From the Gardens Registrar: Chinese Signs at Research Plots; Bricks at EH; Be Kind to the Tools; Beans; Garlic Harvesting; EH Chalkboard; Workday Sunday Morning at University Houses Gardens

Hello Gardeners,

CHINESE SIGNS AT CALS RESEARCH PLOTS – A number of Eagle Heights residents and gardeners have complained about signs put up at the research plots maintained by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, next to the Eagle Heights Community Garden. These signs are in Chinese, and tell people to not pick the vegetables being grown there. In the past, they also had these signs in English, but for some reason, this year only Chinese signs were put up. I am sure the researchers did not intend to offend anyone, but this was a serious mistake, and I’m glad that people complained. I have been told that more signs will be put up, in English, within the next week. (In our community garden, our signs are either in English or in a number of languages.)

BRICKS – We are getting a donation of a lot of bricks and blocks, which will be used eventually to build another retaining wall on the hill at Eagle Heights. We’re having them dumped between the weed pile and the leaf pile at EH, partly because there’s room there, and partly because they block an area where people kept dumping weeds. We have now covered the bricks to keep gardeners from taking them. I apologize - I should have communicated to people what the bricks were for. I didn’t think it would matter if a few bricks went missing, but some gardeners have started building fortresses with them, so I am hereby announcing that the bricks/blocks are off-limits for individual projects.

TOOLS – Once upon a time, long, long ago, garden tools had legs and wings.* But as tools evolved, these appendages gradually got smaller and smaller, until they didn’t have them anymore. So now, when you are finished using tools in your plot, if you don’t bring them back to the shed, the tools will just have to sit out there, helpless and alone. Please be kind to our tools, and bring them back to the shed when you are done working for the day, so they can relax and enjoy the company of the other tools. (If they hadn’t lost the ability to speak, they’d thank you.)

BEANS, BEANS, BEANS – Green beans are a very healthy food – no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium, and lots of vitamins and minerals, including calcium. Beans are delicious plain, and also you can make up for the lack of fat, sodium, etc. by adding butter, nuts (especially almonds), cheese, and lots of other flavorings, including garlic and herbs. Here are some simple but interesting ideas:  https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/popular-ingredients/green-bean-recipes

GARLIC – It’s getting to be harvest time for those lucky people who have garlic in their plots. Timing the harvest is crucial for best results and keeping qualities. Here’s an article that tells you when to harvest garlic, and how to cure it for storage: https://www.thespruce.com/harvesting-garlic-1402402

EH CHALKBOARD REFURBISHED – Many thanks to two hard-working and highly skilled EH gardeners (M.D. and W.Z.) who removed the ugly dysfunctional green chalkboard from the share shelves, sanded it, covered it with multiple coats of black paint, and set it back up again. Now it is beautiful, and it will be a pleasure for me to write nasty messages to the gardeners on it. THANK YOU!

SUNDAY WORKDAY AT UH – Sunday morning, August 4, we will hold a workday at University Houses Gardens, from 8am – 11am. (University Houses Gardens are at the end of Haight Road, next to Bernie’s Place Child Care Center, 39 University Houses.) The task will be general maintenance – mainly cutting down tall weeds in public areas. Please bring a hat, water bottle, and gloves if you have them. Here’s the link to sign up: https://doodle.com/poll/m2isnzxn9cebhfk7

Happy gardening,

Kathryn

*completely made-up story.