From the Registrar August 26, 2021

 Hello Gardeners,  

 

If you have more produce than you know what to do with you might be thinking about preserving it for later. 

 

Canning: The USDA's guide to home canning is available here:  

https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html 

 

Freezing: If you don’t want to can, or don’t have the time, freezing is another great way to preserve food. There are some helpful guidelines here:  

https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/uga/uga_freeze_veg.pdf 

 

Food pantries: If you’d like to donate your extra produce, here is the local food pantry information again: 

-Second Harvest Food Bank is accepting donations of food, Mon-Fri 8am-4pm. Their address  is 2802 Dairy Dr. Madison, WI 53718 

-The River Food Pantry River will accept donations of fresh produce Mon 7am-3pm and Tue-Fri  7am-10am. They’d appreciate a call or email in advance if possible.  

Phone #: (608)-442-8815) email: info@riverfoodpantry.org  

-St Vincent de Paul food pantry is not currently accepting food donations 

 

Share shelf: Or you can always put your extra produce on the share shelf for other gardeners. 

 

Thanks, and happy gardening, 

Lily 

From the Registrar August 18, 2021

 Hello Gardeners,  

 

I hope everyone is enjoying the harvests from their gardens! 

 

Please never dig outside your plot borders: Every plot has a post in each corner to mark the borders. Please do not dig or plant beyond the posts and outside the borders of your plot in the paths. Our water lines are fragile and close to the surface. Digging in the paths risks damaging or cutting the water lines, which unfortunately happened recently. Any time this happens, the water must be turned off for large sections of the garden, potentially for a number of days, and gardeners can’t water their plants. It also takes time and energy for the garden workers to make the repairs. Digging and planting in the paths also makes it harder for everyone to get through to their plots. Lastly, your plants are at risk of being mowed if they are outside your borders.  

 

Revisal to birdhouse request: A gardener has mentioned that no occupied birdhouses should be taken down. The Friends of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve would like to see no birdhouses in the gardens in the future, but if you have a birdhouse that’s occupied, leave it up for the rest of the season and you can take it down in the Fall. 

 

Are animals eating your tomatoes? You can protect the fruit on your plants by putting plastic clamshells on them while they ripen. The clamshells that berries come in can be clamped over the tomatoes while they’re still attached to the stem, and nothing can eat them. 

 

Bean beetle update: We’re getting reports of many parasitized bean beetle larvae, which is great news. This means that the parasitic wasps are doing well and keeping the bean beetle population down.  

 

Thanks, and happy gardening, 

Lily 

From the Registrar August 4, 2021

 Hello Gardeners,  

 

Lake weeds: If you didn’t get any lake weeds for your garden yet and you would like some, there are still some between the leaf mulch and wood chips at Eagle Heights. Please remember to be careful where you spread them and to wash your hands. 

 

Independent workday opportunities at Eagle Heights: We have a couple of plots that need to be cleared of weeds at Eagle Heights. Please let me know if you’d be interested, and available to do this soon. 

 

Birdhouses: Unfortunately, birdhouses attract house sparrows. House sparrows chase out native birds like bluebirds and purple martins and will destroy eggs and kill baby birds. If you have a birdhouse in your plot, please take it down.  

 

Water at Eagle Heights: The water leaks at Eagle Heights will be worked on tomorrow morning. I will let everyone know when there are updates.  

 

Thanks, and happy gardening, 

Lily