Dear Gardeners,
Welcome rain, but a real change of seasons is coming. There is some possibility of frost, especially if you are at University Houses or the bottom of the hill at Eagle Heights. Many things will survive light frost but the tomatoes, basil and other summer vegetables are usually killed by the first frost. One possibility to stretch out the season is to cover the veggies with row cover, fabric or cardboard boxes, but be sure to remove covers in the daytime. These protect the plants just a few degrees but can be useful if we are just near freezing.
Time to start thinking about where to plant the garlic (and shallots) and this Saturday, Oct. 3, there will be a garlic-planting workshop at Eagle Heights at 9 am. The weather should be chilly but clear and come learn about soil preparation, varieties to plant and tips for success from Gary. Meet at the Eagle Heights garden shed. It might be a little early to plant now, but you could still search out varieties at the farmers' market and get the soil bed ready to plant in mid-to-late October.
Will arranged for horse manure to be brought to Eagle Heights. This is from Hoofer's (Memorial Union horse programs) and is partly composted and available for free. We can't dump any at University Houses because of the proximity of neighbors, but U Houses gardeners can bring vehicles and use carts to transport some to your car in buckets or a plastic-lined trunk. It would be ideal to work into the soil in any vacant spots you have to overwinter. We'd rather not have it piled over winter since runoff at spring thaw will be an issue so hopefully it can go out to plots now.
I've seen many butterflies around the gardens and migrating birds coming through. I'm hoping for a long fall with beautiful colors and plenty of time to harvest the last crops and clean up for next year.
Gretel, Garden Registrar
Welcome rain, but a real change of seasons is coming. There is some possibility of frost, especially if you are at University Houses or the bottom of the hill at Eagle Heights. Many things will survive light frost but the tomatoes, basil and other summer vegetables are usually killed by the first frost. One possibility to stretch out the season is to cover the veggies with row cover, fabric or cardboard boxes, but be sure to remove covers in the daytime. These protect the plants just a few degrees but can be useful if we are just near freezing.
Time to start thinking about where to plant the garlic (and shallots) and this Saturday, Oct. 3, there will be a garlic-planting workshop at Eagle Heights at 9 am. The weather should be chilly but clear and come learn about soil preparation, varieties to plant and tips for success from Gary. Meet at the Eagle Heights garden shed. It might be a little early to plant now, but you could still search out varieties at the farmers' market and get the soil bed ready to plant in mid-to-late October.
Will arranged for horse manure to be brought to Eagle Heights. This is from Hoofer's (Memorial Union horse programs) and is partly composted and available for free. We can't dump any at University Houses because of the proximity of neighbors, but U Houses gardeners can bring vehicles and use carts to transport some to your car in buckets or a plastic-lined trunk. It would be ideal to work into the soil in any vacant spots you have to overwinter. We'd rather not have it piled over winter since runoff at spring thaw will be an issue so hopefully it can go out to plots now.
I've seen many butterflies around the gardens and migrating birds coming through. I'm hoping for a long fall with beautiful colors and plenty of time to harvest the last crops and clean up for next year.
Gretel, Garden Registrar
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