As you finish up the garden season, it's time to get your pesticides properly stored. Correct storage helps maintain the quality and effectiveness of these products and prevents accidental poisonings. When it comes to safety, storage is as important as proper use and protective clothing.

Store pesticides in a separate cabinet, room, or building. To prevent contamination, do not store cleaning products, pesticide handling equipment such as gloves, boots, or goggles, or any other supplies in the same cabinet. The storage area should stay cool, but not freeze; it should be dry and out of direct sunlight. Use an exhaust fan to reduce high temperatures and toxic fumes. Storage in a well-ventilated area will also help reduce any buildup of fumes.

Keep the storage area locked at all times. Only unlock the area to remove or return pesticides, keeping it locked even while you are using the chemical. Label all doors and other entrances. A warning such as
DANGER: PESTICIDES, KEEP OUT! should be used.

Store herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides, and other pesticide types on separate shelves within the storage cabinet to help guard against cross contamination. Never set sacks or boxes of pesticides on the floor; store them on shelves or other support to protect them from moisture.

Keep a supply of detergent, soap, or other hand cleansers, along with water, near the storage area.
Cat litter, vermiculite, sawdust, activated charcoal, or absorptive clay should be handy to soak up
any spills. A shovel, broom, dustpan, and proper fire extinguisher should also be nearby.

Regularly check pesticide containers for leaks, loose caps, or corrosion. With proper care, pesticides can be stored safely for use next year.

Organic Gardening Day 2009 is set for Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Hawthorne Hotel and Suites in Champaign. Registration and the retail area open at 8 a.m. The conference concludes at 4:30 p.m.

Organic gardening experts will present five educational sessions to inspire herb gardening and use in the coming year. John Biernbaum, from Michigan State University, will present two sessions: Soil Building Techniques and Year-Round Production in Unheated Greenhouses.

Anne Patterson, from Living Earth Farm in Farmington, will explain how to eat healthy to be healthy and how to bring about Real Health Care Reform – From Your Garden!

Niall and Kristie Campbell, the owners of Firefly Grill in Effingham, will present From Garden to Table: Savoring the Fruits of Your Labors, a discussion and cooking demonstration featuring recipes which incorporate fresh herbs and organic produce.

Jim Schmidt, a home horticulture specialist from the University of Illinois, will speak about Pest-Free Posies, which will detail some relatively trouble-free flowers for the organic garden.

The retail area will offer a broad spectrum of products so that you can shop early for your 2010 garden. The conference also features an organic-themed buffet lunch.

Registration, which includes lunch, morning refreshments, access to the retail area, and all sessions, is $59 per person. Reservations MUST be received by November 13 to guarantee lunch.

For more details and to register, contact Tracey Malkovich by phone, 217-333-3420, or email, malkovic@illinois.edu. Seating is limited, so register early!

On Saturday, January 23, those who share a love of gardening will gather to experience A Winter Day in the Garden.

Sponsored by the Crawford County Master Gardeners and Lincoln Trail College, this conference will take place at Lincoln Trail's Zwermann Theatre in Robinson, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Five gardening experts will provide entertainment and enlightenment:

Designing and Installing a Small Garden on a Budget
Kaizad Irani

Tree Selection for the Midwest & Air-Root-Pruning Technology
Carl Whitcomb

Entertaining: Bring Flowers to Your Table!
Danny Whitehurst
His created tablescapes will be auctioned. He will also share a few tricks on getting the most out of the flowers in your garden.

Using Garden Herbs in Bread
Father Dominic Garramone
He will show us how easy it is to include garden herbs in a variety of breads, as well as simple shaping techniques that make you look like a pro. You'll also get a peek into the St. Bede Kitchen Herb Garden, and some insight into Monastic herb gardening. All that and door prizes!

Cost for the conference is $35.

As an EXTRA BONUS (7:30 a.m.) Sharon Sorenson will present Hooked on Hummers. Learn about the entire life cycle of these tiny little jewels of the air—from migration, breeding, nesting, to their autumn departure.

For more details and to register, visit crawford.extension.uiuc.edu or call 618-546-1549.

Unlike marigolds, zinnias, and petunias, geraniums are classified as tender perennials, not annuals. But because they don't survive our harsh winters, most geraniums are treated as annuals.

