December’s dampened chores

It might be winter, the weather might be wet, but there are always chores to do in the garden — fortunately, not as many as in summer.

• If you haven’t already, now is the time to clean up all garden beds and compost spent garden plants.

• Don’t neglect your compost piles. Turn them and cover them to prevent them from getting too wet with the rains.

• Speaking of the rain, if you’re stuck inside, use the time to clean, sharpen and lubricate garden tools. Be sure to store them in a dry area.

• The rain has been great at watering our gardens and landscapes, but how about those plants under the eaves? They might not be getting any water.

• Looking forward to your spring garden? Get a head start — on the dreaming anyway — by ordering seeds and planning what you’ll be growing.

• Take an inventory of your garden shed or garage, and take any unneeded and outdated chemicals to the household hazardous waste center. Then read up on using Integrated Pest Management to make your garden and the world a lot more healthy.

• Pile dead leaves into a trench in unused vegetable beds and cover with soil. By next spring, the leaves will be composted and the beds will be ready for planting.

• Remove mummies and pick up fallen fruit to minimize spreading diseases next spring.

• Prune winter-flowering shrubs just after bloom; prune hardy deciduous and evergreen trees and use the limbs and branches in holiday decorations.

• Water living Christmas trees.

• Plant all ornamental trees and shrubs except for subtropicals.