Dear Gardeners,
We are having a lovely fall with great colors and very pleasant weather. It has been wonderful working in the gardens and the pair of cranes are still around enjoying it with us. There are lots of chores to do with cleaning beds, planting over-wintering crops and mulching. The kinglets (small, fast-moving birds with little yellow "crowns") are in the bushes around the gardens, stopping by on their way south. Check out the coots on the lake (small clownish duck-like birds that are grey/black with white bills).
We have chores to do for the workdays as well and want to get as much done now as we can. Soon, the weather will make workdays more uncertain. Sunday, October 25, we'll have a workday in Eagle Heights starting at 2 pm. We can use a lot of workers so if you haven't gotten your workday in or you just want to come enjoy the weather with fellow gardeners, reply to this message and I'll get you more information.
If you haven't gotten in your workday, you can always fulfill the obligation by paying the "no workday" optional fee ($32 for a large plot;$16 for a small). Be sure to work or pay the fee before December 1 to avoid the late fees and insure your priority to return to a plot. Make the check out to Division of University Housing and mail or drop off at Eagle Heights Community Center, ATTN: Gardens, 611 Eagle Heights, Madison, WI 53705.
We have a new application that is coming together for next year and it will be available on the website in mid-December. Please mark your calenders now to send in the application. Due date for prioritization is Feb. 15 and I start assigning plots then. We always develop a waiting list after all the plots are assigned and getting your application in early will maximize the chance to get a plot or return to your old one. Every year, some gardeners are disappointed when they forget to apply and their plots are reassigned to others.
A few changes are in the works for the new application although most of the rules stay the same. We are not going to offer tilling for a fee next year. With some weeds, tilling will make the problem worse and we think hand-digging (and removing the roots) is a much better approach. We also worry that new gardeners mistakenly think tilling will solve their weed problems or that they don't need to prepare for planting beyond tilling.  We also worry that private tillers and string mowers are being used in an unsafe manner so we are not allowing private power equipment except small battery operated hand tools (like drills for assembling wood supports). We will be raising the late fees for not meeting the workday requirement by Dec. 1 to encourage people to get this straightened out before we are into the next season.
Be sure to make a note of where you planted crops this year and varieties that you particularly liked. One of the fun winter chores will be planning the garden for next year. There is still time to save some seed from beans or flowers so that you can plant them next spring. I see garlic going in all over now and plenty of greens to enjoy this fall.
Make some squash soup and prepare for Halloween,
Gretel, Garden Registrar