larder. All this talk of winter almost feels taboo when summer has barely started, but if you can bear it, it’s worth looking ahead. Now is the time to sow roots to enjoy over the winter. Carrots suitable for overwintering or lifting to store are usually the most extensive varieties of all. Look out for main crop varieties described as ideal for storage.

Here are some popular ones. Sow them into sound, loose soil because these roots can become whoppers. Carrots are best sown directly, and because it’s now summer and much warmer, water along the row first to get the water exactly where it’s needed around the seeds.

This also means that I’m only wetting the rows and not the soil around them, which will help avoid weeds. This course works better in dry weather, which it is now. OK, let’s get on and sow. Like so many of our seeds, I’m taking a small pinch and scattering them nice and thinly here as we eventually want them up to about an inch apart. We don’t want to sow too thickly. Half a pinch has done it, so I’ll save the rest for now and cover them lightly.

I won’t water here again for a few days because they already have that moist soil. Still, if it is much warmer and drier, I will keep this well-watered because we want to keep it consistently moist around the seeds to get good, even germination. These main crop carrots will need to be thinned if most of them pop up, and I will thin them to about an inch or up to two inches apart by pulling out little parts to leave them at their final spacing.

Once I’ve done that, I’ll give the whole area good water to remove the carrot fly scent and avoid attracting the local carrot fly. If you’d like to know more about growing carrots, check out our carrot growing masterclass video, but only after we’re done here.

Dill plant in June

Leafy herbs bring so much to the kitchen table, don’t they? I’ve got three rubber-stamped must-grows ideal for sowing at the start of summer plant in June. First up is dill. Dill is a fantastic annual herb for sowing directly where it’s needed. It’s a fast grower and a big deal for making pickles of all sizes and shapes. Its lovely feathery foliage turns heads, too. Letting it flower attracts beneficial bugs, and is a fantastic companion plant for many other vegetables, including tomatoes.

I may plant them next to these recently planted tomatoes at plant in June. I lightly fluffed up the soil here to receive the seeds, and then I took the slightest pinch and scattered them over the lightly fluffed soil. We’ll get a lovely little ribbon of dill here. Just fork it back in and finish with a little bit of water. These seedlings pop up fast, so I should get my first harvest within as little as two months, perfect for perking up poultry or adding a little finesse to fish.

Parsley plant in June

Next, parsley. Of course, I’m not growing this from supermarket herbs, which I just split apart, pot, grow on, and then plant out like this little lot here. But this is a sowing video, so let me show you how to do that. Parsley needs no introduction. It will attract beneficial bugs like dill if you let it flower in its second year. These are about to go into flower. In the meantime, we’ll get to enjoy lots of lovely leaves.

This time, I’m sowing a flat type of parsley. It’s quicker growing and more versatile in the kitchen. Dill likes good sunshine, but parsley can cope with dappled shade like in this bed here. I’m sowing them about a centimeter or half an inch deep. It’s the same format: a small pinch of seeds, nice and thin along the row, then pinch close the row.

These guys can take a while to germinate, up to six weeks, in fact, so it’s essential to keep this area nicely watered. Once the seedlings have popped up, I will thin them to leave about 6 inches or 15 cm between each. I may take some of the excess seedlings and plant them elsewhere.

Cilantro (Coriander)

And cilantro or coriander, which looks like flat-leaf parsley—can you tell the difference? If you’re in a hot climate, cilantro can grow quite well in the shade, and you might prefer it. I will show it in this shallow container and put it into some all-purpose potting mix. I like showing my coriander/cilantro after the summer solstice because they respond well to shorter daylight. They don’t bolt or flower prematurely.

Talking about the days drawing in again is quite a dreary thought this early in the year. Anyway, I’ve got my pot filled, and I’m going to space the seeds quite closely, almost like a microgreen, so they’re harvested relatively young. I’ll space the seeds evenly and cover them with more compost. The trick with these is to keep them nicely moist. If it gets warm and hot, which it can do here, I will move them into the shade to continue growing. I’ll keep them well-watered because they’re pretty young and tender as more babies leave. I reckon I’ll get my first cut in about six weeks.

Fennel (Florence Fennel)

Some vegetables are tricky, including fennel or Florence fennel. I find this often bolts before it can adequately bulb out, but this time, it is different.

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