Gardening : Weekend Checklist for Dedicated Diggers and Planters

For dedicated gardeners, here are suggestions from the California Assn. of Nurserymen:

Don’t prune severely in summer; thin plants lightly instead.

Harvest cucumbers, pole beans, carrots, beets and other vegetables when they’re young for a tasty change of pace. This also encourages further production.

Pepper plants provide a decorative touch as well as nutritional produce. Plant some in containers for the patio.

Fill in a shady area with impatiens, fibrous or tuberous begonias, lobelia and salvia in the ground, containers or even hanging baskets.

Don’t be deceived by small blooms on petunias at the nursery; they can greatly increase in size. And don’t crowd them because they spread rather rapidly.