Gardener's Alamanc: After the Frost

What to do in the garden this week?
Bag invasive plants and weeds with seeds for municipal collection. This is a good time to spot and eradicate perennial weedy vines that hide in shrubberies, such as bittersweet, which turns yellow now with orange berries up top.
Water any evergreens planted this year. Then unhook and drain garden hoses completely, roll them up and store them off the ground.
Store lawn furniture, terra cotta pots, outdoor fountains and garden art that might be damaged by spending the winter outdoors.
Many pots now are so durable they will survive the winter outdoors without cracking, even if they remain filled with soil.
High fired stoneware will not break.Test the quality by tapping it. High fired pottery has a higher pitched sound with a ring to it while less durable earthenware low fired pots have a dull sound. The more expensive pots that look like lead or terra cotta can stay outside all winter, too. If you want to ensure the safety of costly pots over the winter, dump their soil in the compost pile, wash and sterilize them with 10 percent bleach solution and them let them dry in the sun on a warm day before storing indoors or in a garage or shed. If you don't have storage space, turn them upside down and cover them so the drainage holes won't admit rain and pots won't be exposed to degradation by sunlight.