Then you are cordially invited to the 2nd annual Great Long Island Tomato Challenge.

Come to Newsday headquarters (235 Pinelawn Road, Melville) at 7 PM on Friday, August 22.

Bring your biggest tomato, success stories and seeds for sharing, if you'd like. I'll weigh your tomato personally and crown this year's tomato king or queen.

RSVP with number attending to jessica.damiano@newsday.com

Here are some ideas that will help you do your part easily:

It's easy: Click photo for suggestions

Well, one reader begs to differ. And I can't argue because she's provided photographic evidence:

My neighbor's cat LOVES the mulch!!!! In his defense, he's old and maybe has forgotten his garden etiquette. -Cheryl

I paid $82 to fill my gas tank this morning. With regular gasoline at $4.29, it's a new record for me. One I seem to be breaking on a weekly basis. My husband surprised me with a Prius for our anniversary in June, which will save me roughly two-thirds of what I'm now paying to gas up. But the Prius is months away. Last I checked, I was number 31 on the waiting list. And the saleswoman said the dealership only gets "a few" Priuses each month. At this rate, I might be driving a 2010 model.

So, while I continue to chug along at 15.8 MPGs, helpless and at the mercy of automakers in Japan, there's another gas guzzler that can be replaced immediately. I'm talking about the lawn mower.

Electric and even old-fashioned push reel mowers are making a huge comeback as homeowners are becoming more and more eco- and wallet-conscious. If you're in the market for a new machine, you should consider one. Electric mowers don't use gasoline, obviously, and they're quieter and don't pollute the air with exhaust fumes. While push reel mowers are purely manual machines, they have the advantage of being so quiet you can cut your grass at 5 a.m. without disturbing the neighbors.

What's more, reel push mowers are kind to your lawn, with blades that cut like scissors.

O.K. There are some downsides. For one, if you neglect your lawn-mowing chores for more than a week, it likely will be kind of difficult to push the thing across your grass. For another, manual mowers typically don't do a great job cutting tall weeds.

But those issues might not be that big of a deal. I think we're approaching the point where convenience might not outweigh cost for long.

So here's the scoop:

Aside from catnip and catmints (Nepeta), felines generally aren't attracted to plants. What they crave is the feel of cool soil on their bodies as they sprawl out and make themselves at home in your perennial bed.

Anyone who's ever tried to bathe a cat knows the one thing they don't like is water. So, I offer suggestion No. 1: Hide, hose in hand, and wait for your feline visitors. Otherwise, look out the window and be ready to pounce when they come. Squirt them as they enter your property. Three failed attempts should discourage future visits. If you happen to be gainfully employed or for some other reason not at home when the cats come to call, a motion-sensor sprinkler will achieve the same result.

Suggestion No. 2: Plant some rue (Ruta graveolens). It's a pretty herb you'll enjoy, and cats can't stand the scent. Prickly and thorny plants, such as roses and barberries, serve as effective deterrents as well.

Suggestion No. 3: Mulch. Cats like to roll in bare soil, and covering it with mulch takes a lot of the fun out of it.

There also are some folk remedies that are said to work, like sprinkling cayenne pepper around the area (reapply after every rainfall) and spreading orange peel and lemon rinds throughout the garden. Garden centers even sell lion dung, reputed to fool cats into believing a predator is near. Though I can't speak for any of them, they might be worth a try.

Dogs love to frolic in the garden, but it isn't always wise to leave them unattended. For starters, lots of plants are poisonous. Then, there are concerns about the damage they can do to plants and lawns. But it is possible for a beautiful garden and your coddled canine to coexist peacefully. Here are some tips that will help:

Photo by Justine Damiano

1. Dogs and grass generally don't mix

The high nitrogen content in their urine will trash your grass, becoming visible with telltale brown patches scattered about. And there are only two things you can do to prevent them: Run out with a hose and water like crazy after every pit stop or train the dog to go elsewhere. Find an out-of-the way spot you're willing to surrender to your dog and take him there on a leash every time nature calls.

2. Mulch an area where the dog can be free to run and play

If you can fence it in, even better. This will protect the turf from rips and general wear and tear.

3. Avoid cocoa bean hull mulch

It smells like chocolate, which is toxic to dogs, and can be just as harmful. Also avoid mulching with rocks; some dogs will swallow them.

4. Space shrubs and trees so there's ample room between them

The purpose - so dogs can run around them. Tightly packed shrubbery won't discourage dogs from trying to enter, and damage will occur.

5. Don't use toxic fungicides, herbicides or insecticides

For instance, try corn gluten in the spring to control crabgrass instead of chemical pre-emergent herbicides. And remember, organic doesn't necessarily mean safe.

