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| Your garden probably just finished its full bloom and soon, cooler weather will be arriving. To keep frost and freezing from damaging your garden you need to be ready to winterize your garden. Here are the important steps for preparing your garden for winter.
Cleaning |
| To winterize your garden, start by removing any debris. Remove any finished annuals and seasonal vegetables. Give your garden one final thorough weeding and rake and leaves. Trim any perennials to an inch or two above the ground and remove the top portion.
Prepare the Soil |
| Test your soil so you have an idea of what it might need in the spring. If you have it available, put a layer of compost over the whole garden so that winter and spring rains will draw the nutrients from that into the soil.
Plant Spring Bulbs |
| Before the ground freezes and gets too hard to work you can plant your stronger spring blooming bulbs as well as cool weather vegetables.
Store Tender Bulbs |
| Probably the most important thing to remember when you winterize your garden is that some bulbs will die completely from the cold. Summer plants including caladiums, cannas, tuberous begonias, gladiolus and dahlias fall in this category. When fall hits and the foliage turns brown it is time to dig them up and trim off the remaining growth. Air dry them for a week and then store them in paper bags with vermiculite or peat moss. Keep the bags in a cool, dark location like a basement.
Tools |
| When you winterize your garden it is important not to forget your gardening tools.. Start by removing all dirt from them and then rinse and dry thoroughly. Sand off any rust and sharpen and metal tools. Then cover metals with a light coat of vegetable oil. Cover any wooden handles with paste wax or linseed oil to prevent cracking and splitting. |
| We know how important it is to adjust to the new season. All of our vehicles are equipped to handle all of your needs. We encourage you to stop by or make an appointment so we can show you how competitive we are with our pricing. |
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| Ingredients |
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 1-1/2 teaspoons finely shredded orange
peel |
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| 1/4 cup orange juice |
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| 3 tablespoons brown sugar |
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| 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar |
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1 tablespoon snipped fresh oregano or
thyme or 1 teaspoon dried oregano or
thyme |
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| 2 tablespoons olive oil |
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2 teaspoons very finely chopped canned
chipotle chilies in adobo sauce |
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| 3 cloves garlic, minced |
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| 1/2 teaspoon salt |
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1 small yellow or orange sweet pepper,
seeded and cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips |
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6 medium ripe apricots, pitted and cut into
sixths, or one 15-ounce can unpeeled
apricot halves in light syru |
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1 pound peeled, deveined raw shrimp or
skinless, boneless chicken breast halves,
cut into bite-size pieces |
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1 medium mango, pitted, peeled, and cut
into cubes; or 1 medium papaya, peeled,
seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes |
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9 cups torn mixed salad greens or torn
fresh spinach leaves |
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| Preparation |
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| For the Orange-Chipotle Dressing, combine finely shredded orange peel, orange juice, brown sugar, white wine vinegar, fresh oregano or thyme, olive oil, chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, garlic and salt in a screw-top jar. Cover and shake well.
Toss sweet pepper and fresh apricots (if using) with about two-thirds of the Orange-Chipotle Dressing in a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake, uncovered, in a 450 degree F oven for 5 minutes. Stir in shrimp or chicken, mango or papaya, and canned apricots ( if using). Bake, uncovered, 10 to 12 minutes more, or until shrimp is opaque or chicken is tender and no longer pink and fruits are tender, stirring after 5 minutes.
Remove from oven. Drain off liquids into a large bowl and combine with remaining dressing. Toss warm dressing mixture with torn greens or spinach leaves and place on six serving plates. Top with roasted shrimp or chicken mixture.
Make it a meal with steamed broccoli or asparagus and whole-grain bread.
Serves 6. |
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