Hello Gardeners,
WARM WEATHER PLANT SALE
SUNDAY, MAY 19 AT EAGLE HEIGHTS – On
Sunday, Scott Williams of Garden to Be will be back to sell warm weather plants,
from 11am – 2pm. Last year, he brought ten kinds of tomatoes, six kinds of
peppers, three kinds of eggplants, and other plants including cucumbers,
melons, squash, herbs, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, and
broccoli. Individual plants, such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, will be
$2.75 per plant. The 4-packs and 6-packs
will be $2.75 per pack. This is a really good deal, and Scott always has great
varieties. So don’t pass this up. If Scott sends me a list of varieties in
time, I’ll send that out separately.
We will also again sell
compost and row cover on Sunday. We will have the same arrangement as at the
earlier plant sale; workday volunteers will load carts and deliver the compost
to your plot. Each 2/3 cartload will be $5 – cash and exact change appreciated.
Row cover will also be $5 per piece.
WORKDAY
THIS SUNDAY – The
task (see above) will be filling carts and delivering compost to plots, from
10:30 am – 1:30pm, at the Eagle Heights shed. This will be another limited
workday – we will only need 6 – 8 people.
Also, if there’s time, another task will be installing a fence between the
out-of-control weed pile and the rock berm. Here’s the
workday link: https://doodle.com/poll/zm2udx55q43k9vwg
NOTE:
THE PLANT SALE WILL TAKE PLACE RAIN OR SHINE, BUT WE WILL CANCEL THE WORKDAY AND
COMPOST SALE IF IT’S RAINING AT 10:00. WE CAN’T LET THE COMPOST GET WET AND
MUDDY.
TURKEYS – Many gardeners are complaining
that turkeys are eating all their young transplants. There are a number of
animals that live and eat in our gardens, including raccoons, rabbits, voles, cranes,
etc. But yes, there are definitely a lot of turkeys, and they do eat greens in
the spring. They also eat insects, and will damage plantings while they’re
scratching for insects in your garden.
Here’s
a little history: wild turkeys are native to Wisconsin. Due to clearing of
forests and over-hunting, they went extinct in the state in 1881. In 1976, the
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources traded birds with the state of
Missouri – they gave us turkeys, and we gave them ruffed grouse. Since then the
turkeys have spread throughout the state, and increased hugely in numbers. We
can only hope the grouse are as much trouble to the Missourians as the turkeys
are to us. (probably not)
What
can you do to protect your plants from turkeys? Frankly, not much. Some websites
recommend fences, but turkeys can fly, and can easily clear a fence. Most
websites just talk about not attracting turkeys by feeding them, but it’s too
late for us – they already know how much there is to munch on in our gardens.
For what it’s worth, here’s a website with a few good ideas: http://creativecrittersolutions.org/wildTurkeys.php
NEW
GARDEN TOOLS – We
have a number of new tools, which will gradually be appearing next to the sheds
at both gardens: super-duty digging shovels, tuber tools, 4-tine cultivators,
heavy-duty digging forks, field hoes, and weed poppers – these are heavy-duty
tools that are used to cut long taproots, such as comfrey and thistles. Try
them out when you see them.
NEW GARDEN WORKERS – We are very happy to announce the hiring of two new garden workers – Maggie and Megan, who are starting work this week. They will gradually be taking over the routine maintenance in the gardens, such as mowing and running work days. Meanwhile, our long-time worker, Will, will be transitioning into a more consultative position, but he will still be around, particularly when the plumbing acts up. (Note: we have turned the water off in the 900s/1000s, due to a water leak – it’s going to rain for the next few days, but we’ll fix it when we can.)
Happy Gardening,
Kathryn
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