Here's your Brevard gardening calendar for June

June can be hot and steamy but there are still plenty of things to do outside. Luckily, the days are longer, so remember to get out in the yard early in the morning, work in the shade through the day or wait until the evening hours to get things done.

Grow your own food classes. Calling everyone who likes to eat. Anyone can grow their own food, even if they don't have a yard. Consider sprouts in the kitchen, hydroponic lettuce on the balcony, and a fruit tree in a container. The four-week Be Healthy: Grow Your Own Food class series begins June 19, and ends July 10. Two classes are offered each Monday, a morning class from 10 a.m. to noon and another from 6-8 p.m.

Learn to grow vegetables, herbs and fruit in containers or in the ground. Each ticket costs $45 and includes a notebook with copies of all PowerPoint presentations, additional handouts and seeds for heirloom vegetables, culinary herbs and flowers. Couples, friends and families can learn together and share the notebook and seeds. For more information on what is covered in the class, go to 2023BHGYOFamclass.eventbrite.com or 2023BHGYOFpmclass.eventbrite.com or call Adrienne at 633-1702 ext. 52315 for help.

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Fertilizer ban starts June 1. The fertilizer ban goes into effect on Thursday, June 1, for the entire county, including all the municipalities. The ordinance bans the application of nitrogen and phosphorus to landscapes and vegetable gardens and lasts through Sept. 30.

Wait to prune palms and trees. This is the last month to forgo the pruning of palms and trees (if possible) because baby wildlife may still be present.

Plants for shady areas. Now that the hot temperatures are here, the shade feels wonderful. Colorful plants that grow well in shady locations include coleus, impatiens, wax begonias, caladium, angelwing begonias, dusty miller and crossandra.

Plants for full sun. If you are interested in adding flowers to your landscape, plants that can handle full sun through the summer are floss flower (Ageratum), amaranth, asters, vinca (or periwinkle), celosia, coleus, coreopsis, cosmos, Dahlberg daisy, lisianthus, gaillardia, gazania, Gerbera daisy, kalanchoe, sunflowers, gomphrena, Melampodium, lobelia, portulaca, blue salvia, red salvia, marigolds and zinnias.

Deadhead your annuals. For annual flowers, like red salvia, marigolds and zinnias, the blooming period can be prolonged by deadheading the faded flowers. After annual plants flower, they will produce seeds and eventually die. Removing the faded flowers keeps the plants blooming, looking better and living longer. Marigolds are easy to deadhead, as the faded flowers pop right off when pulled.

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Herbs to plant now. Some herbs that can be planted in June include basil, chives, dill, lemon balm, marjoram, Mexican tarragon, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme.

Vegetables to plant now. Vegetables that can be planted in June to grow and harvest through the hot summer include calabaza, cassava, chayote, Jerusalem artichoke, jicama, Malabar spinach, New Zealand, okra, Seminole pumpkin, Southern peas, spinach, sweet potatoes, Swiss chard, and winged beans.

Keep plants healthy. After planting a new plant in the ground or container, be sure to do the following two things:

Ripen your bananas. If you are growing bananas, cut the stalk of bananas off when the first hand (row of bananas) begins to turn yellow, and hang it in a shady spot to ripen. You can then chop off the top of the stalk, just below the leaves, and cut the leaves and trunk into pieces, scattering them around the base of the plant to add more organic matter to the soil. The trunk can be chopped up, and dropped around the base of the plants a few months later to add additional organic matter to the soil.

Farmers market. The Brevard County Farmers Market is held from 3-6 p.m. every Thursday at the Wickham Park Pavilion. Check out the Facebook page at facebook.com/brevardcountyfarmersmarket to keep current on the vendors that will be there each week.

Sally Scalera is an urban horticulture agent and master gardener coordinator for the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences. Email her at [email protected].