Fuzzy Kiwis and light frost go well together

They're highly nutritious and delicious, easy to grow, disease- and pest-free, so it's not surprising that increasing numbers of home gardeners are growing their own fuzzy kiwis (Actinidia deliciosa). The trick is in knowing when to harvest, and how to store them for optimum flavor.

Fuzzy kiwis are much sweeter if they are hit by 2 or 3 light frosts, but a hard freeze will ruin them, so be prepared to harvest if temperatures are expected to dip into the lower 20s. Pick by Thanksgiving even if no frost has occurred.

Stored in a refrigerator or unheated garage, kiwis will keep for up to 6 months in boxes with newspaper between layers. After being stored for a couple of months, kiwis can be placed on the kitchen counter and will ripen in about a week.

Just-picked kiwis can take weeks to ripen on the kitchen counter. Put a few in a paper bag with a couple of apples and they will ripen in a week or two at the most.

Save chocolate cosmos

Chocolate cosmos (Cosmos atrosanguineus) is one of the showiest flowers in the late summer garden, especially when the 2-inch-wide, dark-red flowers are companioned with plants covered in silvery foliage such as dusty miller or silver-leaved lavender. The flowers smell so much like chocolate that you might gain weight just from smelling them.

Chocolate cosmos are native to Mexico and aren't hardy here. Covered with a thick layer of mulch they sometimes survive the winter, but most years if the cold doesn't get them, the soggy, rain-soaked soil does them in.

The good news is that unlike other varieties of cosmos, chocolate cosmos has tuberous roots similar to Dahlias, and they can be dug and stored throughout winter. Carefully lift the tubers, shake off the loose soil and let the clump dry for several hours. Then store in slightly moistened peat moss in an unheated garage. Replant outdoors in the garden in early April.

Mother Nature's bounty

It's that time of year when everything is getting covered in leaves. While it's important to rake them off your lawn, sidewalks and curbs, don't be a neat freak when it comes to your garden beds. Save yourself a ton of work by mimicking mama nature and allowing the fallen leaves to remain in your garden.

As long as they aren't diseased, leaves provide wonderful mulch and break down to greatly improve the soil. If the leaves are large, or accumulate in such large numbers that they are covering and smothering low-growing evergreen plants, rake them onto the lawn and shred them by running over them with the lawnmower. When you put them back into the garden you'll hear the worms squeal with glee that you are using their favorite dinner as mulch in the garden.

Ciscoe Morris: ciscoe@ciscoe.com. "Gardening with Ciscoe" airs at 10 a.m. Saturdays on KING-TV.