Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs

• Cut back perennial herbs to encourage well-branched growth next year.
  
  
• Harvesting fruits and vegetables is the best part of growing them. As is often the case, you may have produced much more of certain type than your family can consume. Share the abundance of squash and tomatoes with friends and neighbors, and don't forget about your local food bank or second harvest organization! Although most fruits and vegetables are best when eaten fresh on the day they're picked, you can extend the season by freezing, drying, storing, or canning.
  
  
• Dig and divide congested clumps of rhubarb.
  
  
• Many disease-causing viruses overwinter in the roots of perennial weeds. Tomato mosaic virus overwinters in the roots of ground cherry, horsenettle, jimson weed, nightshade, and bittersweet; cucumber mosaic virus lives in the roots of milkweed, catnip, and pokeweed; bean mosaic overwinters in white sweet clover roots; and many cabbage diseases spread from wild members of the cole family. A good fall cleanup is essential. Don't wait!
  
  
• Cut back raspberry canes that have grown too long, to prevent damage caused by winter winds.
  
  
• Some root crops, such as carrots, onions, and parsnips can be left in the ground in cold climates and dug up as needed. Apply enough mulch to keep the ground from freezing, and the crop will be kept fresh until it is needed.
  
  
• After you have finished harvesting your summer vegetables, plant a cover crop of clovers, cow peas, soybeans, or vetches for the purpose of plowing under next spring. These nitrogen producing plants will provide good organic matter and food for your garden crops next year, as well as helping to control weeds over the winter.
  
  
• A plant or two of parsley taken from the garden and potted up will do well all winter if watered and set in a sunny window. Chives, sage, and thyme also can be maintained in this manner.
  
  
• Use dried stems of herbs to make fragrant wreaths and dried flower arrangements.