Preparing For Old Man Winter

Thursday, March 1, 2001

Spend Days Rather Than Weeks Preparing For Old Man Winter (NAPSA)—Asscorching sun gives way to temperate fall days, leaf raking, gutter cleaning and packing up patio furniture will reappear on your “to do” list. To help you complete your chores in days rather than weeks, the experts at Rubbermaid have developed some Fall Clean-up Tips. Prepare Your Plants You've spent hours pampering your gardens and nowit is time to protect plants from the effects of cooler weather. Most of the work for next spring’s yard and garden starts in thefall. Perennial plant debris should be removed and composted. The Rubbermaid Yard Composter is the ideal choice for a contained compost pile. Its double wall construction helps the pile reach the internal temperature of 140F necessary to kill insects and disease organisms. Remove plant or tree foliage only when it turns brown or yellow as green leaves are still manufacturing food for next year’s growth. Also avoid removing foliage to the ground—leaving an inch stub will aid you in identifying each plant as it sprouts next spring. Give all perennials, trees and shrubs a thorough watering before the ground freezes completely— while plants appear dormant, roots are still actively growing and functioning. This watering should occur sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas in most climate zones. Finally, perennials should be mulched with six to eight inches of an organic material—compost, partially decomposed leaves, woodchips or bark. The mulch will help prevent freezing and thawing injury. A Roughneck™ Lawn Cart can help you transport the organic compound from one bed to another. Lawn Care With cooler temperatures comes the falling of leaves. Keep your yard looking well maintained with the help of Rubbermaid Utility Refuse Bags. An ideal companion for lawn clean-up, these laminated bags stand up unlike garbage bags and can be easily filled and emptied while raking leaves. The bags collapse when out of use. Mulch with your last mowing. Mow over % inch or so of fallen leaves—with the help of soil organisms the leaves will decompose among the grass blades over the winter, adding organic material to the soil. House Maintenance Give some attention to your patio and house as well. Bring lawn furniture and accessories inside after a thorough cleaning or store these items in a Roughneck”™ Modular Outdoor Storage Shed to protect them from the harsh changes in temperature and precipitation that occur during the winter months. Remember to clean your gutters. It is likely that your gutters are filled with leaves and other debris that blew through the air in the warmer months. By cleaning gutters now, you can prevent basement floods in the spring as the ice and snow melt and run over the sides of blocked gutters. For more information on fall clean-up products, visit our Web site at www.rubbermaid.com.

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