Preparing Flower Pots for Winter

I love my flower and vegetable pots. As I've gotten older, growing my favorites in pots helps make gardening easier and lower maintenance. I like to buy used and even damaged pots at garage sales, cheap, and restore them with glue, paint, and TLC. Sometimes I've acquired them free next to dumpsters, and in the "free" pile at sales.

In the fall, it is best to remove the dead plants and roots to avoid disease. Then empty the soil into a compost pile, and store the pots in a covered area that will not be exposed to harsh weather. If you do not have a compost pile or bin, you can simply create a pile of the soil from all your pots in an out-of-the-way area of your yard; away from the house. Cover it with a thick layer of cut grass, and in the spring you will have moist, rich soil for filling your pots again.

You save on replacing the pots, have rich soil to reuse and save on buying potting soil. This way you build up a nice supply of resources for summer blooms and vegetables. Simple and frugal.

By Cindy Scinto from Spokane Valley, WA