From the Gardens Registrar: Coronavirus; Water; Cool Weather Plant Sale; Row Cover Sales; Why We Hate Fences

Hello Gardeners,

CORONAVIRUS  PRECAUTIONS – Just a reminder: We still need to keep up our social distancing in the gardens. And we still need to be very careful with the shared tools and carts. Remember – wash your hands with soap and water before you come to the gardens, bring your own tools if possible; otherwise, sanitize tool and cart handles before and after you use them, and/or use garden gloves. And don’t come to the gardens if you’re feeling sick.

WATER  - The water is currently scheduled to be turned on in the gardens next week. I don’t have an exact date, and it could be delayed by very cold weather. Once we have running water, gardeners will be able to wash their hands with soap and water at the gardens. We will try to provide soap, if we can.

COOL WEATHER PLANT SALE  – We had scheduled the last Sunday this month for our annual cool weather plant sale by Scott Williams of “Garden to Be”, but because of the virus, Scott will not be able to sell plants at our garden - it would not be safe for anyone. Instead, Scott is putting together an online store that lists all of his plants. Anyone who wants to get plants from him will be able to order them online, and he will deliver them to the gardens. Payment will be in advance. The cool weather plants, such as broccoli, cabbage, and lettuce, will be delivered one weekend morning at the end of this month, and then the warmer weather plants, such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, will be delivered in the middle of May. Scott will be charging a little more than in previous years to make up for his additional expenses, but will not charge for delivery. As soon as I get his link and his exact payment and delivery dates, I’ll share those with the gardeners. I’ll remind you – Scott has very good quality plants, and he’s learned over the years which plants and varieties we’re interested in buying from him. So though we all regret the general inconvenience, it’s still worth buying from Scott if you’re able to do so.

ROW COVER SALES – We have several huge rolls of row cover, which we intended to sell at our Seed Fair (cancelled) and our Plant Sales (also cancelled.) We currently don’t have a way to get it cut into individual pieces, and we also don’t think it’s safe to have face-to-face sales in the gardens. So unfortunately, if you want row cover, (which is a lightweight cloth used to protect plants from cold, wind, and insect damage), you’ll have to buy it from a garden center. (I’m sorrier than you are about this – it’s currently taking up at least half of my office. Not that I’m allowed to work in my office these days.)

INDICATOR PLANTS – I was just told that the time to plant peas is when the leaves of lilac bushes are the size of mouse ears. Say what? This is all new to me, but there is an old, traditional system that tells observant gardeners when to plant certain vegetables, based on what certain perennial plants are doing at a particular time of year. This is also called phenology – the study of the timing of plant and animal activities. Here’s an explanation: https://www.hortmag.com/weekly-tips/indicatorplants

WHY WE (THE GARDEN MANAGEMENT) HATE FENCES – We would love to just ban fences in our gardens. But gardeners have many reasons for wanting them. For some people, it’s how people garden back home, and they don’t feel right without fences around their plots. We also have many animal pests, such as turkeys, that can be kept out by fences (sometimes.) Fences can also be used to provide a structure for plants to grow on. But fences often cause problems for neighboring plots. If you have to have a fence, here are four things you have to do: 1. Set it up in the right place, which means at least six inches inside your plot from the plot borders. 2. Maintain the fence – a fence that flops over on your neighbor’s plot is useless to you, and a nuisance to your neighbor. A fence must be staked so that it stays upright. 3. A fence should not be so tall or densely planted that it shades your neighbor’s plot. 4. You must keep the area with the fence weeded. If you can do all that, you’re welcome to have a fence. If not, please take it down.Your neighbors will thank you.

