From the Registrar: October 13, 2023

 Hello Gardeners, 

I hope that everyone has had a productive and enjoyable gardening season! It’s coming to a close, but there are still some things that can be done this year. 

Putting your garden to bed: It’s time to put the gardens to bed for the season. You can start by pulling out plants and weeds and taking them to the weed pile. Spreading mulch over your plot after the plants are cleared will help protect it from erosion and add organic matter to the soil. Try to avoid stepping on the beds when you remove plants, to prevent compacting of the soil. Remove as much dirt as possible from the roots of plants before taking them to the weed pile. Not only are we not supposed to have dirt in the weed pile, but it is also not good for your garden to remove it from the plot. Also, please remember that NO PLANTS ARE ALLOWED IN THE DUMPSTERS. 

Leaf mulch: We are expecting deliveries of new leaf mulch any day now. UW Housing and the Village of Shorewood will be bringing some to both garden sites. I do not believe that we will be able to get any horse manure this year. 

Water: The water in the gardens will be shut off by the UW plumbers sometime in the next week and will not be turned on again until the spring. 

Garlic planting: Mid to late October is the best time to plant garlic in Wisconsin. It's possible to plant it in the spring, but it won’t do 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. Garlic should be planted late enough in the fall that it won’t grow shoots. You can get garlic cloves for planting at a garden store or a Farmers' 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 is some helpful information on planting garlic in the garden manual on our website:  

http://www.eagleheightsgardens.org/tips/garden_manual_v_1.12.pdf (page 80)    

Workday cleaning up an individual plot: If you still need to do a workday and would like to help put a garden to bed, please consider this opportunity on Saturday 10/28 from Noon-3pm. Two volunteers are needed. 

 

Thanks, and happy gardening,  

Lily 

Maintenance request form:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScyjHBH_xBH229AVwmqTE-2L3znGrLwn3TNJfw2ri9T01MMfA/viewform 

Previous emails:  https://eagleheightsgardens.blogspot.com/ 

Gardening resources: https://eagleheightsgardens.org/gardens/organic-growing/