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affect its long term health. So place it for street side pick up and let the local solid waste recycling
agencies convert it to compost. Cut Christmas trees that you purchase should be handled with care.
Do not let the tree dry out and become a fire hazard. Before you buy a cut tree, make sure the
needles are tightly attached to the tree. When you get your tree home, cut off a half inch slab off the
bottom to expose fresh wood and stand it up in a pail of water. Keep the pail full of water and the
tree should “drink” enough water to retain its needles. Don’t place any additives in the water such
as sugar ‐‐‐ the plant makes food in its leaves (needles) and does not take up sugar as food from the
water in the pail.
Carefully inspect your holiday plants for pests and good health before you buy them and before
you bring them into your home. Scale, mites, mealybugs, and more may be present. If you see
them before you buy them, make a purchase elsewhere. If you find them when you get home, use
low toxic measures to control them because they will be in your home, around your family
members and pets. A stream of water will wash many of them off (do this outside). Insecticidal
soaps and oils should take care of the remaining pests.
The last of the warm season vegetables, planted in September, will be harvested this month. The
average first frost date will be about December 15th. You can still plant out leafy vegetables in the
garden as they will continue to grow through March. Herbs grow well in this cool season. Select
from arugula, basil, chives, dill, fennel, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sweet marjoram and
thyme. Don’t hold back water to vegetables and herbs for best results.
Replant container gardens and landscape beds with cool season flowers such as alyssum, calendula,
carnation, chrysanthemums, dianthus, dusty miller, ornamental cabbage & kale, pansy, petunia,
salvia, snapdragon, sweet pea and viola should be considered for the planting beds.
Have a plan for protecting your cold sensitive plants, especially the tropicals. Temperatures in the
40’s and 50’s can do a lot of damage if the plants have not been protected. Fabric covers, row covers
or cardboard boxes will help. Sometimes, a small incandescent lamp or Christmas tree light can
provided enough warmth to protect the plants. By the time a frost shows up, the plants may
already be too severely damaged to recover in the spring. If they are in containers, move them to a
warm area.
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