From the Gardens Registrar: What to Do in the Garden Now; Birds; Plot Markers; Garden Juries; Freezing Beans; Workday To Be Determined

Hello Gardeners,

WHAT TO DO IN YOUR GARDEN IN EARLY SEPTEMBER  – There’s still time to plant a few quick-growing, cool weather-loving vegetables: beets, carrots, chard, lettuce, mustard, radishes, spinach, and turnips. But these should probably be planted in the next week or so, to give them enough time to grow before frost. If you have winter squash and it’s still blooming, you should take off any new flowers, to encourage the plants to put their energy into ripening the fruits that have already been set. (Thanks, Amy.) If you’re lucky enough to have fall raspberries, be sure to pick them as soon as they’re ripe – don’t let them sit and rot, and attract fruit flies. In fact, keep picking whatever vegetables and fruits you’ve got. You may still be feeling overwhelmed, but as the days get shorter, there will be less and less to pick.

BIRD MIGRATION – Some birds start heading south for the winter as early as July. Hummingbirds and warblers start their fall migrations in August. Many of the birds passing through Madison will stop over at the UW Lakeshore Nature Preserve, which our gardens are part of. Some of them may stop in our gardens as well, so be on the lookout for unusual birds, and listen for unfamiliar songs. Here’s some information from a Friends of the Lakeshore Preserve newsletter from a few years ago: https://www.friendslakeshorepreserve.com/uploads/2/6/9/3/26931781/2009_winter_friends_newsletter_p_3.pdf

PLOT MARKERS – Each garden plot should have three markers at the front along the path – one is the number marker, which should be in the middle, and the other two are corner markers, which are painted yellow. Many of these markers go missing every year. Sometimes, neighborhood kids play games with them and scatter them around the garden. Some of them are moved by gardeners to become stakes for tomatoes. Others are apparently sucked into black holes, nevermore to be seen again. The next time you’re at your garden, please take a look at your markers, and if you’ve moved them from where they belong, please move them back. They have a purpose.

THANK YOU TO THE GARDEN JURY MEMBERS – The five groups of garden juries have completed their work for this year. These people have surveyed the gardens to look for abandoned and weedy plots. The June reports were not bad. There were a few more bad plots in July. But the August surveys found large numbers of weedy, dreadful-looking plots in both gardens. This is thoroughly depressing. I am still digesting the last jury reports, but I very much appreciate all the work and thought that went into their sessions. So far, 25 garden plots have either been given up by the gardeners or were confiscated, thanks to the work of the juries. Those 25 plots are being worked now by enthusiastic new gardeners. We all benefit from this, so thank you, jurors.

FREEZING BEANS – If you’re still picking beans, and you’re tired of eating them, remember that the easiest way to preserve them is to freeze them. It’s standard to blanch them first, which means giving them a few minutes in boiling water, and then cooling them quickly in ice water before you put them in the freezer. Some people claim their texture is better and they have more nutrients if you blanch them first. Other people think it’s not worth the extra trouble. Why not try doing it both ways and see if the extra step is worthwhile? Here’s a website with detailed instructions: https://www.thespruceeats.com/blanch-and-freeze-green-beans-1327653

WORKDAY – If we have a workday this weekend, I’ll send out a separate announcement.

Happy gardening,

Kathryn