Preserving Garden "Goodies"

By Mary Jo Baur


A rainy day, such as yesterday, reminds us that the peak of our gardening season is over, and fall and cooler weather are not far off.  How can we save part of our outdoor plants for the winter months?  There are a few different ways.

If you grow coleus or geraniums in your garden, you can take stem cuttings, dip them in water and then in rooting hormone (available at most garden centers), and put them in potting soil to grow as a houseplant during the winter.  I have had varying degrees of success with this method.  Because coleus is really an annual, the plant can just get tired.  Once it establishes a good root system, you can add some weak fertilizer, but keep in mind winter is not a natural growing season for plants, and you should not fertilize in the dead of winter.  Also, the low light levels in winter tend to make these plants a bit leggy.  If they get too unattractive, I just throw them away.  Sometimes they do hold their own through the cold months and can be replanted in the garden after all danger of frost has passed in the spring.

Another way to preserve some of the goodness of your garden is with herbs.  You can dry them and keep them for up to six months.  You need to pick on a good dry day, gather them in small bunches and hang them upside down in a cool, dry place.  After 6-10 days, when the leaves feel really dessicated, you can strip the leaves off the stems and keep them in air-tight jars.  As you cook with them in the winter, you'll recall parts of your summer and fall harvest.