Garden Detective: A tip or chore for every day in June

June! Birds are singing, bees are buzzing, and vegetables are in the ground. The garden has exploded into a kaleidoscope, and all is right with the world. Except it’s not. But we gardeners can find tranquility tending the chores of the season. Weeding, watering and plucking herbs place us in sunlight and fresh air, nourishing body and spirit. Here’s a chore for each day this month to keep your garden — and your optimism — growing.

1. If you haven’t started a garden, it’s not too late. Vegetables, herbs, annuals and perennials can still be planted.

2. Apply 2 to 3 inches of organic mulch in beds and borders, and under trees and shrubs. Keep it a few inches from stems and trunks to avoid rot.

3. Replace faded spring annuals with summer bloomers.

4. Be brave! Cut chrysanthemums, Joe Pye weed and Heliopsis back by one-third. Plants will reward you with a fuller presence and more flowers.

5. Love color? Consider foliage-only plants, like Wildberry heuchera or Kong Lime Sprite coleus.

6. Deadhead rhododendrons and lilacs immediately after flowers fade.

7. Remove bearded iris leaves when they whither to discourage iris borers.

8. Protect young tomato, pepper and eggplants stems from cutworm damage with paper-cup collars: Remove cup bottoms and slip over plants.

9. Train vining plants up their supports, fastening loosely with soft ties as you go.

10. Get ahead of mildew diseases by spritzing plants weekly with 1 tablespoon each baking soda and ultrafine horticultural oil per gallon of water.

11. Clean birdbaths at least once weekly to keep bacteria and mosquitoes from moving in.

12. Plant dahlias and install 4-foot stakes an inch away.

13. Plant ground cover around clematis vines to shade their roots; they like “cold feet.”

14. Empty pot saucers, trash can lids, spare tires, children's play sets, etc., of collected water after rainfall to prevent mosquito breeding.

15. Discourage disease by directing water at plant roots — and keeping foliage dry — with drip-irrigation and soaker hoses.

16. Tie climbing roses to trellises as they grow.

17. Check potted plants for moisture daily; they need more water than in-ground plants.

18. Harvest spring crops like lettuce, peas and spinach.

19. Juneteenth calls for a freshly baked strawberry pie! If you haven’t grown any, head to a nearby farmers market (call ahead for availability).

20. It’s the first day of summer! Send a photo of yourself in your garden to jessica@jessicadamiano.com. (Include photographer’s name and permission for Newsday to publish.)

21. Happy Father’s Day to all dads out there. No mowing the lawn today!

22. Worried about ticks? Run a sticky lint roller over clothing before coming in from the garden.

23. Cut chrysanthemums, Joe Pye weed and Heliopsis down by another third. (See June 4.)

24. Give houseplants a dose of fertilizer diluted to half-strength with every second summertime watering.

25. Inspect leaf bottoms on such shrubs as euonymus and hydrangea for scale. If spotted, apply Neem oil according to package directions.

26. When peonies stop blooming, apply fertilizer to fortify for next year.

27. Drench tomato foliage with fish emulsion when the first fruits form.

28. Propagate rose of Sharon, butterfly bush, roses and weigela by taking cuttings of new growth and potting in a 50/50 mix of peat and vermiculite. Transplant when rooted.

29. Deadhead grandiflora and hybrid tea roses.

30. Avoid using nitrogen fertilizers on fruit, vegetable or flowering annuals.