1. Lightly cultivate soil after a heavy rain to avoid compaction. A layer of mulch reduces the soil crusting and compaction caused by raindrops.

2. Check container plants daily during hot weather, they will need water often.

3. Check for small holes that signal flea beetle damage on tomatoes, eggplants and peppers.

4. There is still time to sow seeds of beans, beets, carrots, cucumbers, and summer squash.

5. Overgrown, multi-stemmed shrubs, like spirea, lilac, and forsythia, can be renovated by removing 1/3 of 
stems down to ground level each year for 3 years, allowing some new young growth to replace these 
older stems.

6. When deadheading rhododendrons, avoid breaking off leaf buds which are just below flowers.

7. Keep mower blades sharp and set your mower height at 2-3 inches.

8. Cut back early-flowering perennials to tidy up and encourage more blooms.

9. Mosquitoes breed in standing water. To discourage them, change the water in pet dishes and bird baths 
every few days.

10. For the sweetest pea harvest, pick regularly before pods become over-mature and peas become starchy.

For more information visit the UConn Home and Garden Center.