From the Gardens Registrar: The Usual Coronavirus Reminder; Warm Weather Plant Delivery; Discouraged Plants; More Seeds Coming; Recycle Your Plant Pots; Roster Posted; Found Cowl

Hello Gardeners,

CORONAVIRUS  – Our lives are opening up now a little, but this virus will be around for many months, and could easily flare up. So don’t get careless. It is as important as before to continue social distancing and washing your hands with soap and water. And don’t come to the gardens if you’re feeling sick.

WARM WEATHER PLANT DELIVERY – This Sunday, May 17, Garden to Be will be delivering the warm weather plants that gardeners have ordered.  Pick-up, near the Eagle Heights shed, will be from 9am – 11am. (Your receipt from Scott may contain different times or dates, but please ignore that – there is some wrong information going out from his computer system, and he can’t change it. The correct times are 9am – 11am.)  Please come pick up your plants, or get a friend to do it for you - there will be a great many plants and we will not be able to hold any past 11:00a.m.. Any plants not picked up by that time will be delivered to garden plots.

MINT, COMFREY, ARTEMISIA, CORN – What do these plants have in common? We don’t want you to plant them, that’s what. The first three are major weeds in the gardens, and spread like crazy. This is not to say they’re bad; MINT is a wonderful seasoning. But the plant is very aggressive. It’s hard to have just a little of it in your plot. If you want to grow mint, one good way to contain it is to plant it in a pot. That will keep the roots from spreading. Gardeners sometimes ask if it’s okay to plant other herbs in the mint family - basil, thyme, lavender, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, sage, savory, and  hyssop are all in this family. Yes, you can plant any of these; oregano is aggressive too, but not as much as mint. COMFREY  is another plant that grows wild in our gardens. It is an herb that has some medicinal uses, and it has very pretty flowers in the late spring. But it has deep roots and is very difficult to get rid of, if it’s in your way. It’s not all bad, though – the leaves are full of nitrogen, and they decompose quickly, so you can cut leaves and put them around your plants to serve as green manure. ARTEMISIA is a big plant family – the species we have most of in our gardens is artemesia annua, which is also called Sweet Annie, for its sweet (and somewhat cloying) smell. It has traditionally been used in Chinese medicine to reduce fevers, and has even been studied as a treatment for COVID 19. However, again, this plant really takes over, and the smell can get on your nerves. Growing CORN is not prohibited in the gardens, but we don’t encourage it. It doesn’t do well in our gardens, and it attracts animal pests, such as raccoons. It’s true that our cranes also enjoy eating corn, but we have lots of other things for them to eat.

MORE SEEDS COMING TO THE SHARE SHELVES – It’s almost time to plant beans and warm weather crops, such as summer and winter squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, and melons. These seeds, plus a great many flower seeds, will be appearing on the share shelves at both gardens by the end of the week.

PLANT POTS – If you’ve bought vegetable and flower plants for your garden plot, you can throw the empty pots in the dumpster. But if the pots and trays are still in good shape, remember that you can put them on the share shelves and let other gardeners re-use them.

2020 ROSTER – The current gardener roster has been posted on our website.

FOUND AT THE GARDENS – ONE NAVY BLUE AND WHITE HAND-KNITTED COWL WITH CHEVRON PATTERN   - If you’ve lost this, please let me know, and I’ll make arrangements to return it to you.

Happy Gardening, and Stay Safe,  

Kathryn

From the Gardens Registrar: The Usual Coronavirus Reminder; Warm Weather Plant Delivery – Volunteers Needed; Gardens Are Full; Seeds Are Being Liberated; What To Plant Now

Hello Gardeners,

CORONAVIRUS  – Please continue social distancing and washing your hands with soap and water. Bring your own tools if possible; otherwise, wash 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. I know, yadda yadda yadda, but this pandemic is still far from over, and we want everybody in our gardens to be safe.

WARM WEATHER PLANT DELIVERY – If you have ordered warm-weather plants (such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, etc.) from Garden to Be, your plants will be delivered on Sunday, May 17.  Pick-up, near the Eagle Heights shed, will be from 9am – 11am. (Your receipt from Scott may contain different times or dates, but please ignore that – there is some wrong information going out from his computer system, and he can’t change it. The correct times are 9am – 11am.)  Please come pick up your plants, or get a friend to do it for you - there will be a great many plants and we will not be able to hold any past 11:00. Any plants not picked up by that time will be delivered to garden plots. And if you haven’t ordered yet, I believe Scott has taken down the link – he told me he was running out of plants to sell.

