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Ways to winterize your garden

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SALT LAKE CITY - The sun may be shining this week and the leaves are still falling, but before the snow starts to blanket the valley there are some steps you should take to protect your house and plants from the cold.

Ryan Glover of Glover Nursery says you should wrap your trees.

"It's a breathable fabric. This you just wrap around from the base of your tree up to the first branch, tie it off and that protects young tender trunks from splitting in the winter time," said Glover.

You can also spray most trees with wilt proof.

"This is basically a protective barrier for your broad leaf evergreens and some of your more tender evergreens. There’s just a couple you don’t want to spread it on, like arbor vitas or junipers, you don't spray but most everything else you can spray," Glover said.

You may not realize it, but you should continue watering your plants throughout the winter months to keep the root zones hydrated.

"If you have dry roots they’ll freeze dry, and then they’ll come out in the spring and flush out and bloom and die, and that's typically a sign of a lack of water through the winter time," said Glover.

When it comes to winterizing your home, this is a good time to check on your furnace, change your air filter, and test your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors.

Now's the time to remove debris from your gutters and drainage pipes. You should also insulate pipes in your home's crawl space, basement and attic, because exposed pipes are especially susceptible to freezing.

Despite Tuesday night's freeze, it's not too late to get your garden growing.

"If you still want to plant some plants it’s still a great time. As long as you can dig a hole with a shovel you can plant," said Glover.