Happy Gardening, and Stay Safe,  Kathryn

From the Gardens Registrar: CORONAVIRUS PRECAUTIONS; Seeds; Know Your Boundaries

Hello Gardeners,

VIRUS PRECAUTIONS – More safety suggestions from gardeners:  Carry a plastic ziplock bag with you, with a washcloth and soapy water in it – you can use it to clean your hands when there’s no running water handy. You can also add rubbing alcohol to your bag, and then you have a wipe. We were able to bring some more free tools to the gardens, but of course, they were gone in 30 seconds. If any of you have extra tools you could donate, please bring them to either garden and leave them leaning against the share shelves. The more people who have their own tools, the fewer of us there are sharing them. Wearing garden gloves when you use tools is better than nothing, but the best practice is for all gardeners to sanitize their hands and everything they touch, including tools and carts. We want to keep tools and carts available to everybody, but there is a real risk of spreading disease, so we all have to take this seriously.

SEEDS – Our free spring seeds are almost gone now. If you need to buy seeds, you can get them at grocery stores, hardware stores, and garden centers. (Call ahead to make sure they’re open.)  If you want to order over the Internet, I would recommend the seed companies that donate seeds to us, such as Seed Savers, Renee’s Garden, Territorial, Baker Creek, Johnny’s, and Agway. The best source for Asian vegetables is Kitazawa Seeds in California, although we haven’t been able to get them to donate….

WHAT TO PLANT NOW – It’s still early in the season for spring planting. But, unless your soil is very muddy, you can go ahead and plant peas, lettuce, radishes, kale, Swiss chard, cabbage, broccoli, spinach, and root crops such as beets, turnips, and carrots. These are plants that can stand cool weather and even a little frost. The ground is still cold, so plants won’t grow very quickly at first. But there are so many seeds in a packet that you might as well try planting – if you lose an early crop, you can plant again.

Don’t plant bean seeds now – wait until May. They can be damaged by frost, and they also require warm soil to germinate.

If you have seeds for tomatoes, peppers, or eggplants, these should be started now, inside your house. You will have best results if you buy some seed-starting soil mixture – this is lighter than normal soil, and your seedlings will grow better in it. (You can buy this at hardware stores and garden centers.) If you don’t have regular plant pots, you can use plastic food containers. Put some holes in the bottom for drainage. Get the soil thoroughly wet, then put a few seeds on top, and sprinkle a little more soil over the seeds. Place the pot in a warm, sunny window sill, and keep it moist (but not soggy.) Once the seedlings come up, be sure to give them as much light as you can.  Starting seeds in the house can be tricky. Here’s a link to a website with more detailed instructions: https://www.gardeners.com/how-to/how-to-start-seeds/5062.html

KNOW YOUR BOUNDARIES – If you’re a new gardener, be sure to figure out your boundaries first thing. Each plot has a metal sign in front of it with the plot number. (If it’s a small plot, there is a metal piece under the number with A and B on it at Eagle Heights, or N and S on it at University Houses. (I admit, some of these are missing right now.) There should also be two yellow (or red) posts at the front of the plot – these mark the corners. Your plot extends from one yellow or red marker to the other. BUT every gardener must allow six inches on each side of the plot, including the back, for access. Since your neighbor also must allow six inches, this means there is one foot of empty space between each plot. This space is necessary for you and your neighbors to be able to work, push carts, and connect hoses to water. You are not allowed to plant anything in this space, and you should not have big plants next to it that will grow into it or hang over it. If you put up a fence or trellis, it CANNOT be placed on the boundary – it must be at least six inches into your plot – 12 inches would be better. 

Happy Gardening, and Stay Safe, 

Kathryn

From the Gardens Registrar: CORONOVIRUS PRECAUTIONS; How to Throw Things Away; Bricks and Blocks; More Seeds; Garden Manual; Spring Plant Sale

Hello Gardeners,

CORONAVIRUS PRECAUTIONS – The Garden Committee continues to discuss how we can keep our gardens open and our gardeners safe. Everybody’s being really good about social distancing, and thank you! But the shared tools and carts are a problem. I have already recommended that gardeners bring hand sanitizer and use it to wipe down handles before and after gardening. Wearing gloves of any sort is also helpful, although they do not give complete protection from viruses. If we can find (or make) sanitizer, we will have some at the Gardens, but it’s unlikely we’ll be able to keep it refilled. If you have sanitizer, please bring it with you. If you have extra that you don’t need, please bring some to share.

