Chemical Storage - Keep It Clean and Green

Winterize Lawn Now – Save Time and Money Later

By Jeremy Stevenson

With winter quickly approaching, it’s time to begin thinking about protecting our lawns and gardens so the beauty returns next spring. There are many simple things that can be done to make the winter easier on you and your lawn and garden. By adopting just a few of the following ideas your lawn and garden will love you later:

1. Trim perennial flowers, such as daisies and black-eyed Susans. You should leave about a one-inch stem to save the root for next year. Also, you should rake the leaves out of the flower bed – this keeps out unwanted bugs attracted by the rotting foliage.
2. Mow your lawn until the first frost and rake up the clippings. Raking up the clippings after mowing will prevent the grass from being smothered over the winter.
3. Dig up summer-blooming bulbs and store them in a brown paper bag in a cool, but not freezing, place until time to plant again in early spring.
4. Get rid of your dead plants. You should pull out all dead annuals, plus most of the plants in your vegetable garden or they’ll rot there. All but tomato plants and pumpkin and squash vines can be used for compost; tomato plants can carry disease and the vines take more than a year to break down.
5. Don’t pull up your herbs. Herbs can be cut back in the same manner as perennials; many herbs, like thyme, oregano and chives, will return next year.
6. Prune diseased perennial shrubs branches to prevent heavy ice or snow from snapping them. Diseased branches will show white or black spots and look gnarled. Also, for evergreen bushes, remove dried-out boughs. To help prevent heavy snow from snapping evergreen branches off, use twine to wrap from the bottom to the top, like a candy cane, and tie at the top.
7. Mulch perennial beds with hardwood or cedar chips to keep roots insulated.
8. Bring outdoor pots or planters inside for the winter. Place them by a window if you want them to last. If you plan on replacing the potted annuals, rinse out the pot and store them upside down.

These are just a few of many tips that can be found by doing a simple search on the Internet. If you have any tips to help winterize lawn and garden or any other tips that relate to making our community more beautiful, please submit them to jstevenson@hopkinsvillechamber.com – these tips will be added to this page monthly.

Where can I recycle in Hopkinsville/Christian County?

There are two places to recycle in Hopkinsville.

The first is the county landfill at 5665 Mt. Zoar/Latham Road
(270) 887-8556
Hopkinsville, KY 42240

The second place to recycle is the public works building on 705 North Main street in Hopkinsville. In the parking lot along side the building, they have large recycle containers for paper, metal, and plastic.

Caught with Curb Appeal

This month’s “Caught with Curb Appeal” winner is First United Methodist Church! The Community Enhancement Committee selected the First United Methodist Church for its striking landscaping and for being such a wonderful aesthetic addition to downtown Hopkinsville. Congratulations to Rev. Paige Williams and team!