From the Registrar, October 20, 2021

 Hello Gardeners,  

 

Garlic:  Mid to late October is a good time to plant garlic here. You can also plant it in the Spring, but it won’t do quite as well. If you plant it in the Fall, it can begin to grow right away in the Spring and take advantage of a longer growing season. You can get garlic cloves for planting at a garden store or a Farmer’s Market. It’s better not to plant garlic from the grocery store unless you can be certain it hasn’t been treated in any way. There are some good details on planting garlic in the garden manual on our website: http://www.eagleheightsgardens.org/tips/garden_manual_v_1.12.pdf (page 80)   

 

Workday opportunity at University Houses: We will be having a workday at University Houses to weed fruit plantings this Sunday 10/24 from 10-1. We need 8 volunteers. Please let me know if you’re interested and I will sign people up in the order they reply. 

 

Thanks, and happy gardening, 

Lily 

From the Registrar October 13, 2021

 Hello Gardeners,  

 

Water: The water is still off at Eagle Heights but hopefully will be turned back on soon. We’re waiting for an update from the plumbers. 

Workday opportunity at Eagle Heights: We have three spots still available for a workday tomorrow, Thu 10/14 from 4-7 pm. The work will be wall-building and wood chip hauling. Please let me know if you’re interested and I will sign people up in the order they reply. 

Applications in other languages: We currently have our garden application available in English and Mandarin, and plan to have it in Spanish next year also. If you think it would be useful to gardeners to have the application available in another language, and/or are interested in helping to translate please let me know. 

 

Thanks, and happy gardening, 

Lily 

From the Registrar October 6, 2021

 Hello Gardeners,  

 

Water: We had planned to turn the water off for the season at both gardens in the next couple of weeks. However, it seems like the University might have done this early. A number of Eagle Heights gardeners have reported that the water is off there. I will keep everyone updated when I learn more.  

Workday opportunity at Eagle Heights: We have two spots available for a workday tomorrow, Thu 10/7 from 4-7 pm. The work will be wall-building and wood chip hauling. Please let me know if you’re interested and I will sign people up in the order they reply. 

 

Thanks, and happy gardening, 

Lily 

From the Registrar September 29, 2021

 Hello Gardeners,  

 

Gardening in 2022: All gardeners must reapply each year for their garden plots. If you’re interested in gardening the same plot in 2022, please make a note that the deadline to apply for renewal is February 15th. Applications will be available beginning December 15th. I will send out a reminder email before the February 15th deadline. 

Winter squash: Winter squash is ready to harvest when it has turned a darker color, the vine has died back, and the stem is hard. Some gardeners choose to harvest earlier to prevent pests from eating the squash, which can be a problem in our gardens, but if you wait a bit longer it will store better. Winter squash should be harvested before the first frost. Here are some helpful tips about harvesting and storing winter squash: 

https://savvygardening.com/harvesting-winter-squash/ 

https://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-library/vegetables/winter-squash/winter-squash-eating-guide.html 

Another workday reminder: We are getting near the end of the season, so please check in with me if you’re not sure you’ve done a workday. For gardeners applying to renew plots in 2022, a workday for this year must either be done or the no-workday fee paid in order to be in good standing for renewal. 

Leaf mulch update: We were able to get some help from UW Grounds to move some of the leaf mulch from Eagle Heights to University Houses this week. Hopefully this will be a better distribution of resources so Eagle Heights can use up what they have, and University Houses will have enough. We are not supposed to have the mulch sit for more than nine months at a time, so please use as much as you can on your plots before more is delivered to both gardens this Fall. 

 

Thanks, and happy gardening, 

Lily