As summer approaches, most gardeners have their plants in the ground, so they can relax, right? Actually, the summer months can be really labor intensive, especially if you have a vegetable garden. Here’s a checklist of summer gardening chores to help you stay organized:

* Set up a watering system, such as drip irrigation or soaker hoses. This will save you time and energy and will also help conserve water.

* Punch small holes around the bottom third of plastic bottles and sink three or four of them into the ground near any trees or shrubs you’ve planted this spring. This way, you can easily fill the bottles with water and let the water slowly seep into the ground near the plant’s roots.

* Mulch your flower beds to keep the plant roots cool and conserve moisture. If you have grass clippings, let them dry out a bit and then spread them around your vegetable crops as mulch.

* Place netting or wire mesh over strawberries, blueberries, or other fruit crops as soon as they begin to develop fruit to keep pests from eating them.

* Mark any spring perennials or bulbs that need to be divided so that you can easily find them in the fall.

* Prune spring flowering bushes immediately so that you don’t cut off next spring’s flower buds.

* Continue weeding your garden beds - tree seedlings will be popping up everywhere if you have trees in or near your yard.