Deep summer and the garden is growing like crazy. Of course, I must fight to keep the potato beetles off the potato plants, the cucumber beetles off the vine crops, and those insidious Japanese sparkling shiny beetles off most everything.

The heavy rains we had in June didn’t help matters much. Although I planted most of the garden in May, lots of replanting needed doing after the poor little seedlings drowned in the heavy, water-logged soil.

Consequently, the cucumbers are a bit behind, as are the beets, but nearly everything else is doing just fine.

Lots of green tomatoes now, ready for that summer delight of fried green tomatoes in cornmeal and butter or olive oil. The tiny, tender green beans are ready, and I’ve already planted several more lettuce and spinach crops. The high heat and humidity have caused the first and second spinach crops to go to seed already, but I try to plant spinach and several lettuces every couple of weeks until fall. That way, we always have a supply right up to sometime in October.

The vine crops are sending out tendrils. And the carrots are true baby carrots and the most delicious they will be all season. They’re yummy just pulled from the soil, dirt wiped off, then popped in my mouth.

Turnip and beet greens are a part of our daily diet, along with the lettuce, spinach and chard. A little vinegar and butter, or lemon juice and olive oil are wonderful on turnip and beet greens, and on spinach.

These greens also add an extra layer of nutrition and flavor when mixed into a bean or other soup.

Gardening in July calls for paying attention to destructive insects and to the water needs of each plant, and for replanting several vegetables and herbs for autumn harvesting.

Here are some ideas:

— Mulch: Mulching keeps moisture in the soil much longer. I use a combination of newspapers and straw to retain moisture, as well as to keep the weeds down. My garden may not be Better Homes and Gardens beautiful, but mulching around the plants and between rows means far less work. If potatoes are hilled, be sure to keep hilling the soil around each plant so that the tubers will have plenty of space to grow. If straw is used, which I have done in recent years, be sure that several layers completely surround each plant so that no sun can get in. Potatoes that are exposed to the sun turn green.

— Trellis and stakes: Many more vegetables can be grown in a small space if trellises are a part of the garden plan. We trellis cucumbers growing in a raised bed, winter squash and gourds. A trellis can be made from sticks in a tepee shape, chicken wire attached to thin boards, or any number of things. A Sunday afternoon ride around local areas whose residents grow vegetable gardens can reveal all kinds of creative trellising.

While tomatoes, peppers and eggplants aren’t usually trellised, they should be staked firmly and tied with panty hose, plastic stretchy tape or a special Velcro-type tape manufactured specifically for holding plants to a stake.

I stake or trellis the peppers, tomatoes and eggplants that I have growing in large buckets, too.

— Thinning: Although it may be tough for some of us to pull up or cut perfectly healthy plants, this helps produce a larger crop on the remaining plant or plants. Remove the weaker plants from such vegetables as pumpkins, winter squash, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Thin the corn so that each plant has at least six-inches on each side. Thin carrots and beets so that those remaining have room to grow.

— Water: If nature doesn’t provide enough water for plants, keep a rain barrel and use that water as much as possible. When using a hose, water only in the early evening hours so the sun doesn’t evaporate the water.

— Weed: And weed, weed, weed. Weeds take the nutrients from the soil, leaving much less for the vegetables.

— Replant: Many vegetables and herbs may be replanted in late summer for fall crops. Although some won’t reach their full size before the number of daylight hours dwindle, those vegetables are still good to eat. They are exceptionally tender and tasty, such as carrots and beets (which would produce greens, at least). Also replant radishes, lettuce, green beans, spinach and anything else that might have a chance to grow large enough to eat in September.

Seed packets say how many days until harvest, which should give some indication. But shortening the number days available doesn’t mean you’ll have nothing. Also, don’t forget to use whatever old window boxes or very large pots you have to plant greens, basil, parsley and other vegetables. One container will yield enough greens for at least several salads.

— Insects: The best way to prevent potato bugs from devastating a crop is to pick the eggs and larvae off before they grow into beetles. Eggs appear as orange masses. Larvae are small, soft crawly things. Many people wait until the full-sized beetles appear. They are very easy to pick off and destroy. Many gardening stores carry environmentally friendly products that work pretty well.

— Fertilize: Mid-summer is also the time to give the plants a little extra energy to produce more fruit by spreading manure, compost or some other earth-friendly mixture around them.

Most of all, though, enjoy what you are growing. Remember, you know exactly what was used to fertilize your vegetables, what those vegetables are and what was used to keep away destructive insects. And the food you eat from your garden is as local as it can get.