Even if you're new to vegetable growing, these 25 tips will make you a seasoned gardener

1. If it's cold and you still have tomatoes ripening on the branch, save the tomatoes! Pick up the plants and bring them indoors to a warm, dry place. Hang them and the tomatoes will ripen on the vine.

2. Supplementary planting is a great way to enhance your garden. A few plants renew the supplements lost by another, and a few mixes adequately ward bothers off.

3. Paint the handles of your garden tools a bright color other than green to help you find them among your plants. You can also have a mailbox in your garden to easily store tools.

4. Compost takes time to integrate and stabilize in the soil. Apply two or three weeks before planting.

5. There is an easy way to mix compost into your soil without a lot of work: spread compost over your garden in late fall, after all the harvest is done. Cover with a winter mulch like hay or chopped leaves and let nature take its course.

6. Do you like to eat vegetables, but do not have space? Train your melons, squash, and cucumbers on a vertical trellis or fence. Saves space and looks pretty too.

7. Vegetables that are overripe are easy targets for some pests. Eliminate them as quickly as time permits to keep away from identification.

8. Onions are ready to harvest when the tops fall off. Let the soil dry out, harvest and store in a warm, dry, dark place until the top dries. Cut the foliage down to an inch and then store it in a cool, dry place.

9. Keep lettuce and cabbage leaves out of the dirt as they grow by spreading a 1-2 inch layer of mulch (not treated with pesticides or fertilizers) around each plant. This also helps control weeds.

10. When planting a flower or vegetable transplant, deposit a handful of compost in each hole. Compost will provide transplants with an added boost that will last throughout the growing season.

11. Insects cannot support plants like garlic, onion, chives, and chrysanthemums. Grow these plants in your garden to help repel insects.

12. Milk jugs, soda bottles and other plastic containers are great mini covers to put on your plants and protect them from frost.

13. For easy peas, start indoors. The germination rate is much better and the seedlings will be healthier and better able to fight pests and diseases.

14. Healthy soil means healthy plants that are better able to resist pests and diseases, reducing the need for harmful pesticides.

15.Another reason to use natural and organic fertilizers and soil amendments: earthworms love them! Earthworms are extremely beneficial in the garden; increasing air space in the soil and leaving earthworm mollusks behind. Do what you can to encourage earthworms in your soil.

16. Diatomaceous earth is an incredible natural insecticide: it is a grating white powder that is utilized to harm the fingernail skin, skin, and joints of bugs. It is also an excellent barrier against slugs.

17. In fact, some vegetables improve after the first frost, such as kale, cabbage, parsnips, carrots, and Brussels sprouts.

18. When transplanting tomatoes, cover the stem with soil up to the first group of leaves. This greatly encourages root growth, making the plant stronger and healthier.

19. Sound soil implies a flourishing populace of microorganisms, worms, and different life forms. Soil that is "well tilled" will produce robust garden plants that are better able to resist pests and diseases.

20. A mere five percent increase in organic material (compost) quadruples the soil's capacity to store water.

21. Plants will do best if they adapt well to your growing area. Take some time to read and choose the plants accordingly.

22. Prevent vegetables from getting dirty by spreading a 1-2 inch layer of mulch (not treated with pesticides or fertilizers) around each plant. This will also help control weeds.

23. Water your garden early in the morning to conserve moisture loss and to help prevent powdery mildew and other fungal diseases that are often spread by high humidity levels.

24. If you're short on space, garlic, leeks, and shallots make great potting plants. They tend to have few insect or disease problems and don't require a lot of root space.

25. Overwatering is worse than overwatering. It is easier to revive a dry plant than to try. tar dry the drowned roots.