From the Gardens Registrar: Opening Day on Saturday, March 25 and Seed Fair on Saturday, April 1

Hello Gardeners,

Despite the cold weather and snow this week, spring really is approaching soon. Opening Day for the gardens will be Saturday, March 25. On that day, the garden carts and tools will come out from winter storage and you’ll be able to start working in your plot (provided, of course, that the snow is gone and it’s not pouring rain.). However, water will not be turned on in the gardens until the weather is much warmer and the pipes won’t freeze. 

On Saturday, April 1, we will hold our annual Seed Fair in the gym at the Eagle Heights Community Center, from 9am – 11am. Each principal gardener with an assigned plot is entitled to 15 free packets of seeds. We will also be selling row cover (with instructions for using it), which protects young plants from pests.

When you come to the Seed Fair, you will start by checking in, and you’ll be asked for the name of the principal gardener for your plot. Then, you’ll receive a string of tickets that can be traded for seed packets of your choice.

We will also have a garden question and answer session at the Seed Fair, especially for new gardeners.

In addition, we will also hold garden orientations at the gardens themselves – at Eagle Heights Gardens, there will be orientations at Noon on April 1, and Noon on Sunday, April 2. At University Houses Gardens, there will also be an orientation at Noon on April 1 and again at Noon on Sunday, April 2.

We strongly recommend that all new gardeners attend an orientation. If you are not able to attend one on the Seed Fair weekend, please contact me, and let me know when you could attend – we will schedule more on weekdays, to make sure that everybody has the opportunity to learn what they need to know to be successful Eagle Heights gardeners.

If you are not able to attend the Seed Fair, you are still entitled to 15 free packets of seeds – again, contact me, and I can leave seeds for you to pick up at the Community Center.

Although some people start working in their gardens as soon as the frost has gone out of the ground, April is really the earliest that anything can be planted in southern Wisconsin. This is a link to a very good planting guide from our website: http://www.eagleheightsgardens.org/tips/vegetable_planting_guide.pdf

See you at the Seed Fair,

Kathryn Padorr

Eagle Heights Gardens Registrar