Guest Author - Sue Walsh

With today's sluggish economy and outrageous gas prices, vegetable gardening has become more popular than ever. Here are some tips for maximizing your success!

Plant tomatoes and asparagus together. The tomato plants will repel the asparagus beetle, and in return the asparagus repels tomato killing nematodes. Another great combo is corn and cucumbers. The tall corn plants keep cuke vines cool, and raccoons can't stand the smell of cukes, which keeps them from stealing the corn. Talk about team work!

Pruning your trees? Put the branches to good use by using them to build a teepee to support your bean plants. The vines will grow around them, creating a fun and cool play spot for kids!

Keep beans away from onions, leeks and garlic as they will compete for nutrients. Speaking of keeping things separate, you'll also want to keep your carrot seeds away from any type of manure. For some unknown reason, carrot seeds planted in manure produce very odd shaped carrots!

Plant lots of borage in your vegetable garden. Not only is it pretty, it attracts lacewings which absolutely love to munch on aphids!

Want a cute and tidy garden? Grab an old ladder and lay it on the ground. Fill the spaces between the rungs with soil and plant away!

If you smoke, make sure you wash your hands thoroughly in hot soapy water before handing tomato or pepper plants, both of which are very susceptible to the tobacco mosaic virus.

For big, beautiful peppers spray them with a mix of 1 tablespoon Epsom salts in a gallon of water.

To protect your squash and melon crops, use old pantyhose to create a hammock for each one to rest in. This keeps birds and other pests away.

When it's time to harvest your crops, use a pair of sharp shears. Simply ripping the fruits off with your hands can damage your plants. After you've harvested from one type of plant, wash your shears before moving on to another to avoid spreading diseases.

Avoid watering your veggies in the evening if possible. Leaving foliage wet all night encourages fungal diseases. The best time of day to water is early to mid morning. Be sure to be even and regular with your watering to avoid cracked tomatoes or odd shaped cucumbers.

Once your plants begin producing, be sure to pick your veggies regularly. Leaving mature veggie on the plant will stop the plant from producing more.

We'd love to hear about your veggie garden-drop by the forum and tell us about it!