From the Registrar: Happy Summer Solstice

Hello Gardeners,

Your registrar has been inspecting garden plots at Eagle Heights and University Houses the last few weeks, and seeing a lot of beautiful gardens. (It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it.) Our gardens have an amazing variety of gardening styles – formal and informal, simple and complicated. There are plots that are all potatoes or garlic, and plots with dozens of different kinds of plants. Some gardens are orderly and meticulous, while others have a looser, more spontaneous quality. Some gardens are all vegetables, while others have lush displays of flowers. There are structures of all sorts, and sculptures. There are many many ways to plant and tend a garden – and we seem to have examples of all of them. When you need a break from weeding your own plot, take a walk and enjoy our incredible diversity.

A long-time gardener at University Houses told me that this year the U Houses Gardens look the best she’s ever seen them!

There are a few plots here and there that need work, but overall, both gardens seem to be in excellent shape.

HOSES (again) – We’ve been lucky, so far, with rain coming at regular intervals, so we haven’t had to do much watering. Nevertheless, in my travels through the gardens, I am constantly finding hoses in the paths, mostly stretched out sunning themselves. Please, folks, find a place inside your plot to keep your hose, except when it’s actually in use.

WHAT IS ORGANIC GARDENING? (Experienced gardeners can skip this.) Obviously, organic gardening means not using chemical pesticides and fertilizers. But gardening organically is not as much about what you don’t do, as it is about a different relationship with the soil, plants, and animals. There are organic pesticides – we just sprayed for potato beetles, for instance – but gardening organically means working with natural forces more than fighting them. Building healthy soil, rotating and interspersing crops, learning to live with good-tasting  produce that may not look perfect – these are some aspects of the organic approach.

WORKDAYS – This week's workday will be Saturday, June 25, 8am - 11am. The project will be weeding the fruit tree rows at University Houses. Here's the link to sign up: .http://doodle.com/poll/uhdprw8yvqirq92q

(Please respond only if you intend to volunteer.)

Happy gardening, everyone,

Kathryn