Your organic garden is in full swing in August, and you probably have more fruits and vegetables than you know what to do with, partially thanks to using organic garden compost such as MOO PLUS® , MOO PLANT™ , and MOO GROW® .

Following are five of the top garden jobs for the month of August.

The best job: pick and eat!

Depending on when you planted, you should have plenty of fruits and veggies to eat and store. If you have a large garden, harvesting may be a daunting prospect in August, but you need to pick consistently to ensure you have fresh food and that the plants keep producing for a little longer.

Decide what to do with all this food!

You may grow just the right amount for your family, or you may have a surplus of food. You’ll need to decide what to do with the extra fruit and vegetables. You may decide to can, freeze, give away, or turn it into other food such as salsa, spaghetti sauce, or relish. This in itself can be a big job.

Stay on top of pest control, weeding, watering, and the compost pile.

Doing these tasks on a consistent basis helped create the bountiful garden you have now, so keep on doing them through August. Turn the compost, water as needed, weed regularly, and keep an eye out for little critters.

If you have bigger critters who want to share your crops, consider spreading mothballs or used kitty litter, putting up a fence, or placing fox or wolf urine around the perimeter of your organic garden.

Replace or add strawberry plants.

Now is a good time to replace any plants that are older than 4 years, or add more if you have room. You can buy new or use runners from your current plants. Don’t forget to use an organic soil amendment like MOO DOO® when you plant.

At the end of the month, start thinking about putting the garden to bed.

Although you may not do it for another couple of months, begin thinking about when to stop harvesting and getting the garden ready for winter. It might be easier to gradually let it go instead of stopping it all at once. Plan your exit strategy.

This is the most efficient time to apply soil amendments like MOO DOO® or MOO PLUS®. Once the garden in pulled, till in a large amount of DOO or PLUS and let it do the work for you as the nitrogen will slowly release into the soil to benefit your garden.

In July, you start to see the payoff for all the hard work you’ve done. You’ll also start to see why using MOO DOO®, MOO DIRT®, or MOO PLUS® was a good idea! As well as harvesting your bounty, you’ll have plenty of other things to do in your organic garden in July.

Enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of your labor.

You should have plenty of greens to harvest in July, so reap what you’ve sown. If you need to replant, do it now so you’ll have at least one more harvest. For many plants, the more you pick, the more you’ll get, so start plucking.

Don’t forget to weed and water.

While you’re having so much fun harvesting, making relish and salsa, and freezing your food, it’s easy to forget (or avoid) the not-so-fun stuff like weeding and watering. Be sure to stay on top of it, even if you don’t feel like it, so you don’t have a massive weeding job later. Don’t slack on the watering now, or your plants will slow down and not yield as much as they could. But don’t over-water either. It is a delicate balance.

Be on the lookout for pests.

As the temperature climbs, so do the insect populations. If you haven’t already, attract anything that eats insects to your garden. Put up a birdbath (or three), consider buying some ladybugs or lacewings, or sprinkle some diatomaceous earth around your plants to kill insects.

Thin plants as necessary.

Don’t allow your garden to become or stay overcrowded. Thin your crops and replant elsewhere if you can.

Organic gardeners who are most successful are consistent with their gardening tasks and schedule them when possible. While there are a lot of little (and large!) things to do each day or week, the payoff is well worth it.

May is a busy month for gardeners, and you may feel somewhat frantic trying to get everything done. Following are a few ideas to help enhance your May gardening experience.

Do a little bit every day.

Go out to your organic garden and do something every day, even if it’s doing a quick walk-through looking for weeds. This will help you get in the habit of going out to the garden daily and keeping a close eye on it. You’ll also remember to regularly harvest cool-weather crops like asparagus.

Schedule time for the big jobs.  

While doing a little bit every day is helpful, you should schedule certain time-consuming tasks, such as adding dehydrated composted cow manure like MOO PLUS® to your soil, planting, or setting up your watering system. These jobs are easier to do in a block of time, so write them on your calendar.

Keep an eye on overnight temperatures.

If you have plants that cannot withstand low night temperatures, you may want to wait until closer to Memorial Day to plant, especially if you’re in a northern climate. Watch the overnight temps before making your decision to plant your tomatoes, and continue to watch how low the mercury falls in case you need to cover them at night.

If you’re in a southern climate, now is the time to experiment with that new tropical fruit you’ve been eyeing!

Know what your soil needs.

Even if you’ve had successful gardens in the past, do a soil test (your local agriculture extension office can help with this) and add organic fertilizer or organic farming manure as necessary. Be sure to read the labels to know exactly what you’re adding.

Till the soil several times before planting.

Be sure to thoroughly work it into the soil. For best results, follow the directions on the package. You want to make sure that at least six inches of soil have been mixed with your MOO™ product and that you have tilled the soil several times before planting.

What are your typical May gardening chores?