Remember: this is how summer arrives in New England.

After a spell of wretched weather, bam! Heat bombs in. Often escorted by waves of mugginess, willy-nilly, it puts a stop to most of those unfinished spring tasks, as one must tend to the new demands of early summer: get out the grill, change storm windows for screens, mowing that ever-growing grass.

Where did those weeds come from? Quickly, pull them out before they set seed for a new crop. Strew straw over them as soon as they’ve wilted. That could slow the growth of the next lot of weeds, or make it easier to hoe them.

Spent leaves of spring bulbs are drooping now. Plant some flowering annuals in front of them and let that foliage gently fade behind the new blooms. Not so long ago, gardeners braided those leaves or bunched them with elastic bands. Nowadays, we know to let them fade on their own, for the good of next year’s spring flowers.

Here’s an old trick: after rinsing any milk box, pour that diluted milk-water around a tomato plant. Just that touch of calcium should give the tomato a boost.

Use later milk box rinsings around other tomatoes and certainly, on begonias of any kind. Begonias also like occasional mild doses of diluted baking soda.

Once your new plants are in the ground, they need regular water. One way to accomplish this – at least where you’re growing for food, not glamour - is to gather gallon-size plastic jugs, pierce several small holes on one side of each and sink them in the ground, holey side toward your peppers, tomatoes or members of the cabbage family. Fill the jugs with water and cap. Check periodically and refill with water when needed.
Water other plants first thing in the morning for best results. This way, you’ve beaten the heat and finished your earliest garden task.

A research project

For gardeners frustrated by lily beetle damage, here’s a way to help:

The University of Rhode Island is studying the spoiling of lilies by lily leaf beetles as it works for a remedy.

The beetles are handsome little things, scarlet-red and easy to spot. Their larvae defoliate lilies. The University of Rhode Island (URI) Biological Control Lab is looking for their natural enemies.

So far, the Lab has “planted” small parasitic insects in established lily plots in Cumberland, R.I., Wellesley, Mass. and in New Hampshire and Maine. Researchers hope the larvae of these insects will invade the lily leaf larvae and their parents to destroy them. If so, researchers hope the parasites will disperse naturally and reduce New England’s problem.

Maine lily growers can help by collecting the large larvae covered with excrement found on their lilies. Here’s how:

Place about 20 of the largest larvae found (preferably after the fourth molt) with some lily leaves and a piece of paper towel into a rigid container with a lid, such as an empty cottage cheese or yogurt cup. Don’t add water. Label the lid with your name, complete address and when you found the larvae. Include your email address if you have one. Tape the container shut so the larvae don’t escape!

Mail the package, prepared for mailing, to Lisa Tewksbury, Department of Plant Sciences, 9 E. Alumni Ave., Suite 7, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, R.I. 02881.