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Sep 9, 2016
Congrats are in order! Now it’s time to clean
Burpee  Edible Gardening Team Members

You are now officially a "Green Thumb" gardener! I've enjoyed coaching you through the season and hope you’ve had a tremendous experience growing, caring, harvesting and eating your Burpee vegetables and herbs.

Before you put away those pots and stash your shovel for the year, take just a few hours to clean up your garden space and get a jump on next year.

  • Check the weather for overnight frost warnings if you live in a colder region, and pick all remaining vegetables.
  • Tomatoes can be ripened in sealed paper bags with a sheet of newspaper between each layer. Check every few days and remove the ripe tomatoes.
  • Empty and clean containers, then bring them indoors for winter to avoid cracking. Pull out tomato cages, trellises and stakes. Clean and place in storage.
  • Remove debris including dead plants and rotted vegetables to reduce disease and insect problems in the future. Do not add diseased plants to compost piles, but discard or burn them to prevent the spread of disease.
  • Mix any healthy plants (leaves, roots and stems) into your garden soil – they are a valuable source of organic matter. You can also mix leaves from your trees or grass clippings into the soil.
  • And of course, track your final progress and make your wrap-up notes in your Garden Journal.

Trust me: You'll be glad you invested the time now for this end-of-season maintenance. Come spring your garden space will be ready to go!

Speaking of next year. Your garden may be put to bed, but there is no better time than now to start thinking about next year. Jot down any final comments in your Garden Journal, and visit it any time in the months to come as you start to plan for your next garden.

Visit our website often to keep up with what's new, find more recipes, and start your shopping list of vegetable plants. Be sure to look for garden inspiration everywhere! Even when the days are at their shortest and you don't know if you'll even see the sun, you can turn to popular gardening and lifestyle magazines or social sites. And remember that your online resource at burpeehomegardens.com is just a click away.

Thanks for taking the garden journey with Burpee! I'm already looking forward to next season!

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