From the Registrar: August 20, 2025

Hello Gardeners,  

Workday opportunities: There are two upcoming workday opportunities at Eagle Heights Garden: 

•  There will be a workday at EH this Friday, August 22nd from 9 am -12 pm. Four volunteers are needed. The group will meet at the EH garden shed at 9 am. The workday will be for digging a trench and weeding. 
• There will be a workday at EH this Saturday, August 23rd from 8-11 am. The group will meet at the EH garden shed at 8 am. The workday will be for weeding and weed whacking common areas. 
  
  

Volunteers should wear long sleeves and bring gloves. Please email me if you’re interested in one of these workdays and I will assign spots in the order I receive replies.   

 

Bean beetles: The Mexican bean beetle eats the leaves of bean plants, and occasionally also the beans. The bean beetle (Epilachna varivestis) is in the same family as ladybugs, and the adults resemble an orange ladybug. The larvae are yellow and spiny: https://extension.umd.edu/resource/mexican-bean-beetle-vegetables/ 

Due to the lateness of season, we will not be ordering parasitic wasps this year to combat the beetles. The wasps cannot survive a frost and will not overwinter. We hope to be able to order them next season. For the remainder of this season, monitor your bean plants for beetles. If you find eggs, larvae, or adult beetles, either crush them or dump them in soapy water. At the end of the season, it’s recommended to remove bean plant debris from your plot to reduce the number of beetles that overwinter in the soil. 

Maintain pathways between plots: Please remember to maintain a six-inch weeded and clear path on the sides and back of your plot. Plants from inside the plot should not hang over the path. These paths are necessary for gardeners to access the water and they help prevent the edges of plots from becoming overgrown. 

 

Thanks, and happy gardening,    

Lily    

 

Maintenance request form:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScyjHBH_xBH229AVwmqTE-2L3znGrLwn3TNJfw2ri9T01MMfA/viewform  

Previous emails:  https://eagleheightsgardens.blogspot.com/   

Gardening resources: https://eagleheightsgardens.org/gardens/organic-growing/ 

From the Registrar: August 12, 2025

Hello Gardeners,  

Please respect other gardeners’ spaces: Do not enter other plots, remove things from other plots, or put anything in other plots. Unfortunately, we have received quite a few reports lately of gardeners having their plots entered or damaged by others. In some cases, it seems that people are borrowing hoses and tools without the permission of the gardener. In other cases, gardeners have had things thrown in their plots, damaging their plants. No one but the assigned gardener and people they have given permission to may enter, remove anything from, or put anything in a plot.  

Preserving food: If you’re looking for ways to preserve your extra produce, there are a lot of great options. The National Center for Home Food Preservation has guides for canning, freezing, drying, fermenting, and more: https://nchfp.uga.edu/#gsc.tab=0    

Protecting your tomatoes from pests: If you are struggling with voles taking bites out of all your ripe tomatoes, there are a couple of things you can try: One method is to harvest any tomatoes within the voles’ reach early (as soon as they begin to change color). If you take them home, they'll finish ripening on your kitchen counter. This is quite reliable and low maintenance. Another method is to save plastic fruit clamshells and clamp them around the fruit as it ripens. The tomatoes can remain on the plant, and the voles can't get to them. This works very well but can be time-consuming if you have a lot of plants. Both methods will also work for peppers. 

 

Thanks, and happy gardening,    

Lily    

 

Maintenance request form:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScyjHBH_xBH229AVwmqTE-2L3znGrLwn3TNJfw2ri9T01MMfA/viewform  

Previous emails:  https://eagleheightsgardens.blogspot.com/   

Gardening resources: https://eagleheightsgardens.org/gardens/organic-growing/ 

 

From the Registrar: August 1, 2025

Hello Gardeners,  

Workday opportunity: There will be a workday next Wednesday, 8/6 at Eagle Heights Gardens from 9 am –12 pm. The group will meet at the EH garden shed at 9 am. Ten volunteers are needed. The workday will be for weeding and weed whacking common areas. Volunteers should wear long sleeves and bring gloves. Please email me if you’re interested and I will assign the spots in the order I receive replies.   

