The greenhouse is empty. Forlorn. As I was washing down the walls I couldn't help but think about the size of this wonderful structure that I love with my whole heart. It is too big. Then I started thinking about what I would do different if I had it to do over. And size came up over and over.

If you are thinking about a greenhouse, now is the time to get yours built. Don't wait until spring when you need it the most, when everything else is happening in our too short Far North summer.

Mine has fresh compost in the bins. I change the bin contents every fall. There are those who think this extravagant. They are the ones who buy their soil. But we make this soil and it grows hardy productive tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, green beans and anything else I think should go in there when the time comes. There certainly is enough room.

By having the bins full of fresh compost in the fall all I have to do in the spring is turn on the heat and away we go. Excellent.

Keep in mind that a greenhouse is a great deal of work. Greenhouses give an entirely different dimension to gardening. And they are not inexpensive. So weigh the pros and cons. There are wonderful gardeners in this town who do not have a greenhouse. Think creatively of ways to extend our season. The Cooperative Extension Office (1-800-478-5824) in Soldotna has numerous pamphlets that will guide you in your quest.

The tuber begonias are laid out on the basement floor, drying. The foliage needs to die all the way back before the tuber can be cleaned up and stored in a paper bag for the duration of the winter. This is my preferred method of storing tuber begonias. Some years they never make it out of the pots they grew in all summer. Fine, they survive. That is the beauty of these tubers, they are tough. Anything else that you want to store over the winter should be in the house or crawl space or garage by now. Keep them a little moist over the winter and all will be well come spring.

The tools need to be addressed. I take a degree of pride in well maintained tools. The tool shed makes that effort worth it. Scrape the mud off the metal parts, sharpen the edges, spray with WD 40; sand and apply linseed oil to wooden handles. That will get them all through the coming winter gracefully. What more can we ask for?

Thinking about planting bulbs? Stop thinking and get the job done. There are enough bulbs locally available that you don't need to mail order them. If you are after something exotic then you already have them and they are planted.

Keep in mind that bulbs are expensive, they sometimes don't work: that is they fail to come up, perhaps voles ate them, or we had yet another weird winter and they froze/rotted. Whatever. I go light on bulbs. I have just enough to shine a light on an early spring garden. They sort of multiply but not very fast so if you want a big show, plant lots.

Fall is a good time to take a look around at what is wrong. We decided that the slate paths were not working. They are so uneven and I am worried about the grandchildren tripping and falling. So John took them all out, dug a good deep trench, laid crushed rock and replaced the slate. We'll see if that works. At the moment all is looking quite stable but we don't know what the winter will bring. If this doesn't work we will pull the slate and leave the rock, which is not a bad alternative. But I'm rooting for the slate.

The foliage colors are working in this little garden. We have been at this location 11 years come November and this is the first year that it looks lived in -- established. Gardens take their time in the Far North. They have more than their share of set backs and challenges.

It isn't over, keep weeding.

Rosemary Fitzpatrick has been gardening with gusto in Homer for 30 years. This year marks the 19th anniversary of her column.