A stand-up paper garden for little gardeners, place cards for your Thanksgiving table, and how my husband's family ripened green tomatoes indoors all winter.

The rain isn't back here in Oregon yet; we are having beautiful fall weather; sunny and pleasant. The garden is winding down, as the days are shorter, and the nights are cooler. But the kitchen table is getting busy again.

This week I have a brand-new craft for the children, place cards for Thanksgiving, return address labels that you can design and print yourself, and two harvest tips that are just right for this time of year.

NEW for kids: How Does Your Garden Grow?

Children cut out corn, tomatoes, sunflowers, pumpkins, carrots, and cabbage, plus two little gardeners, a puppy, and a kitten, then push them into the garden bed.

There is no right way to plant it. Pull everything out and plant a brand-new garden tomorrow.

I tested it at my own dining room table, and it was such fun to see it stand up for the first time.

It's a cozy project for a rainy afternoon with the grandchildren. Print your free paper garden: paper-garden-craft-for-kids.html

NEW: Free printable return address labels

Type your name and address once, pick one of 17 watercolor pictures, and print a whole sheet of 30 return address labels at home.

There are 9 garden designs for all year and 8 Christmas designs, like a snowy red barn, a cardinal on a birdhouse, and a puppy in a red scarf.

They print on standard Avery 5160 label sheets, the kind sold at any office supply store.

Your address stays on your own computer; it is never sent anywhere.

Make your free address labels: free-printable-return-address-labels.html

NEW: Free printable place cards

Type in your guest list, pick a watercolor picture, and print matching place cards for every seat at the table.

There are Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthday, tea party, and garden party designs.

Print them on cardstock and fold them into little tent cards.

The children can help set the table.

Make your free place cards: free-printable-place-cards.html

NEW: Free printable gift stickers

Make your gift stickers: free-printable-gift-stickers.html

Don't let your green tomatoes go to waste

Before the fall rain or frost could ruin them, they picked every green tomato, brought them inside, and laid them out on newspaper. One by one, they slowly turned red.

We do the same thing every fall, and we have fresh ripe tomatoes until Christmas.

If you still have green tomatoes on the vine, pick them before the first frost.

See how to ripen green tomatoes indoors: how-to-ripen-green-tomatoes-indoors.html

Storing your potato harvest

Let them dry and cure for a week or two first, and don't wash them until you're ready to cook.

I've rewritten my potato page with everything in one place, from planting and hilling to growing in containers and storing your harvest.

Read the potato guide: how-to-grow-potatoes.html

Charlotte

P.S. Know someone who loves to garden, or a mom or grandma who would enjoy the paper garden? Forward this email to them. They can sign up for Get the Dirt here: free-newsletter.html

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