Pest problems go away with some elbow grease

If you have a home greenhouse or a greenhouse window, clear it out and wash all of the pots, trays, shelves and benches. Cleaning your greenhouse thoroughly will reduce pest problems next year.

Wash the windows inside and out to allow maximum light, especially if you are planning to grow plants over the winter.

Scrub benches, fixtures and glazing bars with a disinfectant such as one part bleach to nine parts water to help reduce disease problems. Be sure to thoroughly hose off all surfaces after scrubbing.

• There are two approaches to managing the fuel left in four- and two-cycle engines, such as those in lawn mowers or rototillers. One option is to drain the fuel out of the gas tank and run the engine to get all of the fuel out of the fuel lines and carburetor.

Fuel that sits for a long time ages, and residues can form that may plug the small fuel jets in the carburetor. Removing the gasoline eliminates this problem.

The other option is to fill the tank and add a gas stabilizer into the gas tank and run the engine to get the treated gas into the carburetor. If you are using gas that has ethanol in it, it is important to use a stabilizer that is made to eliminate corrosion associated with alcohol fuels.

• There has not been much snow since the November storms, but a good storm will probably occur at some point in the coming weeks. Carefully shake snow off plants during heavy wet storms to minimize damage.

Once the snow or ice has frozen on the plants, it is best to let it melt off. Removing frozen snow or ice from plants can cause considerable damage.

Try to avoid piling up snow at the base of plants when shoveling by more evenly spreading the snow around as you shovel.

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