WARM WEATHER PLANT DELIVERY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED – We are going to need 3 more volunteers to help with the plant delivery and distribution. Volunteers must report by 8am to help unload the truck, organize the plants, and assist gardeners to pick them up. We will keep up our social distancing, but I recommend that volunteers wear masks. You will also need to be able to stay until 11am. This constitutes a work day. Please let me know if you’re interested.

GARDENS ARE FULL – Both Eagle Heights and University Houses Gardens are full now. We have started a waiting list for plots. Since every plot now has a gardener, do not assume that any plot that looks neglected to you is empty or abandoned. As always, nobody should go into anybody else’s plot without permission, or take anything from anybody else’s plot.

Also, if you have realized that you will not be able to take care of your garden this year and want to give it up, please let me know as soon as possible. I may still be able to get you a refund, and also, there will probably be somebody who would be delighted to take over your garden.

SEEDS ARE COMING! – We now have permission to bring our garden seeds out of the Community Center to donate to gardeners. The seeds will start to appear at the share shelves at both gardens this Friday, and will continue to be brought until they are used up, or gardeners seem to lose interest. We have a lot of seeds! Flowers, lettuce, radishes, beans, peas, cucumbers, summer and winter squash, pumpkins, and melons. We do not have any more spinach, chard, kale, herbs, or greens. And it is now too late to start tomatoes, peppers, or eggplants from seed, so we won’t give those out.

WHAT TO PLANT NOW – Although we have had some warm, summer-like weather, it is too early to plant out tomatoes, or any plants that can be damaged by frost. It is also too early to plant beans – they are not likely to germinate if the soil is cooler than 60 degrees. However, you can still plant cool-weather vegetables, such as lettuce, radishes, beets, turnips, peas, cabbage family members, etc. We can expect frost at night a few times in the next couple of weeks, but it will probably be safe to plant tomato plants by May 15. Keep an eye on the weather forecasts, and be prepared to cover your tomatoes if the temperatures might dip. After May 15, it should be safe to plant beans, cucumbers, and squash, though these will grow faster and better when the temperatures get higher.

Happy Gardening, and Stay Safe,  

Kathryn

From the Gardens Registrar: Weekly Coronavirus Reminder; Lakeshore Nature Preserve; Next Plant Delivery; Compost Tea; Nagging on Various Subjects

Hello Gardeners,

CORONAVIRUS  – We still need to continue social distancing. Be sure to wash your hands with soap and water before you come to the gardens, bring your own tools if possible; otherwise, wash 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. We now have soap at both gardens, and we will try to keep it stocked.

LAKESHORE NATURE PRESERVE – Our gardens are part of the UW Lakeshore Preserve, and there is Preserve property next to both EH and UH. Everything in the Preserve, (except for garlic mustard) is protected. Gardeners are not allowed to take anything from the Preserve, including sticks for fencing and trellises, even if they’re lying on the ground. We have stick barrels at both gardens, and try to keep gardeners provided with sticks. Also, dumping weeds or trash is not allowed in the Preserve. To learn more about this beautiful area: https://lakeshorepreserve.wisc.edu/what-is-the-lakeshore-nature-preserve/

RESPECT FOR OTHER GARDENERS – This should go without saying, but apparently, I need to remind gardeners that nobody should be walking through another person’s garden without permission, and nobody should take anything from another person’s garden –  equipment or plants or anything. If you have friends helping you with your garden, please make sure your friends understand our rules, as well.

DIGGING OUTSIDE OF YOUR PLOT – The gardens are looking especially good this spring. Although some gardeners are staying away out of health concerns, clearly a lot of gardeners have extra time to garden, and are really throwing themselves into clearing, weeding, building, planting, etc. This is all good. But a number of gardeners have been digging in the paths in front of their plots. This is not good, if your plot is on a water line. Please be aware – the water lines are shallow, and not very far from the surface. Water lines can be damaged by garden tools, and in fact, one of our recent line breaks happened because of a gardener digging outside the plot. You can weed outside your plot if you like, but do not use tools anywhere near the water line.

