Start planning your organic garden

This time of year one of the most attractive gardening activities is reading -- indoors.

And we promise, spring will be here before you know it.

If you're into organic gardening or want to get into it, check out the varieties that Rodale's Organic Gardening is recommending this year.

The tomatoes at the top of the list are Japanese Trifele; Una Hartsock, a plum tomato, and the pretty Polbig.

Orange Chiffon chard also won with its looks.

Flavorburst pepper got the award the old-fashioned way -- lots of big vegetables.

Danyelle is a lettuce that offers both looks and strength.

Other vegetables and flowers are also listed.

Gardening with native plants and making your backyard a bird habitat are other topics addressed.

Visit www.organicgardening.com.

Trugs store your stuff with panache

Smith & Hawken calls them trugs, and this version has chalkboards on the sides.

They are really open storage containers.

You can use them for children's toys, organizing pots of herbs for a kitchen garden, supplies in the laundry room or food in the pantry.

The smallest one is 10 inches wide and costs $10. The largest is 21 inches wide and $39.

Visit www.smithandhawken.com.

Your guests won't miss these odors

Osmophobia is the fear of odors, and somehow really bad smells don't mesh with that spring freshness we are craving.

Arm & Hammer -- which makes vacuum cleaner bags with baking soda that are designed to catch tiny pollutants and eliminate odors -- has teamed up with Eureka to offer tips for making your home safe for sufferers of osmophobia.

Here are some ideas that don't involve putting an open box of Arm & Hammer in your refrigerator, although you know they suggest that, too.

• If you burn popcorn in your microwave, place a bowl of water with a tablespoon of vanilla in the microwave and boil it. Let it sit there for one hour.

If the whole room is in trouble, boil the vanilla water on the stove.

• Now while some osmophobics (OK, we do love that word) might say cats are part of the problem, cat litter in an open box will attract the musty smells in your basement.

It absorbs odors rather than masking them, says Jackie Cooper, director of marketing for Eureka.

• Clean your garbage disposal thoroughly with dish detergent and a brush with a long handle. Then chop a few lemons or other citrus and run the pieces through the disposal until it smells fresh.

-- Deborah Donovan