No unattended use of water permitted: Please remember that you must be present while watering your garden. This means no sprinklers left running if you are not at your plot. Leaving a sprinkler running prevents other gardeners in the community from using the spigot. It’s also more efficient to water in person. Much of the water that comes out of a sprinkler evaporates, especially if it’s running during the hot part of the day. Overhead watering is also more likely to spread plant diseases. The most effective way to water your garden is to soak it close to the ground.   

Weeds: It has been difficult to keep up with the weeds this season. Please take the time now to remove taller and/or flowering weeds from your plot, including the sides and back. The paths and edges between plots have become overgrown in many places.  

There are a couple more plants to add to the list of things to look out for: 

• Pokeweed is native to the United States, but it is poisonous. The plants produce berries that will spread many more pokeweed plants throughout the garden and surrounding areas. Wearing gloves is recommended when removing plants. Berries should be bagged and thrown away, so they do not re-seed. Photos here: https://mbgna.umich.edu/post/blog/native-plant-week-american-pokeweed 

 

• Giant Foxtail is an invasive grass and there is a lot of it in the gardens, particularly between plots. Photos here: https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/wisconsin-weed-identification-giant-foxtail-setaria-faberi/ 

 

Thanks, and happy gardening,    

Lily    

 

Maintenance request form:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScyjHBH_xBH229AVwmqTE-2L3znGrLwn3TNJfw2ri9T01MMfA/viewform  

Previous emails:  https://eagleheightsgardens.blogspot.com/   

Gardening resources: https://eagleheightsgardens.org/gardens/organic-growing/ 

 

From the Registrar: July 30, 2025

Hello Gardeners,  

Workday opportunity: There will be a workday this Sunday, 8/3 at University Houses Gardens from 8 am –11 am. The group will meet at the UH garden shed at 8 am. The workday will be for weeding vacant plots. Volunteers should wear long sleeves and bring gloves. Please email me if you’re interested and I will assign the spots in the order I receive replies.   

Velvet leaf: Velvet leaf is an invasive weed that deprives other plants of available nutrients in the soil. It is beginning to grow tall and produce flowers at this point in the season. Seeds can remain viable in the ground for many years, and they tend to come up in soil that has recently been dug. Often gardeners mistake it for squash, beans, or sunflowers and allow it to grow in plots. Please remove any you see before it produces flowers and seeds. Pictures can be found here: https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/velvetleaf-abutilon-theophrasti/  

Workday reminder: Every plot is responsible for one workday or one $45 no-workday fee payment per season. If you’re not sure if you’ve done a workday yet this season, I can look it up for you. The garden workers will be scheduling more workdays, and I can also help you find an independent workday if none of the scheduled times work for you. Let me know if you have any questions about this.     

Thanks, and happy gardening,    

Lily    

 

Maintenance request form:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScyjHBH_xBH229AVwmqTE-2L3znGrLwn3TNJfw2ri9T01MMfA/viewform  

Previous emails:  https://eagleheightsgardens.blogspot.com/   

Gardening resources: https://eagleheightsgardens.org/gardens/organic-growing/ 

From the Registrar: July 23, 2025

Hello Gardeners,  

Workday opportunity: There will be a workday this Sunday, 7/27 at University Houses Gardens from 8 am –11 am. The group will meet at the UH garden shed at 8 am. The workday will be for weeding vacant plots. Volunteers should wear long sleeves and bring gloves. Please email me if you’re interested and I will assign the spots in the order I receive replies.   

Keep the paths clear: Please do not leave anything lying in the communal paths. The garden workers that mow the paths have had issues lately with piles of weeds and hoses left in the paths. This creates a lot of extra work because they must stop and move things. Also, hoses left in the path are sometimes cut by the mower.  

