WHEN YOU CAN'T GARDEN

Some of us are stuck in the house watching the rain. Some of us are snowed in. Besides dreaming and planning our gardens for the spring, there are still things that you can do to prepare for the coming Spring.

1. Clean and condition your tools. Now is the time to pull all your tools and review their condition. To clean them, use water and a stiff brush to remove old dirt. If you have rust clean them with steel wool. Even if your tools appear clean, you should treat disinfect them with rubbing alcohol to be sure you won't pass diseases when you start to use them again. Then lubricate them with oil and store in a dry place.

2. Clean your pots. I often save pots to replant items and now there are various ones around my yard. If you have various pots around your yard, now is the time to decide which you want to keep and which to throw away. The ones you keep should be emptied of the old soil and cleaned with mild bleach, dry and organize for future use.

3. Care for your houseplants. The last garden issue detailed how to care for your houseplants. You can do some special maintenance like trimming now. Here is a great tip for polishing leaves- use water diluted stale beer to polish the leaves. I don't recommend the leaf polishers because they block the air sources to the plant and can do more harm in the long run.

4. Clean out old garden products. Every gardener has shelves full of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and all the of the paraphernalia it takes to apply them. Evaluate whether you are going to finish the product and either restock it neatly or find a safe way to dispose of it. Never pour it down drains, toilets or sewers. Find your local hazardous waste disposal schedule and take care of it that way. Never reuse the containers that you used for application. Either use it with the original product or dispose of it too. I usually label the containers with a sharpie so I know which product I used with which container.

5, Pull out all old seed packets. I love collecting seeds but don't always get around to planting them. Sometimes I can't find room for them all in the garden. Seed that are more than two years old are less likely to be viable. You can test viability by putting them on a wet paper towel to see if they will sprout. If not, toss them and start shopping for new ones.

6, Clear out your old garden magazines. I never know what to do with the old garden magazines. They are too beautiful to throw away and some of them have great ideas that can inspire me in the rare moment of being stuck. This would be a good time to cut the articles and pictures that you want to keep and use and organize them into a special file. I like separating by plants and hardscape elements such as kitchens, fireplaces, fences, walls, paving, lighting. You may want to separate according to sun and shade, flowering, fragrant or colors. This can inspire you with new ideas for the coming spring.

7, Research a new skill. Have you always wanted to prune your trees but been afraid of ruining them? Do you love the look of Bonsai but have killed more than your share? Want to know how to divide bulbs or propagate plants? All the information to acquire this skills is available to you in the bookstore or on the Internet. Get busy and learn something that could open a whole new world for you.

8, Keep track of what works and what doesn't. Journalling what has worked and what hasn't keeps you and your friends from making the same mistakes again. I once planted a section of my garden all in blue flowering plants and almost kissed the ground when the daffodils came up in that area. Taking pictures of each area every season will remind you of things that need changing. Calendar dates to do this work so in the fury of spring or summer, you don't forget.

9, Plan your changes for spring. There is nothing like taking off running from the gate. If you are like me, set me in a nursery and I would buy one of everything so planning is essential. Now is a great time to dream the changes. My mother taught me that dreaming and planning is half the fun so enjoy!