Hand sanitizer is not as effective against the virus as washing your hands with soap and water, but until our water is turned on for the season, it won’t be possible to do this in the gardens. We can’t get the water turned on until the UW Plumbers can fit us into their schedule, and they are very understaffed at this time. Also, if water is turned on  too early, the pipes could freeze, and be heavily damaged.

At this point, we recommend, for greater safety, that you provide your own tools, if at all possible. At Eagle Heights, we have a couple dozen tools that were donated to us last fall – I have left them at the Share Shelves, and  gardeners may take and keep them in their plots for the time being. (Please do not keep any of the garden tools, with pink handles, in your plot.) However, we will have to continue to share carts and wheelbarrows – there’s no way around this.

During the next few weeks, particularly until the water is turned on, there is only so much that garden management can do – it will be up to each individual gardener to keep safe, and keep from spreading infection. Please do not come to the gardens if you are sick. And be as careful as you can.

HOW TO THROW THINGS AWAY AT EAGLE HEIGHTS/UNIVERSITY HOUSES – If you have cleared a garden plot of weeds and old vegetation, please bring that material to the weed pile – the concrete slab next to the leaf pile at EH, and the concrete holding area at the entrance to UH. If you are throwing away trash, such as old garden fabric, wire, broken pots, etc., please put it in the dumpster near the entrance. (The UH dumpster is by the parking lot.) If you have long sturdy sticks in good shape for trellises, please leave them in the blue stick barrels at both gardens. If you have plant pots, tomato cages, and other garden items in decent shape, bring them to the share shelves for other gardeners to reuse.

BRICKS AND BLOCKS – The bricks and blocks piled up near the weed pile at Eagle Heights are for a project to shore up the 900 row, which we hope to work on this spring. Please do not take them for your plots, and if you have taken some, please bring them back. I’m sorry – we didn’t have a sign up, and most material available at the garden is for gardeners to take, but these are not.

MORE SEEDS – I’m continuing to bring more spring seeds, plus seeds for tomatoes, to both gardens, so keep checking out the share shelves.

GARDEN MANUAL – If you are a new gardener, I suggest you take a look at this page on our website: https://eagleheightsgardens.org/gardens/organic-growing/ It includes a Garden Manual, with very detailed information on gardening, which was written specifically for our gardens.

GARDENS TO BE SPRING PLANT SALE – We still hope to have our annual cool weather plant sale at the end of April. Scott at Gardens To Be is growing lots of vegetables he hopes to sell to us. However, due to the virus, it probably won’t be possible to hold the sale in our usual way. One possibility is gardeners pre-ordering and paying on-line, and then picking up their orders at the Gardens. I’ll let gardeners know when we have the details worked out.

Happy Gardening, and Stay Safe,

Kathryn

Hello Gardeners,

I'm not surprised to be writing you again with a change of plans. On the advice of the UW, we are cancelling the garden orientations for new gardeners that were planned for this weekend. Face to face interactions are being discouraged.

But spring seeds will still be available for gardeners to pick up at both gardens on Saturday morning.

Thank you, and good luck with these seeds when you get them.

Kathryn

From the Gardens Registrar: Seed Give-Away March 28; Garden Orientations; Coronovirus Precautions

Hello Gardeners,

SPRING SEED GIVE-AWAY – On Saturday, March 28, we will have free seeds available to gardeners at both Eagle Heights, and University Houses Gardens. I hope you all understand that our usual Seed Fair had to be cancelled this year, due to health concerns. So, unfortunately, it will not be possible for gardeners to pick out their own seeds this year. A group of volunteers put together collections of mostly spring seeds, and these collections will be at the gardens for gardeners to take. Most collections contain 15 packets of seeds – every packet has at least 2 varieties of beans, 2 varieties of peas, and 2 varieties of lettuce. Many of  the packets also have spinach, basil, green onions, carrots, radishes,and cilantro. Other seeds in some collections are: chard, kale, turnips, cabbage, mustard greens, beets, and kohlrabi. If you get a packet of  something you’re not interested in growing, please leave it on the share shelf, and somebody else will want it.

