Click HERE to View the Eye on Gardening Newsletter Online

Here are some tips to prepare your lawn and garden this month:

* For indoor plants - Dust can clog the leaf pores, so gently wipe them with a damp cloth, or give a quick shower rinse under the faucet.
* Keep records of your new seeds and plants as the New Year begins. Make a note of which varieties of flowers and vegetables do best and which do poorly in your garden.
* Feed the birds regularly and see that they have water. Birds like suet, fruit, nuts, and bread crumbs as well as bird seed.
* Things you can start:
For spring flowers, get unplanted spring bulbs in the ground as soon as possible.
* Try to feed birds and other small creatures which may not be able to find food due to snow on the ground. It only costs a few dollars to feed large numbers of birds. If the ground is covered in snow and you don't have a feeder, use a piece of plywood, a tile or scrap of carpet, plastic plate, or even cardboard for a feeding area. It's a simple way to help out God's creatures.
* Avoid walking on dormant lawn. Dry grass is easily broken and the crown of the plant may be severely damaged or killed.
* Now is a good time to prune most of your deciduous trees and shrubs.
* Sharpen and oil tools like shovels, shears, mowers and anything with a blade. Also check your power tools such as weedeaters and mowers that may need a tune-up.
* Create a small map of your garden, and use it as a guide for ordering plants and seeds from catalogs. Or choose any of our affiliate bulb links to take advantage of online ordering. Many offer low or free shipping too!
* Pick up and discard fallen fruit before spring arrives.
* Check your stored fruits and vegetables, such as potatoes and apples for bad spots which may lead to decay. Remove bad spots and immediately use those that show signs that they are beginning to spoil. Store the remaining fruits and vegetables into trays or bins that allow air circulation to help reduce decay.
Start seeds throughout the winter, depending on growing requirements.
* Rake fallen leaves that pile up on the lawn to prevent suffocation of grass.

How to Seed Bare Spots And Thin Areas - Provided by Scotts
Summer heat and drought usually cause thin brown spots in the lawn. Luckily, fall is the best time to seed and it’s EASY! Follow these simple steps and you’ll have a thick, green lawn.

 

New Year Messages from God's Word ...

Psalm 98:1 [ A psalm. ] Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.

Psalm 112:7 He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.

Isaiah 43:19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

 

Park Seed