From the Gardens Registrar: Why Do People Garden?; Why Do People Not Garden?; Remove Your Tomato Blossoms; Annual Garlic Planting Seminar; Workday on Sunday at University Houses Gardens

Hello Gardeners,

WHY DO PEOPLE GARDEN? – People garden for many reasons. Here are just a few – to grow vegetables to feed their families; to know where their food comes from and to show their children where it comes from; to grow food they eat in their home countries that they can’t get here; for health and exercise; for an excuse to be outside; to be creative; to enjoy the company of the birds and butterflies; they remember their parents gardening; they find garden work relaxing and meditative; because it’s satisfying, and some people can’t imagine NOT having a garden.

WHY DO PEOPLE NOT GARDEN? – If you have garden neighbors who don’t take care of their plots (and yes, I know what it’s like), you may have nasty thoughts about them. “When are they going to cut down their weeds? Why did they get a garden if they weren’t going to take care of it? Why are they letting their tomatoes rot?” It’s true that our garden rules state clearly that “Weeds must be kept under control.” We have garden juries to inspect gardens in the summer, and they tell me when they find gardens that are exceptionally weedy or that seem to have been abandoned. Then I contact the gardeners for those plots. Some people don’t respond, and some people explain that they’ve left town. Those plots get confiscated, and turned over to new gardeners. But quite often the gardeners say they’re very busy – many of our gardeners are students, with jobs, and families. They want to work in their gardens, but they have so many other obligations in their lives. And quite often also, gardeners or family members have been sick. Eventually, weedy gardens do get cleared, one way or another. But sometimes it takes a while – it’s not always a quick process. I’m not excusing people for having weedy plots, but some gardeners really do have good excuses. Please think good thoughts when you pass a bad plot, if you can.

TOMATO BLOSSOMS – I’m sorry, folks, but Fall really is coming soon. After September 1, it is time to start taking any new flowers off of your tomato plants. That will encourage the plants to put more of their energy into ripening the fruit they’ve already set. This is especially important with large-fruited tomatoes. Same goes for larger-fruited peppers and eggplants.

GARLIC PLANTING SEMINAR – Although garlic-master Gary K. is no longer gardening at Eagle Heights, he is going to visit the gardens on Saturday, September 14, from 9am – 10am, to give his annual garlic-planting workshop. You can meet him at the EH shed. As always, he does not recommend planting garlic until October. In fact, he thinks that the best time this year will be after October’s full moon, October 13. His talk will cover how, when, and where to plant garlic. If you love Allium sativum, you should really hear Gary’s advice before you plant.

WORKDAY ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 AT UNIVERSITY HOUSES GARDENS – A long-time UH gardener will lead a workday at UH Gardens on Sunday, September 1, from 8am – 11am. The task will be clearing weeds from around the leaf pile and the paths. Please meet at the garden shed. The U Houses Gardens are at the end of Haight Road, next to Bernie’s Place Childcare Center, which is at 39 University Houses. Here’s the link to sign up: https://doodle.com/poll/yyeas8biy6ubdpf9

Happy gardening,

Kathryn