Keep pickin

Check the garden every day and pick all the vegetables as they mature to the size you want them. All plants and flowers when the fruit or flower is over mature, it tells the plant to stop growing. Therefor it is good to pick every day. I like my vegetables smallish, my grandfather liked them huge, just a matter of choice. Don't let the cucumbers get to the yellow stage, if they do, pick them as you see them and compost them unless you want to make ripe cucumber pickles or relish. Cherry tomatoes will split when over ripe, carrots and beets can be left until they are large, but summer squash and zuchinni do best if kept picked. Over ripe zuchinni can be used on the grill, scoop out the seeds, and fill the zuchinni with diced tomatoes, onions, summer squash and smaller zuchinni, and maybe some cheese, cook covered in foil that completely covers and seals the squash, prick some holes in the top of the foil for venting, and cook until tender. This is also the season for stealing some potatoes from the plant. Dig down beside the plant, then push your hand in towards the plant til you feel potatoes, and remove them. Refill the dirt around the plant, water and add some fertilizer or compost around the plant, and let it mature in late fall! These potatoes are the best you will ever eat, and no need to skin them. Happy eating!