It’s that time of year to take steps to prepare lawns and gardens for the harsh impacts of a Pennsylvania winter.

In preparation for the fall and winter months, The Era spoke with local horticulture enthusiasts to accumulate some valuable tips for gardeners.

Bob Harris, host of “Around the Home” gardening show on WESB radio and certified master gardener through Penn State Cooperative Extension, shared some of his knowledge.

Harris said the first priority in preparation for winter is clearing your leaves and needles from your lawn, roof and gutters. He explained that leaves can cause a lot of damage when combined with water or ice, so it is better to clear fallen foliage rather than spend up to $1,000 on a new gutter.

Harris explained that fallen leaves are composed primarily of carbon, which is a basic building block of all life. With so much carbon, chopped up leaves make an excellent component in compost.

For lawns, Harris recommends trimming to about 1 1/2 inches to help protect grass from mold or diseases.

Next, it is important to protect new or tender trees and shrubs from the wind to prevent desiccation. Harris advises gardeners not to use plastic but rather burlap. He explained that burlap is a cheap, breathable material that can be used year after year. For other plants, prune them to protect them from snow.

Pruning entails the targeted removal of diseased, damaged, dead, non-productive, structurally unsound, or otherwise unwanted tissue from crop and landscape plants. 

Reasons to prune plants include deadwood removal, shaping to control or direct growth, improving or maintaining health, reducing risk from falling branches, preparing nursery specimens for transplanting, and both harvesting and increasing the yield or quality of flowers and fruits. 

In relation to annuals and other indigenous plants, remove them and do not let them decompose. Harris said decomposition will bring diseases and insects, among other fungus and bacteria.

L.A. Rotheraine, agronomist at Cummin’s Construction and biodynamic master gardener at Evergreen Elm, provided The Era with some insight concerning preparing your garden for spring.

For fruiting plants, such as tomatoes, eggplant and squash, Rotheraine recommends building organic hills of compost by the first of January.

To build compost, Rotheraine recommends using old plants, cow or horse manure, leaves and table scraps. This compost is cost effective and organic ingredients will not go to waste. 

“Have your soil turned and ready to go now, so come spring, all you need to do is put your seeds and plants in the ground,” Rotheraine said.

Rotheraine also recommends taking advantage of organic matter after a plant dies. 

“Once you get a hard freeze, don’t let plants decompose but rather build hills for fruiting crops out of them. Don’t let the plants burn and evaporate into the atmosphere, you want to dig a hole and drop the plant in the hole and cover it with three or four buckets of horse and cow manure so summer plants are not wasted,” Rotheraine added.

James Clark, extension educator at Penn State Cooperative Extension, McKean County, advises gardeners not to make the mistake of waiting until spring to soil test their garden.

Clark explained that most soil around here needs lime application to raise the pH levels. 

The primary purpose of lime is to stabilize soil acidity. However, it also regulates the level of magnesium, calcium, copper, zinc, phosphorus and bacteria found in soil.

It takes six months to change the soil pH, and it is important to test your soil and apply lime now before the ground freezes. This preparation also ensures you’ll be ready to plant come spring.

A soil test kit can be obtained at any Penn State Extension office for $9. Clark recommends testing soil every three years, which breaks down to only $3 a year if you invest in a soil kit.

How this works is after samples are taken from the ground, they are mailed to a Penn State soil analytical lab where they are tested. From there, gardeners are given a recommendation determining the optimum lime and fertilizer requirements of their crop. 

For more information obtaining a soil test kit, visit http://agsci.psu.edu/aasl/soil-testing.