Better home

Linda L. Osmundson

Enjoy your harvest SEARCH THE INTERNET FOR recipes and ways to store, dry, freeze or preserve your garden’s harvest. Fruits like apples and pears last a few months if wrapped singly in newspaper and placed in a container. Check often for spoilage. Wrap unripe tomatoes in newspaper and store in paper sacks. Cut tops from root vegetables, rinse and let dry well before storing in a sack. Pumpkins last about three months but zucchini must be refrigerated. Most rinsed and dried berries freeze well. Blanch apples and beans before freezing. Make apple or peach pie filling and freeze in usable portions. Wash and slice tomatoes, apples and peppers. Arrange in a single layer in a dehydrator or on a baking sheet placed in a low temperature oven. Slice beets, cucumbers, zucchini and/or onions. Cover with pickling vinegar, pour into jars and process in a canner. Make jams from fruits and berries. Enjoy your harvest all winter long.

Winterize your lawn and garden

PERFORM THESE EIGHT STEPS this fall so that you can have a healthy lawn and garden next spring and summer. • Call your local county extension office to check soil pH levels. Add proper amount of nutrients—sulfur to alkaline soils and lime to acidic. • Dethatch and aerate to allow nutrients to reach root levels. • Remove pesky weeds. Pull them up roots and all. • Fertilize in late summer or early fall. A product higher in potassium works well. • Rake the leaves to prevent harmful insects. Store in a dry place and slowly add to your compost pile. Or, shred them for a garden mulch. • Clean all annual plant matter from the gardens.

Plant a cover crop or apply mulch. • Cut back perennials. Or, wait until spring and let them feed winter wildlife. • Clean your equipment before storing it away. Your fall preparations will guarantee a healthy lawn and garden next summer.

A winter-ready home

WINTER COSTS SKYROCKET if your windows leak, plumbing breaks or furnace needs repair. Preparing for winter begins in the fall. Take these precautions to save money and enjoy a safe, warm winter.

Consider purchasing a heating and air company’s maintenance program which checks your equipment twice a year, replaces filters and provides discounts on additional service and materials. Otherwise, change the furnace filter. Consider hiring duct cleaning. Test and replace batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Install new weather stripping where needed around drafty windows and doors. Look for rot or damage to wood trims. Caulk and paint. Clean the chimney and order wood if necessary.

Disconnect outside hoses and store. Clean the gutters and downspouts. Make sure water flows away from the house. Drain irrigation system then insulate the outside pipes and backflow preventer. Inspect your roof and repair any damages.

Now, sit back and enjoy a warm worry-free winter.