Brunfelsia (left, University of Houston photo) and Digitalis, or foxglove (Cornell University photo) are toxic to dogs.

6.Familiarize yourself with plants that are toxic to dogs

And don't plant them. Here's a list of plants that are poisonous to dogs

7.Include some garden items that could benefit the dog

Like a fountain (above) that's low enough to provide a nice, cool drink.

8.Relax

If your annuals get trampled from time to time, so be it. Dogs will be dogs.

There seem to be an alarming number of stinging jellyfish in Long Island Sound this summer. Though summer usually is high season for the transparent little demons, they're showing up in record numbers this year, and a few weeks earlier than usual. So much so, that lifeguards are reporting the need to manually clear the off the beaches, some larger than a foot in diameter. And they say they're getting a lot of use out of the bottles of alcohol and water they keep in their stash to soothe jellyfish stings.

The cause? Experts say a combination of the mild weather this year (warmer water promotes their survival), possibly global warming, and runoff from fertilizers.

Please, please let's not fertilize our lawns over the summer. Only do so around Memorial Day and Labor Day. That's it. Twice a year, and only if you really, really need to. Here are some other problems overfertilization can cause.

That was in May, and I'm happy to report that I'm no longer embarrassed to post my photos. Here's how it went:

Here's what you saw when you entered the backyard. That's Shelby in the foreground. She's the one who's always getting noticed, whether it's for relieving herself on my tomatoes or being falsely accused of creating odors.

Not much to look at, I know. In fact, it was quite nasty. I hope you aren't nauseated. Back in May, I purchased some plants and laid them all where I wanted them:

A month and a half later, they're filling in nicely. Also ditched the old swing set in favor of a futuristic-looking trampoline:

Looking to the right, there was a deck up against the house and a garage with this neglected area in between:

So I bought some Ligularia and Northern sea oats and knockout roses, and some Ostrich ferns and various grasses and set them in place. Here are some waiting to be planted:

Voila! I believe I've created a garden room:

Here's another angle:

And yet another, with a new hammock in residence:

Maybe one day I'll actually get to relax in it.

The grass still needs some work. The cesspool construction did a number on it. Shelby also does a number on it. Number one, actually. Here's a closeup of why I need to renovate it:

That'll happen in the fall. Maybe.

Sure, you can douse your plants with chemicals. But your wallet -- and the environment -- may suffer. And if we're talking about edibles, so might your health. Most plants produce their own chemicals to fend off insects and disease, and if you familiarize yourself with them, you can strategically use them to your advantage.

Click photo for a slide show of insect-repelling plants:

Click photo to see the plants

Here are 20 plants that deter pests:

Basil: Repels aphids, flies, mosquitoes and mites; also has fungicidal properties. Plant around tomatoes to repel hornworms.

Borage: Repels tomato worms.

Catnip: Repels ants, fleas, mosquitoes.

Chamomile: Repels cabbage moths.

Chives: Plant around roses and lettuce to repel aphids.

Feverfew: Repels moths.

Lavender: Repels slugs.

Marigolds: Pests find their scent repulsive, so plant them throughout your vegetable garden. French and African varieties eliminate nematodes from the soil.

Mint: Repels aphids, cabbage moths and cabbage worms. Plant in containers, though, or it will take over your garden.

Nasturtium: Repels aphids and whiteflies. Plant around fruit trees, cucumbers and squash.

Onion: Repels ants.

Oregano: Repels cucumber beetle.

Pennyroyal: Repels ants.

Petunia: Repels aphids, leafhoppers, Mexican bean beetles.

Radish: Plant around cucumbers and squash to trap beetles.

Rosemary: Deters cabbage moth, bean beetles and carrot fly.

Rue: Repels Japanese beetles, flies, fleas and ants. Keep away from basil, though, because neither will grow if planted together. (Also repels cats and keeps them out of your garden.)

Tansy: Repels ants.

Thyme: Deters cabbage worms and slugs.

Tomatoes: Plant around asparagus to repel asparagus beetles.

It's easy: Click photo for instructions

In 1922, T.S. Eliot, apparently disillusioned by the changing world around him, wrote the poem, "The Waste Land." Its most well-known verse goes like this:

"April is the cruellest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain"

Who among us hasn't bred lilacs out of dead land? It's always so exciting when the garden wakes up in spring, when life springs forth from "dead land." So how is that cruel? I never really understood that part. Of course, I think Eliot was likely not talking about gardening, but using it as a metaphor for post-World War I Europe. If you think about it that way, I guess it can be a little bittersweet.

