Hello!
I still have much to learn about gardening so I would appreciate if someone could explain some points on this list to me The ones I'm concerned with:
"Cup up & throw away seed pods" - Why?
"Prune volunteers" - What are volunteers?
"Clean tools" - like a deep clean?
"Spot water & deep water" - i have no idea what this means

@Cindyrella, Hi! I am no expert, but I think I can explain a couple of points on your list.
• You would cut up and throw away seed pods from aggressive growers only- plants that you worry may take over or spread too much.
• Volunteers are, I think, plants that just pop up on their own without you planting them? (I'm guessing on this one!)
• Clean your tools is pretty much self explanatory.
• and finally, a "deep watering" is giving the plant more water than you would during a "spot watering". Spot watering is obviously quicker.

Some of the items on that list are basic gardening tasks, I wouldn't interpret it as "must-do" summer-specific chores.

Removing dead flowerheads or seedpods is called deadheading. Yes, it's a way to control aggressive spreaders, but also you deadhead to encourage new flower growth, otherwise the plant puts all of its energy into seed production and stops flowering. At this time of year, some plants will re-bloom and some won't.

Yes, volunteers are plants that spring up on their own. I don't why the list says "prune" and not "pull out". But if you like a volunteer and want it to grow, let it be.

You should always keep your tools clean. Storing tools like shovels with dirt on them causes rust. Wash them and wipe them with oil or WD-40. At the very least, wipe off all dirt. Also, cleaning all tools, especially those that come in contact with the plants, like pruners and saws, helps reduce the spread of plant diseases. There are differing opinions about what to sterilize them with; different folks use diluted bleach, alcohol or hydrogen peroxide.

Ditto Cody's answer. In the heat of the summer, plants benefit from a deep soaking occasionally. But since that list makes a distinction, it could mean to water the entire bed rather than just around individual plants, which is what "spot" watering is. For instance, if you have a drip system targeting each plant, occasionally use a hose to water all around the plants and in between them. I do that to encourage the plants to spread their roots and to keep overall soil bacteria and microbes healthy.

Wow thanks for the reply guys! I have learned lots

Thankfully, gardening is something you can do as you decide. Expand on your successes, abandon failures. I still see people showing pics and discussing things I've never seen or heard of before.

I've never done some of these things, like clean a tool. But I'm not finished yet, I've only been gardening for a few decades. It could happen.

Many of these list items are things I do, if I have the plants (no trees bearing fruit yet, never encountered a perennial Mum if one is gauging by performance, not what it says on the label) but rarely during summer unless absolutely necessary, like watering when it hasn't rained in a while.

It's way too hot to anything that can wait, like mulching or pruning woody entities. There are too many plants covering most of the space where I would mulch, so that has never been something I would do in summer even when I lived farther north where I was outside all day every day during summer.

For me, stocking up for fall mostly means saving every glass bottle and jar I can find to save cuttings in water for a few months of winter. And on the very rare occasion when I see curbside bagged yard waste, grabbing it to bring home to be spread as part of the mulch when it cools off. And making sure I have enough plastic plates to use as saucers for potted plants that will be brought in just before first frost. Not big enough for some pots, and not clear, but so much cheaper than buying the saucers in the pots section. Probably not what most gardeners are doing, but it's what I want to do, and how I want to do it.

Gardening is so diverse, other people's to-do lists may or may not apply to what you are doing and growing, conflict with your style or goals, and if your location is different from the location of the list, the timing may not be appropriate for your location. You can learn so much and get so many great ideas that may work for you too by reading and seeing what others are doing - especially on this forum site. Keep an open mind about trying new things, especially if you are less than 100% satisfied with what you have already done.