August brings mixed feelings to the garden: We’re thrilled to see plump, ripe tomatoes clinging to their vines, and perennials in full bloom, but we know we’ve reached the apex and the road ahead is downhill. Here’s a tip for each day of the month to help extend a bountiful summer.

- The Great LI Tomato Challenge is coming! Send pictures and your growing strategy to jessica.damianonewsday.com

- Keep lawn mower blades set no lower than 3 inches; any lower and you’ll risk interfering with the grass’ photosynthesis.

- Harvest zucchini before they get too big; smaller ones are tastier and more tender.

- Order peonies to ensure they arrive by prime planting time next month.

- It’s time to plant lettuce, radishes, spinach, peas, collards and other cool-season crops for a fall harvest.

- If cabbage heads split, bring them indoors as soon as possible. Left outdoors, they’ll become inedible.

- Stop pruning evergreens, but start relocating those you’d like to move.

- Tidy up garden beds with fresh edging.

- For the best flavor, leave tomatoes on the vine until fully ripened.

- Give hybrid tea roses a sip of liquid seaweed to protect against heat wilt.

- In the absence of rain, check moisture levels in potted plants twice daily; water when soil is dry.

- Are the innermost branches of evergreens turning brown? Relax, that’s normal for summer.

- Harvest unsprayed rose hips and make tea or jam.

- If electrical storms are in the forecast, remember to turn off pond pumps.

- Keep pulling weeds as you see them — before they spew seeds around the garden. Then mulch the soil to prevent new ones from taking hold.

- Harvest beets when they’re 2 inches wide. Roast in foil and sauté their greens separately for two side dishes from one plant.

- Remove diseased foliage from plants and place in the trash.

- Keep deadheading annuals and perennials. Many will reward you with repeat blooms.

- Divide Japanese and Siberian iris.

- Move potted tropicals and outdoor houseplants to a shady spot to help prepare them for their move indoors early next month.

- Take cuttings of geraniums and wax begonias, and root indoors now. Care for them as houseplants until spring, then plant outdoors in pots or directly in the garden.

- Clean up fallen fruit from around trees to prevent disease and discourage rodents and other pests.

- Harvest onions when their tops flop over, then allow them to cure in the sun for a few days.

- Divide and transplant peonies, keeping eyes no more than an inch or two beneath the soil.

- If you’d like to relocate spring-flowering bulbs, transplant them now.

- Divide crowded day lilies.

- It’s time to renovate the lawn: Rake out dead patches, aerate, apply compost and seed. Water deeply once, then sprinkle lightly twice a day until filled in.

- If houseplants vacationing outdoors for the summer have outgrown their containers, repot now.

- Collect seeds from day lilies and other podding plants. Store in a paper envelope in the fridge, away from fruit.