Tick reminder: Remember to check for ticks after you visit the gardens. Deer ticks can carry Lyme disease, and they have been found in the gardens before. For more information see the UW Department of Entomology resources on ticks: https://wisconsin-ticks.russell.wisc.edu/  

  

Rain: This has been a rainy summer, and some plants, like tomatoes, will suffer from excess water in the ground. If you notice plants wilting and the soil is holding a lot of water, you can dig trenches in the paths between the plant rows to allow water to drain. The appearance of plants wilting from excess water can look a lot like plants wilting from the soil being too dry, so as a result plants are sometimes overwatered. If you're not sure, check to see how wet or dry the soil is a couple of inches down.

Many gardeners wonder if/when they should also water their gardens by hand. With the quantity of rain we have had this season, very little watering has been needed other than watering new transplants. About 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week is a good amount for a vegetable garden. We got one inch of rain during the storm this morning. 

Thanks, and happy gardening,    

Lily    

 

Maintenance request form:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScyjHBH_xBH229AVwmqTE-2L3znGrLwn3TNJfw2ri9T01MMfA/viewform  

Previous emails:  https://eagleheightsgardens.blogspot.com/   

Gardening resources: https://eagleheightsgardens.org/gardens/organic-growing/ 

From the Registrar: July 17, 2025

Hello Gardeners, 

Please dump out any standing water in your plot and store containers upside down or with a lid. With all the recent rain the mosquito population will go up, and buckets, watering cans, and dishes full of water will provide more places for them to lay eggs.  

Thanks, and happy gardening,    

Lily    

 

Maintenance request form:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScyjHBH_xBH229AVwmqTE-2L3znGrLwn3TNJfw2ri9T01MMfA/viewform  

Previous emails:  https://eagleheightsgardens.blogspot.com/   

Gardening resources: https://eagleheightsgardens.org/gardens/organic-growing/ 

From the Registrar: July 16, 2025

Hello Gardeners,  

Workday opportunity: There will be a workday this Friday, 7/18 at Eagle Heights Gardens from 9 am –12 pm. The group will meet at the EH garden shed at 9 am. Six volunteers are needed. The workday will be for weeding fruit plantings and digging out stumps. Volunteers should wear long sleeves and bring gloves. Please email me if you’re interested and I will assign the spots in the order I receive replies.   

Possible drone flight Friday: The research drone flight over the Biocore Prairie has been rescheduled for this Friday if weather allows.  

Garlic harvesting: If you have not already harvested your garlic, this is a good time to do that. Most garlic varieties are ready by now. If garlic is left too long in the ground the cloves can separate from the bulbs, and they will not store well. If the ground is very wet, which it has been with all the rain, the bulbs can rot.   

Freezing beans: Green bean plants can be very productive, and you may find you’re harvesting more than you can eat. In this case, green beans can be frozen for later use. For the best result and to preserve quality and flavor, blanch them before freezing. This is a useful guide to freezing vegetables from PennState Extension: https://extension.psu.edu/freezing-vegetables    

Jumping worms: The term jumping worm refers to a number of species of earthworms in the genus Amynthas. These worms are invasive here and rapidly break down organic material. This makes the soil crumbly, and some plants can have difficulty growing in these conditions. In particular, they are a problem for native plants and forests. See this DNR article for more information:  https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Invasives/fact/jumpingWorm 

Several years ago, jumping worms were discovered in our leaf mulch piles. At this point, they have spread throughout most of the gardens. Even if you have not seen any in your plot, it’s best not to transplant any plants out of the gardens to avoid introducing them elsewhere.  

If you find them, treating the soil with heat by covering it with plastic is most effective. If you find a portion of your garden is badly infested, this may be a good method to try. You can also put any you find in a plastic bag and throw them away.

Although jumping worms are a problem, don’t let them discourage you from gardening! Fortunately we have not had many reports from gardeners about issues at this point. There is research being done, and hopefully we will learn of more solutions soon. For now, the most important thing to do is to try to avoid spreading them out of the gardens. 

Thanks, and happy gardening,    

Lily    

 

Maintenance request form:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScyjHBH_xBH229AVwmqTE-2L3znGrLwn3TNJfw2ri9T01MMfA/viewform  

Previous emails:  https://eagleheightsgardens.blogspot.com/   

Gardening resources: https://eagleheightsgardens.org/gardens/organic-growing/