Landscape

• Mark any tree branches that need pruning, but wait until full dormancy has occurred to complete the job.

• Check lilacs for scale and after the plant goes dormant, treat with dormant oil.

• Apply an antidesiccant to broadleaf evergreens located in windy places to keep the foliage from moisture depletion.

• Continue to install sod through mid-December.

Houseplants

• Bring rosemary indoors when temperatures approach freezing. Since rosemary prefers a cooler climate, take it back outside when temperatures are above 38 degrees.

Vegetables and fruits

• Extend the harvest of cabbage until the temperature reaches 20 degrees, then harvest and store in the refrigerator another month or two.

• Test soil in vegetable beds. Most vegetables thrive in soil with a pH of 6.2-6.8. Make modifications now and start the gradual changes over the winter.

• Avoid saving seeds from plants that had black spot this year, especially peppers.

• Wait until February to prune and fertilize fruit crops.

• Apply mulch around fruit plants, taking care to keep mulch at least 10 inches from the trunk of the trees, thus discouraging voles and mice from nesting and damaging the trunk bark.

• Remove and destroy all shriveled, black "mummies" from grape vines to prevent the over-wintering of black rot fungus.

Eco tip

Add fallen tree leaves to the compost pile. To balance the "'browns" and "greens," add nitrogen fertilizer, a few shovels of soil, some moisture and kitchen waste or other organic matter.

Turn the pile occasionally to speed up the decaying process and to "heat up" the compost pile.

Invest in a long compost thermometer and record how quickly the pile heats up and decays.

Contact Civic Garden Center Hotline by phone: 221-8733; e-mail hotline@civicgardencenter.org.