From the Registrar: August 29, 2024

Hello Gardeners,

Workday opportunities: There are two upcoming workdays at University Houses Gardens.

• There will be a weed whacking workday on Sunday, 9/1 from 2-5 pm. Three volunteers are needed. The group will meet at the UH garden shed at 2 pm.
• There will be a plot clearing on Monday 9/2 from 9 am-12 pm. Volunteers should wear long sleeves and bring gloves. The group will meet at the UH garden shed at 9 am.

Tomato tasting recap: Thank you to everyone who participated in the tomato tasting this season and to the volunteers that helped make it a success! It was fun and a great opportunity for gardeners to talk about what a difficult season this has been for growing tomatoes.

Here is a list of the tomatoes that were sampled with different comments from gardeners at the tasting:

Juane Flamme: ”Good”. “A bit sour”. “Nice acid”. “Lingering”. “Like a salad tomato”.

Pomodoro squisito: ”Probably really good with a pico de gallo”. “Very tomatoey, almost too much”. “Good integrity”. “Very productive”. “Fruit drops quickly”.

Japanese black trifel: ”My favorite!” “Great balance of flavor”. “Tomato flavor that just fills your mouth”. “Superior tomato!” “My favorite!” “Could eat it like an apple”. “Medium productivity”. “Held up pretty well to lots of water”.

Chadwick cherry: ”huge plant, extremely productive, ok disease resistance”. “Great flavor!” “Really good, great flavor”. “This is a winner”.

San marzano: ”very sour, lots of acid”.

Pineapple: “longest time to ripen”. “Beautiful, very juicy”. “Not tomatoey”. “A little on the bland side”. “Quite sweet”. “Almost like a melon”. “Very sweet and low acid”. “If I grew 30 tomato plants, I’d grow one of these”. “A little slimy”

10 Fingers of Napoli: “I like it, nice texture”. “Good sauce tomato”. “Productive indeterminate”.

Bumblebee: “Ok, there’s nothing exciting. But it’s a tomato”.

Mountain Magic: “Pretty lackluster”. “Very firm fruits”.

Sungold: [so common no one commented on it. Always good]

Burpee organic Roma: “good tomato flavor”. “I liked that!”

Doug’s wildheart(oxheart?): “best tomato flavor for me!” “Like the black beauty but with more aftertaste”.

Amish Gold: “Oh! It’s the best gold I’ve had!” “Surprisingly good!” “I’m gonna do this one for the last bite!”

Orange Russian: “Sweet”. “Firm”. “Tough skin”.

Black beauty: “Not sweet at all, savory”. “Hard to tell when ripe”. “Nice bite to begin, but a little bland”. “Didn’t have a lot of flavor”.

Solar flare: “Very delicious, my favorite”. “Nice color, soft”. “Oh that’s good!” “Fruity?” “Has a bite to it”. “Not too sweet”.

German pink: “Wow!” “Tastes like watermelon!” “Tangy!” “Ok yield, it struggled this year, but better than most”.

Kellogg’s breakfast: “That’s a great tomato!” “A little bland”.

Amish paste: “Good fresh, good for sauce, good tomato flavor”.

Granadero: “A little bland”. “Very productive, even in this high disease year”.

Genuwine: “That might be my favorite!”

Marriage marzinera: “Good flavor”.

Big beef: “I think big beef was better than better boy”.

Better boy: -Meaty”. “Watery”. “Standard tomato”. “Not remarkable”. “Produce really well”.

Beam yellow pear: “I hate yellow pear”. “Oh, this is sweeter than I expected”.

Other comments from gardeners:

“The best heirloom for disease resistance at EHG is Rose de Bern”.

“A good replacement for sungolds that don’t crack is Citrine”.

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/

From the Registrar: August 21, 2024

Hello Gardeners,

Tomato tasting reminder: Please join us for the tomato tasting by the shed at Eagle Heights Gardens this Sunday, August 25th at 12 pm!

All gardeners from Eagle Heights and University Houses are welcome, and you do not have to bring tomatoes to join the tasting. The tasting will last until 2 pm or until the tomatoes run out. Please bring uncut tomatoes from your garden plot to share and come to try other gardeners’ tomato varieties. We will be washing and cutting the tomatoes to serve them there.

