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Summer is when a vegetable garden really begins to reveal the results of all the planning, planting, and care that went into spring planting. Tomatoes and eggplants begin ripening, cucumbers swell on their trellises, peppers fill out, and herbs seem to grow faster than you can harvest them. Yet this is also the point in the season when many gardens begin to lose momentum. Heat stress, inconsistent watering, nutrient deficiencies, weeds, and pests can quickly reduce yields if they are not addressed.

Although mid-summer tends to be unbearably hot and humid in my area, which means gardening only in the early morning and late afternoon, overall, summer is my favorite time of year to grow an edible garden. My plants are growing rapidly, vegetables are producing like crazy, the flowers I’ve planted all over the garden and in the landscaped areas of my yard are blooming, and all the pollinators are hard at work. Despite these upsides, summer is also the season when many gardeners can find themselves spending more time watering, weeding, pruning, and fighting pests than they expected.