Raspberries. Cut back the fruited canes of your raspberries, if you haven't already, leaving the new green canes for next year’s crop. Tie in next year’s raspberry canes to support wires or fencing.

Strawberries. Tidy up strawberry plants and clear away any used straw to prevent pests and diseases from overwintering. Pot up strawberry runners to add extra plants for next spring.

Apples. Pick apples. To test when they are ripe, gently lift them in the palm of your hand or give them a gentle pull. They should come away easily.

Fruit trees. Mow long grass under fruit trees to make it easier to spot windfall fruits. Pick off rotting fruit from apple, pear and stone fruit trees, including peaches. They will spread disease if left on the tree.

Keep harvesting crops. If you have a lot of fruit and vegetables, try freezing, drying, pickling and storing them. This is a great time to use plentiful tomatoes to make salsa and fried green tomatoes.

Harvest sweet corn as it ripens. If you have three dozen or more ears of ripened sweet corn, or your friends or relatives share several dozen ears of sweet corn with you, you can husk it, blanch it, cool it in a sink full of cold water, and cut off the kernels on a large cutting board. Bag up kernels in quart-size freezer bags and fill your freezer with the sweet taste of summer.

Prep for potato harvest. Pull or cut off the foliage of potatoes at ground level about three weeks before harvesting them. This will prevent blight spores from infecting the tubers as you harvest them. Spread out newly dug potatoes to dry for a few hours before storing them in a cool, dark place.

Give pumpkins a boost. Help pumpkins ripen in time for Halloween by removing any leaves shading them. Raise pumpkins and squash off the ground to prevent rotting. Place them on a piece of wood.

Save herbs. Pot up some chives and parsley to put in your kitchen windowsill for fresh herbs through the winter.

Containers. Continue deadheading and fertilizing flowers in hanging baskets and containers. If cared for properly and watered every other day, they often will look good until the first frost in October. 

Annuals. Keep deadheading annual flowers to extend their performance. Deadhead roses and dahlias to keep flowers coming.

Perennials. Divide perennials, like peonies, as the weather cools, plant and water well.

Bushes. Keep rhododendrons well-watered to ensure that next year’s buds develop well.