The frost is on the pumpkin, and it's time to make the last preparations for winter, or so says the National Home Gardening Club. Here a few things "to do" now for those of us who garden in the Northeast.


Divide herbs and place in pots for a windowsill garden.

Cover ponds with netting to prevent predatory birds and animals, such as egrets and raccoons, from stealing decorative fish.


Winterize your garden tools. Clean, sharpen, and lubricate metal parts; refinish wooden handles with mineral oil or varnish.

Drain fuel from engines.

Replace worn or cheap tools with top-quality products: They're an investment in health, safety, and enjoyment.

Plant containers of pansies for winter and spring color. They're incredibly hardy, and come back during warm spells.

Mark perennials you want to divide next spring.


Pull up annuals and put them in the compost pile. Turn and aerate the pile thoroughly, and sprinkle a handful of organic compost activator if necessary.

Deeply water evergreen trees and shrubs before the ground freezes. Water deciduous trees and shrubs until they've dropped their leaves.

And don't forget your feathered friends! Put up a bird feeder to help wild birds have a secure winter.



So add these to your check list this weekend and enjoy the time outside. Remember, it won't be too long before we're all stuck inside, dreaming of next year's glorious garden!

Just a quick announcement that came across my desk last week ...


The North Coventry Environmental Advisory Council, in Conjunction with Chester County and Penn State, will be providing a compost barrel, free of charge to North Coventry Township residents. The only requirement is that you attend a composting training session on Saturday, June 28th at 9:00 AM.

The training will be given by a certified Master Composter at the North Coventry Township building. There are 50 compost barrels (about 40 gallon capacity) available and will be given out after the training session on a first come first serve basis, limit one per household. Contact Bill Cannon at 610-326-3918 to reserve a barrel and a seat at the training.

Composting is an environmentally friendly way to decompose plant material. Fruits, vegetables, leaves, tea bags, coffee grounds, egg shells, grass clippings are common items that are easily composted. Composting these items keeps them from ending up in landfills, saving transportation costs and landfill space. It is estimated that about one third of landfill space is taken up by organic yard and kitchen waste.You end up with free nutrient rich compost, which can be used to improve soil in gardens, lawns and flower pots. Using compost can eliminate the need to add fertilizer to the soil. After all, the fewer chemicals we use, the better off the environment is.



Wish I was a Norco resident, I could use some tips on composting myself -- look in my blog's archives for my composting history ...



And, I stand corrected! My mom pointed out to me this weekend that I did not purchase the Earth Boxes at the QVC Outlet store. They were ordered at the end of last summer (Labor Day weekend, I think) from the Home Shopping Network. So if you were looking for them at QVC, sorry, check out http://www.hsn.com/ for info.

An interesting press release came across my desk yesterday and I thought I would share it with you.

The Penn State Master Gardeners of Berks County will teach a series of three gardening classes at GoggleWorks, 201 Washington St., Reading.

"Backyard Composting" ($12) will be held April 28, followed by "Vegetable Gardening" ($5) on May 5 and "Container Gardening" ($5) on May 12. All classes are from 6 to 8 p.m. Pre-registration with payment of class fees are required by April 25.

You can also attend all three classes for one fee of $20. Class size is limited to 20 students per class. For information call the Penn State Cooperative Extension at 610-378-1327.

I wish I could take credit for the container garden pictured above, but that one was purchased last year at Glick's Greenhouses on Fisher Mill Road in Oley.

Two years ago I decided to start a compost pile. I got on the Internet and found a very helpful web site (though the address eludes me now). I printed a 32-page how-to guide and got very excited about doing something good for the environment.

I was surprised to find out how much useful waste I was just throwing away from my garden. So, that fall, I went to the local big box home improvement store and got chicken wire, yard stakes and some burlap and built a 3-sided compost bin.

My compost bin consists of "brown" and "green" materials only. This means that I don't add any animal products or waste, i.e., grease, fat, egg shells or "droppings," if you know what I mean. According to my guide, this will prevent rodents from being attracted to the pile and, for my neighbors' sake, any foul odor as well.

"Green" materials are basically still living or fresh matter: green plants and leaves (like used up plants from the vegetable garden), grass clippings, leftover vegetables and fruits, potato skins, used coffee grounds, etc. "Brown" matter is basically dead: brown leaves, the dried ornamental grasses I mentioned the other day, old mulch, etc.

When the time came to pull out dying/dead plants, I chopped up the bigger stems and loaded them up in the bin. Then I covered them with leaves vacuumed and chopped from the yard. Fresh lawn clippings were also loaded into the pile. My co-workers started saving their used coffee grounds for me, and I added ashes from our woodstove over the winter and various leftover veggies, fruits and potato skins. I also made sure to wet down the pile periodically and turn at least once a month over the winter to ensure deep brown, nutrient-loaded compost in the spring.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen as "naturally" as I'd hoped. Last spring all I got was some slowly decomposing leaves, and big chunks of potting soil that I had added after emptying my pots in the fall. Once again, I had to order a couple yards of fresh dirt to add to my flower beds.

So this past fall I was determined to get better results. I decided to get a little help in the form of powdered lyme and blood meal. According to the "Gardening Guy" on HGTV, adding these to your compost helps speed up the decomposing process.

Well, yesterday, I turned the compost pile only to find I'm pretty much in the same boat as last year. HELP!! Does anyone have a sure-fire way to ignite the decomposing process in a successful compost pile?

Stay tuned: Starting next week I'll be adding photos and helpful links, and if all goes well, video and slide shows. In the meantime, clean up those beds, scrub up your pots, and fix up any gardening tools that need help, planting time is on it's way!