November SKI Tips

1. Fall is the most important time for weeding—even if frost has killed your flowers and veggies. The more you weed now, the less you’ll have to do next spring and summer. Water before you weed to loosen the soil and make your job easier.
2. What is cumin? Cumin is a dried fruit of a plant in the parsley family. Its aromatic, nutty-flavored seeds and ground powder form add smoky character to foods without a lot of heat. Cumin is a good source of essential nutrients such as iron and manganese. It also contains cuminaldehyde, which is thought to have strong anticancer effects.
3. Clean your birdfeeders with a solution of one part bleach and nine parts water. Rinse thoroughly.
4. “Brain freeze” happens when cold hits the roof and back of your mouth and “shocks” your palate—especially if you’re eating or drinking cold stuff quickly. Blood vessels constrict and limit blood flow, then quickly expand to let blood flow increase. The quickest fix is to warm the roof of your mouth by pressing your tongue to the top of your mouth or drinking warm water.
5. When watering houseplants, avoid using cold water because it may shock the plants; us tepid water.
6. Keep mowing your lawn for as long as it grows. Pests such as voles and mice will damage your lawn and plants if they have long grass to hide in.
7. Clean and oil all garden tools before storing them for winter.
8. Leaves make a good insulating cover for overwintering perennials. The best time to mulch perennials is after the ground has frozen, so put aside shredded leaves in bags to use later in the fall.
9. The Pilgrims and those who followed appreciated wild cranberries but did not start to cultivate them until 1816, when a bog was planted and tended to in the town of Dennis on Cape Cod. By then, Americans and Canadian sailors on long voyages knew they could eat cranberries to protect themselves from scurvy.
10. Folklore—Turkeys perched on trees and refusing to descend indicates snow.