The seeds will be at Eagle Heights by 9:30 a.m., and at University Houses around 10am.

Most of these seeds can be planted outside now. But the beans should wait until the ground is warm – those shouldn’t be planted until May. Also, the basil should either be started soon in your house, or else you can plant it in the ground in May, after risk of frost is over.

We will also have a small number of packets of seeds for tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants that gardeners will be able to choose from. To grow these, you need to start them in your house in the next few weeks. It’s rewarding to grow these plants from seed, but it can be tricky. Next week, I’ll send information on starting plants in the house.

In May, we will give away seeds for other vegetables, such as squash, cucumbers, melons, and others, including flowers.

GARDEN ORIENTATIONS – We will also offer garden orientations to new gardeners, on both March 28 and March 29, at both gardens. Meet at the garden shed. Here is the schedule:

Eagle Heights          Saturday, March 28          10:30 – Noon – 20 minute orientations in small groups

University Houses   Saturday, March 28                      10:30am – one orientation

Eagle Heights          Sunday, March 29                         1pm – 3pm – 20 minute orientations in small groups

University Houses    Sunday, March 29 – If you want to attend a Sunday orientation at UH, please email me by Saturday afternoon, and we’ll schedule one – at Noon or later.

CORONAVIRUS PRECAUTIONS – We hope to keep our gardens open through this period of restrictions. Since our gardens are large, we can easily practice social distancing, and work together without being close to each other. But please be aware that we share tools and carts. I would recommend that every gardener bring sanitizer to the garden to use on tool handles before and after working with them. Gloves are also a good idea. You may want to bring your own tools, and keep them in your plot. We are currently considering whether or not to keep the portable toilets.

These last few weeks have been full of surprises (mostly unpleasant)  – I will keep you updated as much as I can.

Happy Gardening,

Kathryn

From the Gardens Registrar: Opening Day; Seed Fair is CANCELLED; Garden Orientations; Organic Gardening Class

Hello Gardeners,

OPENING DAY - First, some good news: Opening Day will be this weekend. That means that most of the carts, wheelbarrows, and tools will come out of winter storage and be available to gardeners, by this Sunday, March 15. It's probably too muddy to do any digging, but you can certainly start clearing last year's vegetation and making other preparations for gardening. For Eagle Heights Gardens gardeners, the parking signs are back up on Eagle Heights Drive - this means that gardeners can now park there.

The water in both gardens is still off for the season. We expect to be able to have it on around the middle of April, depending on the weather.

SEED FAIR CANCELLED - The bad news: the Seed Fair, originally scheduled for March 28, has been cancelled, due to concerns about the Coronavirus. We do not plan to reschedule. However, we still want to get seeds to everybody, so it has been decided to hand out collections of spring vegetable seeds to gardeners IN THE GARDENS on March 28. I will get back to you with exact times and more details on that. We will also be putting seeds out on the share shelves at both gardens. We will not sell row cover on March 28 – we won’t do that until our cool-weather plant sale, on April 26.

GARDEN ORIENTATIONS - We are still planning to have Garden Orientations for new gardeners at both gardens on March 28 and possibly March 29. We strongly recommend that new gardeners attend an orientation to learn some of the basics about our gardens, and have an opportunity to ask questions. I'll get you a schedule for those next week. 

FREE ORGANIC GARDENING CLASS AT SEQUOYA LIBRARY -  MARCH 14

On Saturday, March 14, former EH gardener Gary Kuzynski, will teach a free class on Organic Gardening at Sequoya Library, which is at 4340 Tokay Boulevard, from 9:00am – 12:30pm. If you're new to gardening, and have time to stop in, this is a great opportunity to learn from a master. 

I’m sorry about the Seed Fair, but the decision was made for us, and I really hope that taking precautions now will keep more people safe and healthy. And ready to garden!

Happy Gardening,

Kathryn