From the Gardens Registrar; Winterization; Compost Sale; Fruit, Common and Uncommon; Produce Theft; Freezing Swiss Chard; Workday
 

Hello Gardeners,

WINTERIZATION IS STARTING – Night-time temperatures are going to mostly be in the 30’s from now on, so frost is likely any time – maybe tonight? Water has now been turned off for the season at Eagle Heights, and will be off at University Houses by the end of this afternoon.  The gardens won’t officially close for the season until the last weekend of November or the first weekend of December, depending on the weather. At that point, we’ll put most of the tools and garden carts into the garden sheds for the winter. But we do always leave a few out, for people who may be working a little later in the season.  However, the portable toilets will be gone on November 15.

COMPOST SALE – We will be selling the rest of our West Ag Station compost at Eagle Heights on Sunday, October 29, from 1pm – 2pm.  The site will be open space north of our 500 rows. (From the shed, walk down into the gardens on the path that parallels Lake Mendota Drive, pass the Arbor and the 500’s.) The price for a half-cart will be $5, and our garden workers or volunteers will load the carts. Please bring exact change if at all possible. This is a great opportunity to get a pile of compost you can leave in your plot until Spring. Then you can spread it and plant at your own convenience.

COMPOST FOR UNIVERSITY HOUSES – If you garden at University Houses, here’s a link for you to sign up to have compost delivered to your very own plot. YOU MUST PROVIDE YOUR PLOT NUMBER in order to get compost delivered.  Otherwise, we won’t know where we’re bringing it to, right? https://doodle.com/poll/st9u836ygqmx7p3q (Note: this is for University Houses gardeners only.)

FRUIT IN COMMON AREAS – It’s good that so many of our gardeners know that we have common areas with fruit that everyone is welcome to pick. Unfortunately, some people are not careful about making sure the fruit they’re gathering really does belong to everybody. There are a number of gardens with lots of raspberry bushes. Be careful and respectful. If a plot has a plot marker, it’s not a common area – it’s somebody’s plot. And they won’t appreciate you helping yourself to their fruit.

CONTINUED PRODUCE THEFT – I continue to get reports from people who are finding their vegetables missing – not just a few, but entire rows gone. Just another reminder – we all work hard on our gardens, and it’s maddening and frustrating when other people take our stuff. To reiterate – nobody should be in another gardener’s plot without that person’s permission. Nobody should consider a plot abandoned just because they haven’t seen somebody working there for a few days. With fall upon us, people aren’t spending as much time in their gardens as they were in the summer, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve stopped gardening or don’t care about their produce any more.

FREEZING SWISS CHARD – Chard doesn’t mind light frost, but hard frost will kill it. You can mulch your chard heavily to keep it alive longer, but considering the current forecast, you might as well just pick and freeze it. These directions also apply to freezing any greens, such as spinach, collards, and kale: wash the leaves, blanch them in boiling water, plunge them into ice water to stop them cooking, and then freeze them in freezer bags. More details: http://www.fairviewfarmlife.com/2011/10/freezing-swiss-chard.html

WORKDAY – This weekend’s workday will be at Eagle Heights, on Sunday, October 29, from 1pm – 4pm. The task will be prepping the tree lines for winter. (Which is what the task has been for the last couple of workdays, only the weather has been crummy.) Please bring gloves – there are lots of thistles in the tree lines. Here’s the link to sign up: https://doodle.com/poll/ydx5c2rk7ktfwpnb

Happy gardening,

Kathryn