THE RECENT heat wave turned me into an early morning gardener. By midmorning the heat chased me indoors to work on the computer. At this time of year it is easy to get behind on mundane jobs in the garden, putting them off until a cool front arrives from Canada. But if you can get out there early, here are a few jobs you really should do.

Tomatoes love this heat, and mine are growing like crazy. Even if you put them in cages when you planted them, they need some extra attention now so that all the branches are supported. Branches are quite flexible and if you take your time you can get most back inside their cages. But you can, alternatively, take strips of cloth and tie up branches that have grown outside the cage. Just tie them to the cage itself. That way when the fruit load gets heavy, the outer branches don’t break off or sag to the ground. Or you can push some wooden grade stakes into the ground near the cage to tie up big branches that are outside the cage.

Garlic Scapes It is generally recommended that you pinch or snip off the ‘suckers’ that grow in the crotches formed between the main stalk of the plant and the side branches. I don’t always get around to doing this, and when I don’t the plants get very leafy and air circulation is poor - making plants more susceptible to diseases. The extra leaves also shade the fruit, which ripens faster if exposed to direct sun. Some types of tomatoes make lots of suckers, some very few; sometimes suckers immediately set flower buds, so I leave them on.

Carrots need to be thinned. By now one-inch spacing is adequate, though in a month, twoinch spacing will be better to get the jumbo carrots I prefer for winter storage. Same goes for beets. If you don’t thin, your production will be minimal. This is also the time to give carrots a little boost by top-dressing with an organic fertilizer. Sprinkle a thin line of Pro-Gro next to your carrots and scratch it in.

Removing a tomato sucker Potatoes need to be hilled up. I plant in holes I dig with a posthole digger, so it is easy to push the loose soil over the growing stems. No matter how you did it, pushing some extra soil or compost over the lower stems (and even the leaves) of your potatoes will help you to get better production. This year’s potatoes grow above the seed potato. If the covering layer of soil is thick, there is more room to grow potatoes. Lettuce is feeling as cranky as a house cat these hot days, and is less appetizing the older it gets. So plant a row of lettuce somewhere now. If your peas are done, pull them and plant lettuce. And plant again in two or three weeks.

Fall broccoli can be started now, too, or within a couple of weeks. I like to start mine in pots or 6-packs even though the seeds could be planted directly in the garden. I feel I pay better attention to seedlings if I plant them in containers. I check the soil daily to make sure it is lightly moist, and I place the containers where they get just morning sun, so the soil does not dry out so fast.

By now my garlic has sent up those crazy curled, twisted stems that are called scapes. Even though many gardeners claim that cutting them off increases yields of garlic, I have never observed that. I do cut some off and use the scapes just as I would garlic cloves. They are great chopped up in a stir fry. I also put some in vases with flowers – they add a great sculptural element to any flower arrangement.

You can use scapes to make a pesto. I made recently some using the soft parts of 10 scapes blending them with just olive oil it in the food processor and adding 3 tablespoons of my homemade tomato paste. I sautéed it in a fry pan and it was fabulous on pasta.

Onions really hate weeds, so I try to keep their beds relatively weed-free. Onions need good moisture, so if we get a dry spell I shall water mine.

Speaking of watering, you may want to water your tomatoes if we don’t get an inch of water each week. They won’t die if you don’t, but they are mostly water and need water to plump up. Instead of using a broadcast sprinkler that waters everything – plants, walkways, weeds –I like to try use a watering wand.

The advantage of a wand is that it allows you to apply water right at the soil surface without wetting the leaves. But buy a good one – I like those made by Dramm because the rosettes that control the water flow have very fine, well-placed holes. They deliver a good flow, but gently. I’ve never liked those that have multiple choice questions at the end of the wand – stream, jet, or shower? I just want a good, gentle shower.

Lastly, don’t forget to pinch your basil to make it bushy. I know in kindergarten they told us pinching was bad, but for basil, pinching is good. Don’t let it go to flower or it will get bitter.

So get out there every day – even in a heat wave. Set the alarm a little earlier and spend some time in the garden.

Please send Henry suggestions of columns to include in his next book at henry.homeyer@conmcast. net or P.O. Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746. Thanks!