Workday opportunities: There will be two workday opportunities this weekend:

• There will be a weed whacking workday at Eagle Heights on Saturday 8/24 from 2-5 pm. Three volunteers are needed. The group will meet at the EH garden shed at 2 pm.
• There will be a workday at University Houses Garden this Sunday 8/25 from 8-11 am. The workday will be clearing/mulching empty plots. Volunteers should wear long sleeves and bring gloves. The group will meet at the UH garden shed at 8 am.

Email me if you’re interested, and I will assign spots in the order of replies.

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/

From the Registrar: August 18, 2024

Hello Gardeners,

Tomato tasting: After introducing it last season, we will be bringing the tomato tasting back this year. Please join us at Eagle Heights Gardens next Sunday, August 25th at 12 pm! The tasting will be held by the shed at Eagle Heights Gardens.

All gardeners from Eagle Heights and University Houses are welcome, and the tasting will last until 2 pm or until the tomatoes run out. Please bring tomatoes from your garden plot to share and come to try other gardeners’ tomato varieties. We will be washing and cutting the tomatoes to serve them there, so please bring them un-cut. The more gardeners that participate and bring tomatoes the more we can sample and share, but you do not have to bring tomatoes to join the tasting.

Mark your calendars now and join us at this community event to try new tomato varieties!

Workday opportunity: There will be a workday at Eagle Heights Garden this Thursday 8/22 from 9 am-12 pm. The workday will be clearing/mulching empty plots. Volunteers should wear long sleeves and bring gloves. The group will meet at the EH garden shed at 9am. Email me if you’re interested, and I will assign spots in the order of replies.

Happy gardening,

Lily

From the Registrar: August 13, 2024

Hello Gardeners,

Workday requirement: Every plot is responsible for one workday or one no-workday fee each year. There is not a lot of the season left, and many gardeners have not done a workday yet. All gardeners that apply to renew their plots for the following year must be in good standing, which includes fulfilling the workday requirement for the previous season. Please tell me if you have any questions about this.

Workday opportunities: There are two upcoming workdays at Eagle Heights Garden:

• There will be a workday on Friday 8/16 from 9 am-12 pm.
• There will be a workday on Sunday 8/18 from 9 am-12 pm.

Both workdays will be clearing/weeding empty plots and the buffer zones to the North of the garden. Volunteers should wear long sleeves and bring gloves. The groups will both meet at the EH garden shed at 9 am. Email me if you’re interested, and I will assign spots in the order of replies.

Preserving food: If you’re looking for ways to preserve your extra produce, there are a lot of great options. The National Center for Home Food Preservation has guides for canning, freezing, drying, fermenting, and more: https://nchfp.uga.edu/#gsc.tab=0

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/

From the Registrar: August 5, 2024

Hello Gardeners,

Weeds: With the rain and hot weather, this has been an especially difficult season for weeds! Even when pulled out regularly, they seem to come back almost overnight.

With the weeds thriving, plants are starting to produce seed, which is a problem for the rest of the garden and for the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. Please take the time now to remove taller and/or flowering weeds from your plot, including the sides and back. The paths and edges between plots have become overgrown in many places.

There are a couple more plants to add to the list of things to look out for:

• Giant Foxtail is an invasive grass and there is a lot of it in the gardens, particularly between plots. Photos here: https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/wisconsin-weed-identification-giant-foxtail-setaria-faberi/
• Pokeweed is native to the United States, but it is poisonous. The plants produce berries that will spread many more pokeweed plants throughout the garden. Wearing gloves is recommended when removing plants. Berries should be bagged and thrown away, so they do not re-seed. Photos here: https://mbgna.umich.edu/post/blog/native-plant-week-american-pokeweed

One method that can be helpful to keep weeded areas on paths and around plants clear is to lay down cardboard and cover it with leaf mulch. (If you get the cardboard wet and weigh it down with the mulch, it is less likely that voles and mice will try to hide under it). This method will reduce the amount of time spent weeding.

Workday opportunity: There will be a workday at Eagle Heights Garden this Friday 8/9 from 8 AM-11 AM. The workday will be clearing/weeding empty plots. Six volunteers are needed. Volunteers should wear long sleeves and bring gloves. The group will meet at the EH garden shed at 8 am. Email me if you’re interested, and I will assign spots in the order of replies.

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/