It is summer and the vegetable gardens are wonderful, so how do we keep them that way until the fall? Here are a few simple things to do to keep your garden productive right to the end.

If you planted peas this spring they'll probably be finished producing around the end of the month, but you'll still have time to plant a new crop though early August. Peas will take from 60 to 90 days to mature; they are cold tolerant and should mature for you during September to mid-October, so get the new crop in the ground in time. Leaf lettuce and spinach will also mature for a great fall crop of fresh greens if planted around the beginning of August. Radishes come up quickly, so keep planting as they mature--about every 30 days.

Broccoli will make small 1 to 2 inch florets of flowers that will keep coming until frost if you clean the plant of yellow leaves and fertilize every 2 weeks with Neptunes Harvest. I pick the florets every couple of days and store in a poly storage bag in the refrigerator until I have enough to cook or use in a salad. Feed them regularly, pick often and the plant will continue to produce for you.

Brussels sprouts will get bigger with the heat and moisture of summer. As they grow, remove some of the lower leaves to make space for them to mature. Pick in September when the weather gets cooler for better taste--but the best tasting sprouts will come after a frost. Do not pull the plant out of the ground in the fall, as you can pick sprouts in Southern New England until Christmas--and I did when I lived on the South Shore of Boston. Fertilize them now if you haven't in the last 30 days with Espoma organic grow. If your plants are getting tall, you may have to stake them to keep the sprouts off the ground and clean.

Peppers love the heat, so keep feeding them now; the heat of summer is the most productive time for them. When the fruit matures, harvest it so the plant can keep making more fruit. Eggplants also love the heat so keep them well watered and feed for mature fruit earlier and a second crop in the fall.

Summer and zucchini squash will keep producing until first frost, as long as they have enough water and are fertilized regularly. Pick the squashes when they are small so seeds do not have a chance to mature and the plant will keep making more for you. Keep the plant clean and remove yellow leaves as they begin to go by. Use a liquid fertilizer every 2 weeks on the foliage of the plant as well as soaking the soil at the base of the plant to keep the roots strong. If leaves begin to turn powdery white, spray foliage with Serenade organic fungicide to control powdery mildew and keep plant productive.

Vine squash like butternut, blue hubbard, acorn and other winter squashes will continue to make fruit well into September if you can water and fertilize regularly. Watch for powdery mildew and the possibility of deer or woodchucks moving into the garden for a feed. If they begin to show signs of feeding, create a barrier protection with Everguard deer and rabbit repellent.

Tomatoes will begin to mature this month and next, so you can make your famous spaghetti sauce, salsa, piccalilli and relishes. Keep the plants healthy by watering regularly in the morning (when possible) and fertilizing every 2 weeks with Espoma organic grow. Remove the yellow leaves, and, if needed, use Serenade organic fungicide to keep foliage green and productive.

Around the beginning of August, you should cut back your tomato your plants a bit. I prune the tomato plant to the last fruit made by the plant; this sends all the energy made by the plant to the maturing fruit and helps mature larger fruit faster. I only remove about a foot of the new growth so the plant can concentrate on maturing the existing fruit, stop getting larger and stop making new flower buds that will not have time to mature. Fertilizing them with Espoma organic grow 2 weeks will speed maturing fruit.

If you have a large freezer, did you know that you can freeze whole red tomatoes in the fall and thaw them during the winter for great tomato soups? Freeze washed tomatoes in freezer bags to prevent freezer burn. Thaw the night before, dip in boiling water to help remove skins and you're ready for a great base for tomato or vegetable soup.

Cucumbers will stay productive longer if you keep feeding and watering the plants. When cucumbers start to look like a baby's bottle with a nipple on the end of the cucumber, it means your watering is not regular enough and the plants are running out of energy, so feed them every 2 weeks now with  Espoma organic grow. Spray the foliage of the plant as well as the soil because  Espoma organic grow-can be absorbed through the foliage as well as through the roots. When your plants stop producing, it means you are back to waxed cucumbers until next June, so do not give up too soon.