Dear Heloise: We are well into summer, and as a retired horticulturalist, I discovered an amazing trick with tomatoes!

Instead of pulling the suckers off and throwing them away, I wait until they are about a foot-long and then cut them off just after the first leaf. Then, I stick them in water, and in about 10 hot summer days, you will have another well-rooted tomato for your garden!

Make sure to cut the sucker above the leaf so that another sucker will arise in the crotch of the stem and leaf for your next cutting. I started with 12 plants, and now I am at about 50 plants that are able to be eaten and frozen. I give to my family, neighbors and the impoverished, especially with inflation these days.

Also, don’t throw those ashes away from your fire pit, fireplace or grill! They can be used as pure potash fertilizer to make plants bloom! Put them on your tomatoes, beans, etc., to produce more flowers that will turn into more produce for you. (Tip: Do not put the ashes on your plants when they are still hot.) — Dale, Dayton, Ohio

THE PERFECT

BACK SCRATCHER

Dear Heloise: Never did I ever in my 83 years think I would write to an advice column. But at 82-and-a-half years old, I discovered that, if I fold a rough bath towel and lay it under me on my bed (I sleep with no clothes), it acts as the perfect back scratcher. Try it; you will like it!

I used to see your mom on the plane to and from Harlingen, Texas, a lot during the ’80s. Wonderful memories. — Robert “Bobby” Allen, San Antonio

OPENING TAB CANS

Dear Heloise: A recent 86-year-old complained that she cannot open the cans with tabs on them. I am 85 and have this covered.

Just use the tip of a spoon to gently lift the tab. Next, slide the handle of the spoon through the hole until it is braced against the edge of the can, opposite of the tab. Then, just raise the spoon. It will pull the tab all the way up. — C.M., via email