Work begins on the spring garden?

Spring flowering bulbs can be plantedThe spring flowering bulbs of daffodils, narcissus, jonquils, hyacinths, tulips, crocus, and snowdrops can still be set out all the way from now until the soil freezes. Bulbs are still available at garden centers, hardwares, Walmart, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Tractor Supply and Lowe’s Home Improvement as well as most nurseries.

When you purchase bulbs, buy those in mesh bags so you can inspect them for firmness and that there is no mold or rot on them. To give bulbs a good start, get a bag of bone meal or bulb booster and sprinkle around bottom of the bulbs and then cover the bulbs with a layer of peat moss and then a layer of soil. Water them lightly once a week. Cover them with a layer of crushed leaves before the ground freezes.

Creepy crawlers search for winter hideaway

As mid-October arrives and temperatures get cooler, crickets, spiders and insects are searching for hideouts to spend the winter months in your home or basement. They are looking for the opportunity to enter your home. To prevent their entrance, spray around the back door and around the carport and the basement and entrance. If you have wood for the fireplace in the carport, spray around it and around the floor of the basement. Do not leave pet food in bowls outside at night. Spray around outside entrances once a week during cold weather.

Onion sets can still be set out

Onion sets are still available and they can still be set out all the way into November. Onions are available in colors of red, yellow and white and are sold by the pound. Plant onion sets root end down about three or four inches apart. Place a layer of peat moss in the furrow which is about four inches deep. Set out the onions and cover with another layer of peat moss The peat moss will absorb moisture and prevent hard freezes. Apply a layer of Plant-Tone organic vegetable food and cover with soil on both sides of the furrow and tamp down top of row with with the hoe blade. As the weather gets colder, cover the middle of the rows with a layer of crushed leaves. Feed with Plant-Tone organic vegetable food once a month.

Setting out a few containers of ornamental

Ornamental cabbage or kale can now be planted on the back side of the front porch and will last all winter when covered with a cloth or towel on freezing nights. Kale and cabbage are available in colors of red, white, pink, purple, lavender and yellow. Set only one per container and feed with Flower-Tone organic flower food once a month. Water lightly once a week and cover with towels or cloths when temperatures are below freezing. Remove covers when temperatures rise the next day.

Keep bird baths filled and remove the ice

When you see ice in the mud-holes, that will mean the bird baths have ice in them. Each morning when temperatures rise, empty water and ice from the baths and refill with fresh water.

Halloween candies are now abundant

Halloween candies and treats are showing up in many supermarkets and traditional favorites like candy corn and creme pumpkins are in their second century of existence. Other old favorites are Hershey’s autumn Kisses and miniatures, harvest M&M’s and Reese’s pieces and many other Halloween choices for trick-or-treating.

Jack-be-Little’s for autumn decor

The Jack-be-Little’s are the smallest of pumpkins but big on decorating and for centerpieces They are about the size of your fist and cost around $1 each. For a jack o’ lantern, you can color a face on them with a black permanent marker. You can use them in harvest displays adorned with colorful leaves and a handful of creme pumpkins and a few ears of Indian corn.

Making good use of pumpkin carving kit

A deluxe pumpkin carving kit is a practical and useful tool. Spend a little more money and buy a kit with an assortment of utensils to make the task of pumpkin carving fun and easy. A great kit costs around $12 or $13 and contains scrapers, scoops, knives, blades, saws and melon ball formers. These kits are durable and built to last for many years.

Carving out a pumpkin work of art

A pumpkin carving kit makes the job of carving out a jack o’ lantern much easier. The saw blade cuts out the top of the lantern to form the lid without disturbing the stem, with the stem the lid can easily be removed. The scoop and scraper can now be used to clean the seed and pulp from inside the pumpkin. The eyes, nose and mouth can be marked on the pumpkin with black permanent marker. Use the assorted blades to saw out the the lines for the eyes, nose and mouth. Place a short, white votive candle inside the jack o’ lantern and replace the lid on the jack o’ lantern.

Indian corn make great harvest decor

Ears of Indian com can be purchased at produce markets and supermarkets and in colors of gold, bronze, purple, orange, black and brown. It blends well in centerpieces or tabletop decor and really adorns mantels and coffee tables. Use a few jack-be-little pumpkins and some colorful leaves dipped in melted bees wax to add a special feature to the decorations and add few acorns to finish the decor. Place a yellow or orange votive candle in the center of the arrangement.

The frost will be covering pumpkins

As we reach past the middle of October, the official time of the first frost of the season is here and we can expect some scattered frost on lawns and rooftops. The heavier frosts will occur after Halloween and the killing frosts will occur in mid-November. Frost will not bother the pumpkins and they can endure the cold from the carport or front porch. If it gets too cold, throw a towel over it.

Autumn leaves for compost, cover, comfort

There are many benefits in the fallen leaves of autumn. They can be used for compost and crushed with the lawn mower to use as a blanket for roses, azaleas and spring flowering bulbs or cover between rows of cold weather vegetables. Make a pile of crushed to use on next seasons garden for mulch.

Making a bowl of jack o’ lantern punch

For a Halloween party, prepare this bowl of Jack o’ lantem punch. You will need three envelopes of orange Kool-Aid, three cups sugar, one 46-ounce can of pineapple juice, two 46-ounce cans of water, one can (46-ounce) orange juice, one 46-ounce can Hawaiian Punch orange, two bottles orange Fanta (two liter), two two liter bottles of Sprite, one, pack of orange Kool-Aid, one cup water, and one cup sugar. Mix three envelopes of orange Kool-Aid and three cups sugar and two cups of water and stir until sugar and Kool-Aid are dissolved, add the pineapple juice and two cans water, add the Hawaiian Punch, orange juice, and stir (this forms base for the punch). Pour it into gallon milk cartons and refrigerate. Place the two liter drinks in refrigerator overnight. For the ice ring, mix one pack of orange Kool-Aid, one cup sugar and two quarts of water in a tube pan and freeze overnight. To prepare the punch, add a half and half mix of punch base (shake cartons before pouring). Place ice ring in punch bowl; pour base over the ring and add half Fanta and half Sprite to the base. Replenish the bowl with same ratio as needed.

Hoe hoe hoedown

“Which half?” The wife asked her husband who was driving. “Why don’t you give him half the road?” Her husband said, “I would if I could figure which half he wants!”

Obedience. My teenage son obeys me perfectly: I tell him to do as he pleases!