Tips For Winterizing Your Garden

Winterizing simply means a process of preserving plants during the coldest and harshest days of winter. It helps them survive the winter and not to die out easily.

Every winter, gardening enthusiasts take it upon themselves to winterize their gardens. If you are into gardening and or have newly started it, you need to winterize it as soon as fall starts.

Winterizing is done in places where winters are quite cold and snowfall is heavy. If you live in a place that has a warm climate and minimal cold spells, then chances are you don’t need to do it.

Here are 5 top tips for winterizing your home

1. Do your homework

Research online and check when the highest freezing temperatures occur in the place where you live, and start planning to winterize accordingly. The earlier you know, the better. You can easily find all this information on the USDA website.

2. Cut and clean clutter from the garden

Cut off any unnecessary weeds, stalks or other plant clutter from the garden so that there aren’t any pests lurking around them. Usually, they take refuge in them during winter to shelter themselves from the cold. Your garden will look neat and tidy and you won’t need to do it in the spring. All you would have to do is to plant new seeds in the garden.

3. Prevent water freezing

Turn the water pump off to make sure it doesn’t freeze. If you have a pond that has plants such as water lilies, remove them before the onset of freezing temperatures.

4. Protect Your Roses

If you have roses in your garden you can enclose your shrubs in cylinders of cardboard, metal, or plastic or commercially made foam rose cones for maximum protection. Fill them with shredded bark, paper, or leaves for added insulation.

5. Don’t stop planting

Last but not least don’t let the cold weather deter you from planting vegetables. There are many winter friendly vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, beets etc that can easily grow in cold if you use an agricultural cloth.

Household Winter Prep

Boy I remember when we was hit hard with several huge winter storms back to back. Let's not be caught with our pants down for the next one! Here are ways you and your family can prepare for this year's winter weather.

Before the storm gets here, here's a to-do checklist:

* Prepare your emergency kit. Have rock salt, sand, shovels, heating fuel, and clothing and blankets.

* In your car you should have ice scrapers, snow brush, a shovel, blanket, flares, and a flashlight.

* Have flashlights and candles plus plenty of extra batteries in case you're without power.

* Bottled water and non-perishable food items are good to have plenty of on hand, especially if you're in an area that loses power a lot and stays without it for a long time.

* If at all possible, wait out a storm or try to travel before a storm is expected. You don't want to be out when it hits.

* Bring in pets. Would you want to be stuck outside during a blizzard? Animals need shelter during storms.

* Have a radio or something you can get emergency updates on. Even a smartphone is great for this. Just make sure to charge that battery thoroughly before the storm hits.

* Check on those board games. There's nothing worse than being stuck with no power and hearing, “I'm bored!” from the kids.

During the storm or in extreme cold, make sure you...

* Stay indoors. As much as possible, you want to remain sheltered.

* Be very careful on icy walkways and stairs. Hold on and put rock salt and sand down for better traction.

* Take it easy when shoveling, especially if you have heart problems. You do not want to overdo it and then have a heart attack. Make sure to stretch before you shovel.

* Change wet clothing as soon as you can. You will lose all of that precious body heat through the wet clothing and it could cause frostbite and hypothermia.

During the spring and summer months there is a good chance you have been enjoying outdoor activities on your patio. However as the weather turns colder your activities will go from outdoors to indoors it's that time that you want to make sure you protect your patio furniture so you can enjoy it year after year. Here are ways to care for your plastic, aluminum, and wicker furniture when cold weather comes.

Winterizing Your Plastic Patio Furniture

You need to make sure your plastic patio furniture is well protected by putting out of harm's way. Because of the light weight of plastic furniture the winter winds can be so wicked, you will want to store your plastic furniture in the basement, garadge or maybe a greenhouse to protect it from the winter elements.

Most plastic patio furniture is stackable so you should be able to fit a large amount of furniture in a relatively small space. When it comes to cleaning you Just give the items a good wash with soap and water before you put them away. It is important that you make sure you let them dry completely before stacking and storing. They should be in ready when the spring and summer roll around again.

Aluminum Patio Furniture

Again just like plastic patio furniture You can keep it clean with mild soap and water. Always rinse thoroughly and then towel dry. Never use abrasive cleaning agents such a bleach as this may damage the finish. If you notice some calcium build-up, try washing it with a solution of vinegar and water. Use one part vinegar to nine parts water.

Inspect your aluminum patio furniture often you are looking for scratches or chips. If you find any, contact the manufacturer. If it's not too large of a scratch or chip, you may want to try repairing it yourself with a little paint.

Do this if you are going to leave your aluminum furniture outside during the cold winter months, you need to make sure you prevent water from accumulating in the frame. If you are not going to be using your aluminum furniture, you should cover them with a tarp and if possible place them indoors out of the elements for protection. This will keep the furniture looking its best for as long as possible.

Wicker Patio Furniture

Wicker patio furniture, needs special care. To ensure that it lasts a long time Regular vacuuming of it will help keep it in tip-top shape. If your wicker furniture needs a deep cleaning, a mixture of 2 tbsp of ammonia to a gallon of water will get in the crevasses to keep it clean. Make sure to use a damp rag to wash away the ammonia when you are done scrubbing. Let air dry in a shady location. Make sure your wicker patio furniture is not in direct sunlight because this is the key in keeping it from drying out. Do

not sit on wicker furniture when it is damp.

In conclusion, you will want to store your wicker furniture in a place that won't get wet and that is not in the sun when you're not using it. Try to keep it out of extreme temperatures. Following these tips will keep your patio furniture looking like new for a long time to come.

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