Hello fellow gardeners!

Christmas is only two months away.

I love giving small, handmade gifts to my family and friends, and if I start early enough, I get to enjoy getting ready for Christmas for months instead of weeks.

This week I have four free things to help you get started:

1. Printable gift boxes 2. Seed packets to tuck inside them

3. A calendar starring your own pet

4. A free ebook for the gardener on your list (or for you!).

NEW: Free Printable Gift Boxes

Print your own little gift boxes on cardstock, then cut, fold, and fill. Choose from five shapes: a tall seed packet box, a little square box, a box with a lid, a gift card box, and a gable box that ties shut with ribbon.

There are 33 watercolor designs, including violets, roses, pansies, holly, a child in a winter garden, and Pilgrim children for Thanksgiving.

You can even use your own photo. My sister's favorites are the Pilgrim children box and the violet box.

They're perfect for homemade fudge, a gift card, Christmas ornaments, or party favors at each place on your Thanksgiving table. free-printable-gift-boxes.html

Free Printable Seed Packets

Did you save seeds from your garden this year? Share them in your own seed packets!

Choose a watercolor vegetable, flower, or herb picture, type the plant name and a little note, then print, fold, and fill.

I just added pansies and sweet violets seed packets yesterday. They are so pretty!

Each sheet prints two packets, and they can be the same or two different ones.

A few packets tucked into a gift box or a Christmas card make a lovely gift for a gardening friend. free-printable-seed-packets.html

NEW: Free Printable Pet Calendar

So I made a calendar where you can put your own pet in the garden!

Choose from 12 watercolor garden scenes, one for each month, and add a photo of your dog, cat, or family.

Put the photo in a pretty frame, or place your pet right in the scene, sitting among the pumpkins or the strawberries.

You can add birthdays and special days too.

Our cats, Smashy and Prissy, are already in ours. A calendar with a beloved pet makes a wonderful Christmas gift for friends and relatives! Your photos stay on your own computer; nothing is uploaded. free-printable-pet-calendar.html

Free Ebook: How to Grow a Garden

My new ebook answers 27 of the questions gardeners ask most, from planning and raised beds to watering, pests, and harvest time.

It includes a planting chart, a free 4x8 raised bed plan, and a garden diary page.

It's free to download, print, and share with friends who are just getting started.

It would make a nice gift printed out and tucked in with a packet of seeds. how-to-grow-a-garden-ebook.html

Don't Let Frost Get Your Green Tomatoes

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

My friend Cindy, a Master Gardener, has spread hers out on newspaper in a single layer, as in the picture above, and is letting them ripen indoors.

She is hoping to enjoy fresh tomatoes for weeks after her garden is done.

Pick the full-sized tomatoes that have turned light green or have a blush of color; they ripen best.

Keep them in a cool room out of direct sun, check them every few days, and use the ripest ones first. Remove any that show soft spots. how-to-ripen-green-tomatoes-indoors.html

Charlotte

P.S. Know a friend who would enjoy making gift boxes or seed packets this Christmas? Please forward this email to them.

They can sign up for Get the Dirt for free here, and get a new garden idea or printable every Saturday! free-newsletter.html

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