In frost-free climates, geraniums live outdoors year after year, developing woody stems.
Geraniums thrive when evening temperatures are cool. Their peak blooming period is September and October, which makes losing the plants to freezing temperatures all the more difficult.

If you want to save your geraniums, it can be done. Just make sure the plants are healthy. Don't try to save diseased plants. Discard plants that appear leggy, soft, or have produced few blooms.

Geraniums can be overwintered either as actively growing plants or dormant plants. As growing plants, geraniums can simply be lifted from the garden, potted, and cared for as houseplants. The plants need bright light, preferably a southern exposure, and moderate 60- to 70-degree temperatures.

Insufficient light or high temperatures will cause spindly, yellowish plants. And, bringing any plant
indoors will cause leaves to yellow and drop. Even the brightest southern window cuts the available light by at least half.

A cutting can also be taken from plants in the garden this fall, rooted indoors, and grown as a houseplant until spring. Cuttings can be rooted in moist peat moss, sand, perlite, vermiculite, or one of the
commercial artificial soil mixes such as Jiffy-Mix or Pro-Mix. Dip or dust the cut end with a rooting hormone available at garden centers or nurseries.

Another option is to overwinter geraniums as dormant plants. The thick fleshy stems are able to
survive adverse conditions without leaves. Potted plants can be moved into a cool, dark place or to a heated garage and simply allowed to dry up. Keep them in a dormant state until they begin to show signs of new growth in the spring. If stems begin to shrivel during the winter months, add a little moisture, but not enough to cause sprouting. Usually, a light watering once a month will keep the plant alive.

Another time-honored method, but the toughest on the plants, is to hang the geraniums upside down in a paper bag. With this option, you cut back the plants to 1 foot, dig them up, and then shake the soil from the roots. Tie plants together and place in bags in a cool, dry location. Occasionally check the plants throughout the winter and wet or mist if you notice severe shriveling.

Next spring, repot or transplant all geraniums and set them outside after danger of frost is past.

If you know someone who would be an enthusiastic Master Gardener, invite that person to consider enrolling in the 2010 training.

The Master Gardener training will be held on Thursdays in Vienna, January 21 through April 9. On Wednesdays, the training is offered in Effingham, from January 20 through April 7. For the southwest area, the training is on Tuesdays, January 5 through April 20, and rotates between Edwardsville, Belleville, and Waterloo. At all locations, classes run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Also remember that as a current Master Gardener, you are welcome to sit in on any of the classes for a refresher on a particular topic. Contact the Extension office for a complete schedule of dates and topics.

If deer, mice, or other wildlife animals are feasting on your landscape plants, visit our Living with Wildlife website for helpful tips and information.

http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/wildlife

In the fall, trees start to enter dormancy after receiving signals from nature. Shorter days and cooler temperatures are cues that prompt trees to start entering winter dormancy. Part of this natural progression is for deciduous trees to drop their leaves.

An abscission layer forms between leaf and branch that shuts off the flow of water and nutrients. This disrupts the chlorophyll production, and as the green pigment shuts down, other pigments take over—thus giving us fall colors. Eventually, the leaf is completely severed from the branch and it drops to the ground.

Some years, leaves suddenly fall without changing; this occurrence is alarming to many property owners. All the leaves drop, forming a big green circle all around the base.

When freezing temperatures arrive early, one of two things can happen.

The abscission layer forms more rapidly, cutting off the leaf's connection with the tree. This can cause leaves to drop prematurely, without changing color. Just the weight of the leaf can be enough to sever the connections. Wind and rain can also hasten this early leaf drop. Overall, the impact on the tree is minimal. Buds should already be formed for next year. The issue is more cosmetic—we don't get to enjoy the annual display of fall colors on some trees.

The second thing that can happen, if we get a hard freeze after a relatively mild Indian summer, is that leaves may not be entering dormancy yet, and the abscission layer hasn't started to form. When this happens, leaves actually freeze and remain attached to the branches. Eventually, wind and snow will force these "green" leaves to drop, but the danger of early heavy, wet snow piling up on the still leafed-out branches may cause breakage. The hanging leaves collect and hold the heavy, wet snow.

Maple, ash, gingko, and linden have been reported to suddenly drop their leaves after an early freeze.

Rake up and remove the leaves so they don't smother out your turf. Fortunately, early leaf drop is not
an annual occurrence, and it makes us appreciate fall colors when they do appear.

http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/regions/hort