Brrr, ick, snow ice.

Well, yesterday was disgusting weather-wise.  To my mind there is nothing worse than precipitation that keeps switching back and forth between rain, ice and snow, with the temperature hovering around freezing.  It is the worst of all , no crisp dry cold temps or gentle warm rain.  Speaking of rain we had have way too much for gardening, unless you grow mushrooms.  The damp promoted all kinds of ick on plants.  Not really anything new, just made it seem to last longer into the fall.  Of course one good thing about freezing weather is it kills off fungus pretty quickly.  I wouldn't worry about the effects of yesterdays weather.  It didn't last long enough to really damage anything.  However, if you weren't really paying close attention to what was going on a and you left out your hoses and some garden furniture, here iw what to do.  First make sure the hose has thawed completely and drain it before unscrewing it from the faucet.  Then put it in storage in a garage or shed. Make sure the furniture is dry before storing it in a dark place to prevent mildew growing on it.  This is a very good time to clean up your tools, oil and sharpen the metal bits.  Clean out and organize the garden shed or wherever you keep your gardening tools.  You will want to know where everything is come Spring.