Bring in the terra cotta for winter

Terra cotta containers are best stored out of the elements for winter.

The clay they are made from absorbs water and the freeze-and-thaw cycles of winter can cause them to crack if they are left outside.

When the plants are finished for the year, dump out the growing medium and store the containers in a garage or shed out of the rain.

If you have no place to store terra cotta indoors, it is a good idea to elevate these pots above the ground, store them upside down and cover them with a tarp to keep them as dry as possible.

Any soilless mix from window boxes or containers can be discarded, mixed in a compost pile, blended into a garden bed or kept aside for one more year.

If you reuse the growing medium for a second year, you will need to mix equal it with equal parts of fresh soilless mix next spring. Avoid reusing any growing medium from plants that had any disease problems.

Certain bulbs, such as daffodils, hyacinths, tulips and crocuses, are excellent candidates for forcing in pots in the greenhouse or inside the home. They still require a dormant period, so they will need to be chilled for six to 10 weeks at 40 degrees or below.

Plant the bulbs in pots in the fall, water them and leave them in a cold but protected place for two to three months.

For example, you could place the pots inside a cold frame outside, plunge them into the soil and spread mulch over them. Do not allow the pots' growing medium to dry out.

When you bring the pots inside, gradually acclimate them to inside conditions by keeping them at 50 to 60 degrees for a few days.

Make your last application of lawn fertilizer with a slow-release form of nitrogen in late October or early November.

Use 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of grass. You should not apply more than 3 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of grass over the course of any year, so if you applied fertilizer earlier in the season, adjust your application rate this fall as needed.

To calculate the amount of fertilizer to apply, first figure out the square footage of your lawn. Then divide the rate of nitrogen desired by the percentage of nitrogen in the bag (the first number of three listed on the bag). Using the decimal form of the percentage, multiply it by the square footage of lawn and divide by 1,000.

For example, suppose you have 5,000 square feet of lawn, have purchased a 24-5-10 bag of fertilizer, and want to apply it at a rate of 1 pound per 1,000 square feet. The calculation would be as follows: 1 (pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet) divided by .24 (percentage of nitrogen in the fertilizer) = 4.17; 4.17 x 5,000 (square feet of lawn) = 20,850; 20,850 divided by 1,000 = 20.85. You will need about 21 pounds of 24-5-10 fertilizer to cover the entire lawn.

• Tim Johnson is director of horticulture at Chicago Botanic Garden, chicagobotanic.org.