My lilacs are long gone, but my Phlox 'David' and Joe Pye weed 'Gateway' are springing forth, though not exactly from dead land. And the weeds -- some I can't even identify -- are springing forth, launching their own invasion on the area surrounding my tomatoes and basil and peppers and parsley. Oh, and they've just about filled the "maternity ward," a neglected area where I've been nursing stem cuttings and starting seeds.

And did I pull them out this weekend? I barely even stepped out into the garden, I'm sorry to say. Lazed around, mostly, on a rare and rainy 3-day weekend. Went shopping. Watched a few movies. Ate things I shouldn't have. And the weeds mixed memory with desire and laughed at me.

For instance, the June/July issue of Organic Gardening (OK, it's June/July 2007, but the information is still relevant) included a report on water conservation. Here are some statistics I picked up:

1. 80 to 100 Gallons: The amount of water used each day by the average American.

2. 227%: Increase in public water use in the United States from 1950 to 2000.

3. 89%: Population growth during that period.

4. 1%: Amount of the world’s water that is fresh water available for drinking and watering plants.

5. 40%: Percentage of fresh water used that is applied outdoors during the summer.

No. 4 had me doing a double take. Only 1% of all the water in the world is available for drinking and watering plants? The other 99% is unusable? How crazy is that? And moving on to No. 5, it follows that we use 40% of that 1% outdoors during summer? I love my plants as much as the next guy. Wait a minute -- I probably love my plants more than the next guy, but still, using 40% of the only usable 1% of water on outdoor plants seems a little wasteful, no? Though those figures surely include water used on farms, there's no reason I can't be a little frugal in my backyard.

I have an abundance of half-filled water bottles all over the house. And whenever I ask whose water it is, nobody seems to know. Instead of dumping the water down the drain, I've been emptying it into my planters and window boxes.

I suppose we could take this a step further and save cooking water for the garden. Neither water nor nutrients would go to waste. Plus, water used to boil eggs is full of calcium and can help prevent blossom end rot on tomato plants.

If you have any other creative uses for old water, or any ideas for conserving it, let me know.

That's all for now. But I might be back if I have time to tackle another pile.

My husband, John, is always hot. I mean sweat-dripping-down-his-face-in-65-degree-weather hot. He blasts the A/C and sleeps in shorts without a blanket. Me? I'm under two layers in my flannel PJs.

He's taken to running the air conditioner and two ceiling fans in the living room whenever he's home. If he spends two hours upstairs and I turn off the unit in his absence, he invariably complains when he comes back down.

I can wear a sweater, he says. If he's warm in shorts and a tank top, there's nothing less he can wear in polite society. So the onus is on me. But unless it's crazy humid outside, I'm an open-the-windows kind of girl. And therein lies the problem.

When we first moved into the house three years ago, there were three huge white pines dwarfing the house, right outside the front door. They were messy, spewing sap all over the front porch, garden bench and walkway. And they blocked the house completely. But in the heat of that first August, you couldn't help but notice -- and appreciate -- that when you walked from the driveway to the front door, you felt a drastic 10-degree temperature drop. It was nice. When I think about it in hindsight, we didn't really run the air conditioner as much that first summer. But when the vacuum cleaner became a permanent fixture in the foyer, I realized the trees had to go.

It's been a lot warmer in the house since. In fact, I read recently that shade trees can reduce electric bills for air conditioning by 15 to 50 percent.

And if you want to get all environmental about it, there's more: One tree can absorb the CO2 output from four cars every year, while producing enough oxygen for a family of four. In fact, planting trees remains the cheapest, most effective means of removing excess CO2 from the atmosphere.

According to the Bailey Nurseries Trees are Cool program, if every American family planted just one tree, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would be reduced by a billion pounds annually. This is almost 5 percent of the amount that human activity pumps into the atmosphere each year.

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that, with improvements in plant productivity and conversion efficiencies, 25 percent of U.S.-imported oil could be displaced by plantation-grown trees by 2050.

So, while it isn't exactly Arbor Day, I'm saluting the shade tree today. And I'm wearing a sweater.

Take cuttings early in the morning or in the evening, when the sun isn't at its strongest. Cloudy days work, too. To increase your success rate, propagate early in the growing season:

Click photo for a step-by-step slide show:

Click photo for a step-by-step demonstration

Here are some perennials that can be propagated successfully with stem cuttings:

Alyssum

Artemisia

Aster

Bee balm (Monarda)

Bellflower (Campanula)

Blanketflower (Gaillardia)

Catmint (Nepeta)

Chrysanthemums

Clematis

Coral bells (Heuchera)

Coreopsis

Dusty miller (Senecio)

Lavender

Montauk daisy

(Nipponanthemum)

Penstemon

Phlox

Sedum

Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum)

Yarrow (Achillea)