You’ve worked hard all spring and summer, and now your garden is rewarding you with lots of mouthwatering veggies and fruits. But what if you’ve got more than you can handle? Whatever you do, don’t let it go to waste! I’ve found a neat new website that’s tailor-made for this situation. It’s called veggietrader.com, and it’s an online resource where folks can swap, buy, or sell homegrown produce. At Veggie Trader, the goal is to help families eat well, while putting backyards to work for the benefit of the whole neighborhood.

So if you’ve got a bumper crop of tomatoes, but don’t have any zucchini, or even if you don’t have a garden, but you want to enjoy fresh, locally grown melons, check out this free and easy resource. Just log on and enter your ZIP code to see what’s on hand to swap. You’ll enjoy all the fresh, tasty garden goodness you want, and save a few bucks while you’re at it. For my money, you can’t beat that!

Before you sink your teeth into your freshly swapped food, clean it up with this great germ-killing formula: Mix 1 cup of white vinegar and 3 cups of water in a handheld sprayer bottle, and spritz your fruit or veggies. Count to 10, then rinse ‘em off under running water.

And while you’re at it, start thinking about next year’s crop by checking out our Raised Bed Garden System. These handy helpers allow you to garden in any type of soil without all of the backbreaking digging. That way, you’ll be ready to plant in no time at all.