LADYBUG SAYS ... PROTECTING PLANTS IN FALL PAYS DIVIDENDS

Cold weather is fast approaching. There are many ways one can outwit fall frosts, and the following are some of them.

Are your tomato plants still loaded with large green to partially ripe fruits and the weatherman is predicting the first fall frost? Do not panic. You probably can give the plants enough protection for a night or two to save them. Then enjoy vine ripened tomatoes during Indian summer weather that often follows the first frost.

How does one protect plants? Look around the house for old sheets, bedspreads, tablecloths, shower curtains, pieces of burlap or anything else you can drape over the plants in early evening to fend off frost during the night. Newspapers may even work. Fasten whatever covering you use tight enough around the foliage and fruits to keep out the cold night air.

As soon as the temperature rises above 50 degrees in the morning, remove the coverings. Put them back in the evening if frost is still in the weather forecast.

Tomatoes aren't the only vegetable to consider covering. Watch other tender varieties, too. Perhaps you have a late planting of zucchini squash just starting to bear nice fruits, or Ambrosia cantaloupe that are almost ripe. It certainly will be worthwhile to cover these and other frost susceptible plants in the garden.

The little effort involved now can pay off big dividends. You will probably be picking delicious produce for another week or two instead of pulling up plants blackened by the first nip of frost.

Would you like to pick crisp lettuce or zesty radishes even after a heavy frost, maybe to Thanksgiving? You can if you have sown seeds toward late summer and grow the plants under cloches or in a cold frame.

Before cold weather comes, and even afterward on warm sunny days, you will need to raise the cold frame lid, or open the cloches to let in ventilation. On cold days and on frosty nights, keep the cold frame and cloches closed.

You can also improvise row covers if you have access to bales of straw. Put the bales on either side of rows of lettuce and radishes. When severe frost threatens, cover the plants with burlap, sheets or other material stretched across the bales. Old window sash also make a dandy covering. When winter finally ends the growing season, use the straw, to mulch borders of perennials or bulbs.

Although vegetables come to mind first at our house, do not forget to protect tender flowers, too. Have you some dahlias just approaching their full beauty. Do not let that first frost spoil these gorgeous blooms. Cover the plants the same way as the tomatoes. Zinnias and American marigolds also can often be saved for fall enjoyment by covering them for a night or two when the mercury first dips. French marigolds and Triploid hybrids usually stand light frost unprotected.

Another way to ward off damaging frost is to spray flower beds all night long with the sprinkler (if your water bill can stand it). Sprinkling works especially well on rather low growing annuals such as begonias, impatiens and coleus.

When a forecast of prolonged freezing weather threatens to end the gardening season, the best thing to do is pick as many flowers and vegetables as you can for future use and enjoyment. Gather large green tomatoes and spread them out indoors in a single layer in a box or basket in an airy place where the temperature ranges between 55 60 degrees.

Many of the fruits will ripen over the next couple of weeks. Another suggestion is to make green tomato pickles. Pick zucchini squash, peppers and eggplant. In the refrigerator they will keep fresh a week or more. Here, we combine tomatoes, peppers, onions and celery, and cook them together and freeze to go in soup, stew or chili during the water.

Also, pick the flowers. Zinnias, marigolds, dahlias and some annuals and perennials may still be blooming. Be sure to change the water in the vase every day so they will stay fresh for several days or even a week.

Fall is the right time for planting many trees, shrubs, spring flowering bulbs and perennials. The cool weather makes it easy of these plants to establish strong root systems before winter arrives so they will be ready for quick, vigorous growth next spring. Whatever planting you can get done now relieves some pressure next spring when there are so many annuals and vegetables to get in the ground.