Happy Fall, Subscriber! Believe it or not, Christmas season is right around the corner. We're getting ready for a great 2007 Christmas tree hunt. From new fir fields to our classic Santa visits and Tractor Displays, find just what you're looking for this season when you make your traditional visit to Trim Pines Farm.

Be sure to stay on the lookout for savings in your inbox and on our web site!

Here are some ideas for your Fall decorating...

Ongoing horticulture 'edutainment' from Gretchen Voyle, Livingston MSUE Horticulture Educator (and resident hort humorist!):

HOME GROWN 428

I kind of lost my mind this spring and planted lots of gourd seeds.  Now I have many gourds but have no idea what to do with them to store them.  I see some gourds in grocery stores that have some kind of clear, shiny finish on them.  Is this what I should do?

If you take a close look at some of those coated gourds, notice that they are rotting.  This is a lousy choice if you want to display them for a period of time.  Start by picking your bountiful harvest before it frosts or freezes.  Getting them off damp ground is also good.  You may have gourds turning into mush on the bottoms as we speak.  Clip a generous amount of stem.  If they are cut or broken flush with the top of the gourd, many will rot.  You want the stems to gradually mummify on them.  It keeps decay bacteria out of the gourds.  Get the soil off of the gourds because that is more bacteria waiting for a chance to be bad. 

Wipe the gourds down with a solution of one part bleach and nine parts water.  Let them dry well. You are killing more of the evil-doers.  Place the gourds somewhere where they will dry and have plenty of air circulating around them. Put them in a single layer on newspaper or cardboard. No dumping them into boxes or bags.  The gourds are still soft and you don’t want to bruise the skin.  Bruises are soft spots and, well, you know the rest.  Warm and dry is better than cold. 

Keep turning them on a weekly basis and discard any that appear to be decaying. Some will rot, no matter how careful you are.  But since you have so many, a few causalities are not going to be a big loss.  When the gourds are dry enough that you can shake them and hear seeds rattle inside like a maraca, they are dry.  If you want to varnish a few then, there should not be any rots.  Congratulations on your gourd extravaganza.

For more, visit the Landscape Tips section at Trim Pines!

Thanks for reading! We'll see you next time with News From the Field.

PS - we'll work on making the ads disappear. We appreciate your patience as we work with a new newsletter distributor!