What to sow outdoors in June

June’s the time to fill your garden with summer vegetables like courgettes, cucumbers, bush beans and climbing beans. It’s the ideal time to direct sow these plants outside – they love the warmth and by late summer they’ll be producing crops in abundance.

Make repeat sowings now of leaf vegetables like rocket salad and spinach and root vegetables like beetroot and carrots to ensure a late-summer and autumn harvest. Fill any gaps from early harvests on your plot in order to use the space to the full. You can keep sowing herbs like basil and dill along with lettuces and fast-growing vegetables like radishes and chard.

Summer flowers like marigold and zinnias bring colour to the garden and attract beneficial insects. With a little care and planning you can transform your garden into a true paradise, abuzz with insects and providing delicious and colourful harvests all summer long.