Bring terra cotta pots and containers indoors to prevent winter freeze damage.

Dump old soil onto a compost pile or a garden bed and clean the pots with a stiff brush. There’s no need to wash them. They can be stored in unheated sheds and garages as long as they stay dry.

SALT CAN LEAVE A BAD TASTE IN LAWNS AND GARDENS

Salt in the soil can be deadly for lawns, trees and gardens, robbing plants of their ability to absorb water.

But there are methods for reducing or eliminating salinization in the root zone. These include:

• Detoxifying the soil by flushing. “If you have a way to wash the soil using excess water that is not high in salt, then you can leach them down deeper into the soil,” Koenig said.

• Improving drainage. Mulching to prevent evaporation and retain water in the soil also helps. Hose salt spray and pollutants off plants and lawns after heavy storms.

• Using raised beds filled with fresh soil that provides some control over salinity, pH and compaction. “That elevates your soil and lets you leach it out of the beds,” Koenig said.

• Adding windbreaks — snow fences, hedges and trees — deflects sea spray.

• Removing and replacing soil covered with road salts. “But unless you can replace the cause of the problem, like moving plant sites farther from roadways, the problem will persist,” Koenig said.

• Growing plants that tolerate soil salinity. “Some plants simply grow better than others in salt,” Perry said. “If salt concentrations are heavy, going from perennials to annuals might help.”