Storing up seed for winter
By ROBERT KESSLER Penn State Cooperative Extension Franklin County office

COMING EVENTS

Jan. 5 to 12, Pennsylvania Farm Show - Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center, Harrisburg

* * * * *

WINTERIZE GARDEN

EQUIPMENT

Our growing season is over for most people, but there are a few winterizing activities we need to do to get ready for winter.

- Your hoses that you used more than you wanted to this year need to be cleaned, drained and put away. Unhook them from the outside faucet and use a rag to wipe off any dirt from the hose and as you do this, be sure to drain the hose. Store the hoses in a dry location for the winter. If you have a hose support, the hose can be stored on it. Do not hang the hose on a nail. If you don't have a hose support, store it so there are no kinks in the hose.

- Sprayers you use for insect and weed control should be washed and rinsed. Run clean rinse water through the nozzle hose. Remove the tip and clean it with soap and water. Oil metal parts with a spray lubricant to prevent rust.

- If you haven't already done it, wipe all wooden handles of shovels and rakes with boiled linseed oil. Sharpen the blade of the hoe and shovel and spray these with spray lubricant too.

- Add gas stabilizer to your lawn mower's gas tank and run the tractor a few minutes to get stabilized gas in the carburetor.

- Remove the battery from your lawn tractor and store it in the basement. These batteries are smaller than our car batteries and if left for months without recharging, they could become damaged if in a cold area. Your battery needs to be recharged occasionally during winter or hook it up to a battery tender type of battery charger.

Clean up the battery terminals if needed.

- If you have a gas can full of gas, you can

put stabilizer

in your gas for over the winter.

STORING GARDEN SEED

If you have garden seeds left over from this year, they can be saved for next year if they are kept in a cool, dark, dry location. Most seeds will be good for one to two years past the year you purchase them. After that the germination rate gets too low.

If you have seeds you are unsure of, you can do a germination test. Take a paper towel and count out 10 seeds on a wet paper towel and roll it up loosely and place it in a plastic bag that has a few ventilation holes. Place the roll in a warm place like the top of the refrigerator. Use warm water to water the paper towel when needed. After seven to ten days, check to see how many seeds germinates. Count the ones that germinate and remove them. Put the sample back in place for another week. Check for more germinated seeds. This number added to the first gives you an idea of your potential germination. You should have at least a 50 to 60 percent germination rate if you are going to save the seeds until next spring.

SEED CATALOGS

The first seed catalog arrived at our office with all kinds of new plants available. If you are an experienced gardener and you haven't gotten a seed catalog in the mail, you will be surprised at all of the different herbs and vegetables that are now listed for you to try in your garden. This catalog had very extensive information in the catalog on every type of vegetable they offered. This information covered how to grow the plant and how to harvest, how to plant it and information on disease and insect pests, and special growing suggestions for some plants like the use of row covers and how to tell when some crops like melons are ripe. They provide enough information that if you never grew the crop before, you could try it.

Watch for the seed catalogs to start to arrive and if you don't currently get seed catalogs, watch at the back of most home magazines and you will see ads you can follow up on to sign up for a catalog. If there is a special one you are looking for and you can't find it, give us a call and we will help you track it down.

RECYCLE ALUMINUM

Each time you throw out an aluminum soda can, you are tossing out two to three cents. That is because the price of used metal has increased and that is the approximate value of an aluminum can. It takes 24 - 12 ounce sized cans to make a pound of scrap aluminum. The price right now is $.64 per pound. That figures out to 2.67 cents per can each time you throw one in the trash. That can goes to a landfill and is wasted. Our country has thrown out over 112 billion cans and bottles this year.

When we recycle cans, we save energy because to make a new can takes nine times the energy to make than it does to make a new can from an old can. We can make a new can in about 60 days from the time you recycle it. And it can be recycled over and over again. It is the most recyclable of all the materials we use in our every day lives.

Here are a few other recycling tips you can do to save waste. When you go shopping, take your own bag, such as a canvas bag, cloth bag or a plastic one, which you already have. If you just bag one or two items, tell the store clerk not to bag it and carry it out to your car without a bag that you will need to throw away when you get home.

Check out the various websites that exist on recycling and reduce waste. Each of us contributes to our high use of energy, so each of us has to be part of the solution.