Political Commentary

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

From the Gardens Registrar: WATER IS OFF IN THE 700S/800S; WHAT TO DO WHEN THE WATER IS OFF; WHAT TO DO WHEN THE WATER IS ON; LOST ITEMS; WOULD YOU LIKE TO CLEAR PLOTS? PERUVIAN DAISIES; RASPBERRY RHUBARB JAM; WORKDAY - TBD


From the Gardens Registrar: WATER IS OFF IN THE 700S/800S; WHAT TO DO WHEN THE WATER IS OFF; WHAT TO DO WHEN THE WATER IS ON; LOST ITEMS; WOULD YOU LIKE TO CLEAR PLOTS? PERUVIAN DAISIES; RASPBERRY RHUBARB JAM; WORKDAY - TBD

Hello Gardeners,

700/800 WATER LINE IS TURNED OFF FOR REPAIRS – The 700/800 water line will be shut off until at least Friday mid-day, while our workers drain the area with the leak, and try to make repairs. (See next item.)

WHEN THE WATER IS OFF – Last week, our garden workers needed to fix a leak. So they turned the water off for that line, and left the area to dry. They came back very early the next morning, and found that someone had turned the water back on. The hole where they expected to work was full of water. They were a little annoyed. Okay, they were a lot annoyed. They asked me to mention this in my next message. So here it is: IF THE WATER IS OFF IN THE GARDENS, IT IS PROBABLY OFF FOR A REASON. We will try to do a better job from now on to let people know when we have turned off a water line, and if you have a question, you can always email me to ask what’s going on. (A number of gardeners did email me about the water being off.) Our water system is old and quirky, and needs frequent repairs. Most often, the water has to be turned off in order to make the repairs, and if the problem is below ground, the ground has to dry out before our workers can get at it. Our workers do their very best to fix water problems on weekdays so that the water is available on Fridays and weekends.

WHEN THE WATER IS ON – Now that we are no longer getting torrential rainstorms, gardeners are actually watering their plots again. Just a reminder: please do not turn on the water and then leave the gardens. Any time you turn on the water, make sure everything is turned off before you go away. This week, somebody left the water running in their plot all night, and flooded a neighboring plot.

LOST ITEMS – Last weekend, at University Houses, one gardener lost a black Garmin watch. At Eagle Heights, a gardener inadvertently left a blue bag on the share shelf, containing green garden gloves, a garden knife, twine, mosquito spray, and other items. The bag says “operation pollinator” on it. If you have any information on the whereabouts of any of these objects, please let me know.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP CLEAR PLOTS? – We have a few empty plots that are getting increasingly weedy. If you want to do your workday, but it’s hard for you to do one on a weekend, please contact me. We’re going to try to assemble a small team of people to clear plots – maybe on a weekday evening.

PERUVIAN DAISIES – Sounds pretty, doesn’t it? I guess they are pretty. But they’re also one of the most numerous weeds at Eagle Heights. They’re also called Shaggy Soldiers, and Quick Weed (because they grow, flower, and set seed so fast.) They’re a garden escape that spreads quickly in disturbed areas, such as gardens. At least they’re small and shallow-rooted, so they’re easy to pull out by hand. In case you’ve ever wondered about these little plants, here’s a website with some information: https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/shaggy-soldier

RASPBERRY RHUBARB JAM – If you’ve got too many raspberries (if such a thing is even possible) and you’ve got rhubarb, why not try this? 

WORKDAY THIS WEEKEND – We are tentatively planning a workday at Eagle Heights this weekend, but, since rain is forecast, we will wait to schedule it until we know which day is more likely to be dry.

Happy gardening,
Kathryn

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