Pre-Irene Gardening

Here's a few tips to save your green-thumbery from Irene.

• Pick ripe vegetables for easy unrefrigerated snacks or grilled meals. Near-ripe harvests can mature inside for later use.
• Harvest leafy stems of thyme, marjoram, sage and oregano todry slowly in closed paper bags. Cut stems of basil hold well in vases of clean water. Use fresh, or for post-storm pesto.
• Seventy-five-plus mile-an-hour winds can do a lot of damage, so move outdoor potted plants to a garage, against the house under a second-story deck, or on a protected, covered porch. Move indoor plants that you're summering outside to a sequestered spot inside. This protects them but lessens spread of any hitchhiking pests to full-time indoor dwellers. Once the storm passes, move plants back outside.
• While you're at it, store away anything that can blow down or over—think garden ornaments and wind chimes.
• Lastly, cut blooming flowers for a massive, cheery bouquet to enjoy while Irene blows by.

Visit http://www.joenesgarden.com for other gardening-related ideas and advice. Thirty years of gardening yields lots of blog fodder.