Ok, now your summer vegetables have been growing, here are some tips about when to harvest and recipes to further enjoy your summer harvest. We will profile different vegetables and new recipes over the next several weeks.

Cherry Tomatoes: For the best taste, harvest tomatoes when they are fully colored and slightly soft to touch. Gently twist and pull from the vine.

California Marinated Salad
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Number of servings: 6
Cups of fruits and vegetables per person: 1.0

Ingredients:

3 nectarines, chopped
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, quartered
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup pitted ripe olives (optional)
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1 (8 oz) can artichoke hearts
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tsp tarragon, crumbled
1/2 tsp thyme

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine nectarines, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, olives and green onions. Drain and save liquid from the artichokes. Add the artichokes to the salad. Combine reserved liquid with remaining ingredients in a jar. Shake well and pour over the salad. Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours for the best flavor.

Corn: Pick after the silks become brown. The kernels should exude a milky substance when picked.

Grilled Corn on Cob
Preparation time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Number of servings: 4
Cups of fruits and vegetables per person: 0.5

Ingredients:

4 ears fresh corn with silks and husks
1 fresh lime or lemon, cut into wedges
Salt and pepper to taste (optional)

Directions:

Leaving on husks and silks, soak corn for 30 minutes in enough water to cover. Remove corn from water and pull the husks away from the top of the cobs to drain any excess water. Arrange corn on grill over hot coals and close lid of grill. Cook 25–30 minutes, turning frequently, until corn is tender. If husks are too hot to handle, let them cool before removing them. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over corn. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, or chili powder.

Quick and Easy Fresh Corn from the Microwave Oven

Pull down husks while leaving them attached at ends of corn. Remove corn silk. Rinse. Pull husks back up to cover corn tightly. Microwave the ear for 3 minutes on high power. Pierce a kernel with fork to determine doneness. Re-secure husks and turn ear over if more cooking time is required. Cooking multiple ears of corn at the same time will require a longer cooking time. For husked corn, wrap ears in paper towel or microwave wrap and microwave until done.

Corn Salad
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Number of servings: 6
Cups of fruits and vegetables per person: 2.0

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup minced red onion
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
3 cups corn
1 green bell pepper, seeded, and diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1-1/2 cups seeded and diced tomatoes
4 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
3 Tbsp cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a small sauté pan, warm olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for a few minutes. Add chili powder and cumin and sauté for 1 minute longer. In a serving bowl, combine corn, bell peppers, tomatoes, and cooled onions. Toss to mix. Add cilantro and vinegar. Toss well to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and toss again. This recipe is best served at room temperature.

These recipes are from the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You can get the nutritional facts and diabetic exchange information from the website for each recipe. The website is http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnparecipe/recipesearch.aspx

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) are leading this initiative and are in partnership with other health organizations. The goal is to achieve increased daily consumption of fruits and vegetables.

For more information on the Fruits and Veggies — More Matters health initiative, brand and logo, please visit PBH at: www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org. You will also find activities and tips for getting children involved as well as more recipes.

There's no sure way to protect your home from a raging fire, but there are some things you can do to minimize the risk. If you live near the woods, next to native brush, take these steps to protect your property.

• Keep the landscape close to your home well-watered. Don't grow flammable plants such as pine trees close to your home or allow them to overhang your roof. (Shrubs and trees with lush green leaves are recommended for green belts.)
• Don't mound shrubbery close to your house. Shrubs should be spaced apart from each other and kept low. For safety from fire when houses are close together, it's best to have no shrubbery between them.
• Create a buffer zone. A well-watered green area of low-growing plants or grass lawn can act as a firebreak between you and wilderness. The buffer zone should be at least 30 feet wide on flat ground and progressively wider as slopes get steeper. Walls, rocks, patios, rustic seats, and wandering paths can be part of the landscaping. Use plant materials that have proven their ability to withstand some fires. (Ask your local state Cooperative Extension Office or Department of Forestry for additional information and plant lists.)
• Manage the existing brush. Remove the fuel load from inside the plant. The buildup of dead leaves, twigs, branches and weeds in the understory is what makes the hottest fires. Cut out and haul away or chip and compost all of the dead stuff that builds up inside native shrubs. Leave all the green growth on the outside. When you're finished, you'll have a wonderland of usable space for birds and other wildlife that inhabit the local countryside.

As a kid, the arrival of Indian summer was the last summer hurrah! It was still light enough to play outside after dinner, and warm enough to wear shorts. Even though school had begun, you still had a couple of weeks of warm summertime fun. Well, now I realize that it was also a couple more weeks of summertime flower color for my parents to enjoy in their gardens! Somehow, I think they must have planned ahead to ensure the gardens were beautiful.

That's right. Now is the time to tuck into your garden beds and patio paradise containers some of your favorite late summer and fall blooming perennials and shrubs. This list of flowering plants includes just about every flower color that you can imagine. You may be the type of gardener who has a complete plan of colors, sizes and shapes in mind. Or you might be a gardener that loves just to collect plants of all colors, sizes and forms. You know who you are and what your style is.

There are plenty of late summer and autumn bloomers to choose from. Check our gallery here for some examples. Our plant selection is a veritable treasure chest of Indian Summer colors. Come into the garden center and begin choosing today. Don't forget to pick up some Master Nursery Bumper Crop to amend your native soil. Oh yes, and to promote the non-stop blooms, feed with Master Bloom 0-10-10 Fertilizer.

Then sit back on that Adirondack chair, chaise lounge, or hammock--and enjoy your Indian Summer garden in full bloom!

We at Westwood Gardens would like our newsletter readers to submit great recipes to share. If you'd like to submit one or more of your favorites, please email us the recipe in the format shown below. Include a picture too if you have one. We'd also like to know the origin of your recipe so we can include a little background on it.

What You'll Need:

• 5 cups cubed, seedless watermelon
• 1 cup sparkling water, chilled
• ¾ cup white rum
• ¼ cup chopped fresh mint
• 1 (6 ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate, undiluted (do not thaw)

Step by Step:

1. Arrange watermelon cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze 2 hours or longer – until completely frozen.

2. Combine frozen watermelon cubes, sparkling water, rum, mint, and limeade in a blender, process until smooth. Do this in batches to avoid overflow. Make sure your cubes disappear but don’t blend so long that it gets runny. It’s perfect when it’s slushy.

Garnish with extra mint sprigs and/or lime wedges if desired.

Tip: You can freeze the watermelon cubes in batches up to a day or so before you plan to make these and then once the cubes are totally frozen, pack them into a freezer bag until ready to use.