OT--dealing with a REAL WINTER!!

Hello everyone! I am new here. From Bakersfield, California. An area where it snows ONCE every 20 years, seriously. And it rains 6 inches a year total. Seriously. So this is all new to me. The temperature now, is what we'd consider a normal COLD WINTER day in Bakersfield. I am learning about layering and wearing serious winter clothes, not just a sweater...but layers of clothes! What I really need to know are things to prepare my home and garden. Any suggestions? I've noticed that there's a thing by my hose that says possible ice damage...what's that all abotu and how do I prevent it? How about taking care of the garden to prepare it for winter or do I jsut leave it alone? How about my house? Any tips of keeping it warm? Tips on weather proofing musts? It may sound silly but this is totally foreign land for us! When we saw our first HEATED dog water bowl we cracked up laughing, but now I'm not too sure if that isn't a great idea!! LOL My sister in law suggests cooking slow cooker meals to add just a bit of extra heat in the house. (wouldn't hurt to have an easy dinner that smells up the house real good too huh!?) It'd be like burning a "potroast" scented candle all day. mmm I'm getting hungry! Anything you think I might be totally out of the loop on? I'd really appreciate any help no matter how obvious it may seem, it might be totally off my radar! So please help!! Thanks a bunch guys!! You're terrific! ~Kristen

Kristen, Welcome to Missouri!! I have lived here all of my life and love it here. I will try to answer some of your questions. Garden hoses - at the end of the garden season it's best to disconnect them and make sure they are drained before they are stored. Faucets - you can get foam covers for your outdoor faucets or turn the water to them off from the inside and run all the water outside until the line is empty. Frozen pipes are no fun!! Garden - unless you have added any plants that aren't winter hardy, I wouldn't worry about much. Some plants do better with some insulation but all that usually amounts to is raking some leaves up around them that you can just clean out in the spring. You can cut back any dead foilage for the winter too. Some people cover/insulate roses and I've even heard hydrangeas too, but it's not really necessary. Any tropical plants need to be moved inside for the winter. The growing climate here is either 5a or 6b so if a plant you have isn't hardy to that climate it needs to come in. If you are in doubt, check www.mobot.org or call the Kemper Center for Home Gardening at the Missouri Botanical Gardens with any questions. (Can you tell I'm a master gardener thru their program??) House weatherproofing - just make sure you don't feel a draft around the cracks of your doors/windows and if you do, check to find the best way to seal them. If you have a gas furnace, get it cleaned and checked!!! (if you call around, a lot of contractors offer "clean and check" specials this time of year.) We own a heating and air company and I hate it every year when there is a news story about people dying from carbon monoxide poisoning when a simple furnace clean and check could avoid it so many times. The main things you want to make sure they check are cracks in the heat exchanger and that all of the venting is clear and working well. They will also be testing other areas of the furnace, but those are the "safety" ones. If you have a gas dryer make sure it's vent is clean also. If you feel your utility bills are high for your home/area, check to make sure the insulation is good. You can call the utilitiy company and they should tell you what the average bill was for your home in prior years so you have an idea of what to expect. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask!! Terri

Thank you thank you! I have noticed a spot on one of our doors that lets in outside air. It will be so worth the slight cost of a new weather strip to keep that freezing cold air OUT! Now, any tips on keeping out rodents? I am scared to DEATH of those things. In Ca, they would mostly go in the garage in winter, but out here, will they come in my house to find warmth? My house is fairly new (9 years old) so it's not like an old house that isn't pretty airtight. I have poison, baits, and two differnt types of traps in the garage and in the house. I mean I am petrified of those monsters!!! Well it's good to know that someone else is an avid gardener. My neighbor is in the garden society of Marshfield, but I never catch her at a good time to talk gardening. This is a whole new world for me too. Back home I could tell you the name of any thing you saw growing, plus when to plant, how to divide, etc. I love that stuff. But out here, most of the plants are different varieties. I Do recognize Hostas though, but only from years of HGTV!! So basically, it's time to quit planting? Another neighbor saw me planting mums and laughed at me. HE says that they are gonna freeze really soon. I'm so used to having mums almost all winter. I thought I was right on time to plant them. SIlly me! How about pansies? How long will they survive? Oh boy, I am SOOO looking forward to spring out here! I have a huge beautiful backyard. Like one that many people here have. No big deal. But compared to what we had before, this is downright amazing! I appreciate your advice and if you think of anything else, let me know! Take care, Kristen

Kristen, Welcome to Missouri. I spent most of my life in Illinois, so I didn't have a big climatological adjustment to make when I came to MO. I just did a quick Google search, and the University of Missouri Extension office has a Webster County web site about gardening http://outreach.missouri.edu/webster/webster/gardening/gardening.html. You migh want to check that out for info. Extension offers the Master Gardener program if you are interested in that. I like gardening, but I doubt I could ever complete that program. It's pretty intensive. Just hop on here and ask any thing you want to know. The natives and the transplants will be happy to share info with you. If you haven't been to the Garst Memorial Public Library which serves Webster County, you might want to visit. You can borrow tons of gardening books from that library and from others around the state. Linda

Thanks for the info! I'm going to check out the website now. I got my first Missouri Library card YESTERDAY!! And I was so happy! I absolutley love the library. I drop off my used magazines (tons of them!) and pick up one or two while I'm there. I love to read, so getting all the free books I can handle is like heaven for me!! That and grocery shopping....the combination of shopping AND buying food! What could be better?! LOL Thanks again for the advice. Looks like I'll be on a gardening time out for a bit. That'll give me time to do crafty stuff. Not to mention I'm still unpacking this house. I should be focused on THAT! But you know how that goes. I'm trying to figure out a place for everything and get everything in its place! Take care, Kristen

Kristen, Unfortunately a hard frost will get your Mums, but they will be back next year. Keep them cut back till July 4 then let them go and they will bloom in the fall again for you. Pansies will hang in a while, and they even have varieties that say they will rebloom in the spring but I haven't tried that. Our official planting season for annuals, etc. begins April 15. Sometimes I can't wait and try to pu**** a bit earlier but a late frost can get you!! Have you been to the Botanical Gardens yet?? I think they are about the best in the country - just fantastic! Seeya, Terri

So can I go ahead and cut back my mums now? Also, what about iris out here? Do you let them be? Do you dig them up in the spring to divide them? Or should I divide and trim them now? also, where are the Botanical Gardens? I'd love to go. Is it best to wait until Spring? I might want to take my Gramma with me when she visits at that time. Thanks for your advice! Kristen