Pinch off the buds of chives. Add the small buds to salads to provide a tasty flavor. As the buds open and flower, they develop too sharp a flavor. Deadhead the flowers on basil and oregano before they start to flower. Keep your lawnmower blades sharp and set the mowing height at 3 inches.
Roots develop in proportion to top growth in grass plants.
Taller grass means deeper roots that have better tolerance for heat and drought. Protect seedlings from cutworms with a collar made of cardboard or plastic. Paper cups, yogurt cups, half-gallon milk cartons or jugs all work nicely. Fertilize bedding plants to sustain their steady growth. Do not over-fertilize with too much nitrogen fertilizer, which leads to more foliage rather than fruit and flowers.