WARM WEATHER PLANT DELIVERY – Garden to Be is still taking orders for plants from Eagle Heights gardeners, to be delivered on May 17. If you place a new order, be sure to choose “pick up” when you check out, and include the information that you’re an Eagle Heights gardener, so he’ll waive the delivery fees. Here’s the link again: http://garden-to-be-wiscofarm.square.site/

COMPOST TEA – Former EH gardener, Gary K., will once again provide his wonderful free AACT (actively aereated compost tea) to gardeners on Saturday, May 2. He will deliver it at 9am to the area near the EH shed. Each container should be mixed with a gallon of non-chlorinated water, and will provide healthy microbes to enrich your soil. (You could use lake water, or let the garden water sit for a day to let the chlorine dissolve.) You’ll get best results if you apply it in the evening. He’ll leave a trash bin so that people can return the containers and he can reuse them next time. Thanks, Gary.

CARS IN THE GARDEN –We are not allowed to drive cars into the gardens. (Occasionally, some UW staff do this, but they are allowed.) I know that some gardeners who are bringing heavy equipment or lots of plants want to park next to the EH gate to unload, but this is not allowed, either. I am willing to make an exception for elderly/disabled gardeners, or special circumstances, but please ask in advance. Yes, it’s a pain to get a cart and haul things from Eagle Heights Drive. (I know, believe me.) But the garden entrance  at Lake Mendota and Eagle Heights Drives is a very dangerous corner, with a hill, buses, car traffic, and a great deal of pedestrian and bicycle traffic. To say nothing of turkeys. It’s not safe, so please don’t do it.

Happy Gardening, and Stay Safe,  

Kathryn

From the Gardens Registrar: Coronavirus; Water;  Hose Etiquette;  Cool Weather Plant Delivery; Compost and Seeds; Herbs for Sale; Potato Planting

Hello Gardeners,

CORONAVIRUS  PRECAUTIONS – We still need to keep up our social distancing in the gardens and be 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. We now have soap at the Eagle Heights Gardens – at the sink next to the shed. Soap will be coming soon to University Houses, and we will try to keep it stocked at both gardens.

WATER  - The water has been turned on in the Eagle Heights Gardens. If water isn’t on yet at University Houses, it should be this week. Of course, as soon as the water came on, the reports of leaks started. I believe the leaks in the 1300s have been fixed now, but there are apparently also leaks near 725 and 824. If you find another leak, let me know. At this point, due to the virus, our garden workers are not allowed to work on-site, so we’re dependent on the UW Plumbers to fix these.

Also, once the water is on at University Houses, we will need to organize volunteers to bring out the hoses and hose reels. Let me know if you’d like to help with that. Of course, it constitutes a workday.

HOSE ETIQUETTE – Another sign that water is on, besides the reports of leaks, is that hoses are now lying stretched out everywhere in the garden. Once the joy of water has subsided a little, please remember the rules about hoses – hoses, when not in use, must be stored in your plot, and must be disconnected from the faucets. Hoses left in the paths are subject to confiscation, mutilation, and other unspeakable horrors. DON’T leave your hose lying around in other gardeners’ way.

COOL WEATHER PLANT DELIVERY  – If you have ordered any cool weather plants from Garden to Be, please come to Eagle Heights this Sunday, beginning at 8am, to pick them up. We will have volunteers assisting you to find your plants and keep the correct social distances. If you will not be able to get to the garden by 10:00 to claim your plants, please let me know – we can put them temporarily in the shed, or we could bring them to your plot, if you’re willing to take the risk of  nice-looking plants sitting at your plot unattended. If you haven’t placed an order, unfortunately, it’s no longer possible to get plants delivered to the garden without charge.

COMPOST AND SEEDS – A number of gardeners have asked if we will be selling compost this year, as we did last year. As with everything else this year so far, it will all depend on when the current health restrictions are relaxed. We can’t plan it or even consider it until we know when we will be able to have sales in the garden again. Also, we still have lots more seeds, both for spring, and for summer, but they are at the Community Center, which is closed. I hope we will be able to bring some of those out to share with gardeners by middle or late May, but for now, we’ll have to wait and see.

HERBS FOR SALE – One of our gardeners also owns Harvest Moon Herb Farm, which has been growing herbs for 20 years. She currently has a number of varieties of  lavender, oregano, sage, rosemary, thyme, stevia, and scented geraniums for sale. You can order by emailing jillsfarm@yahoo.com, and she will deliver the plants to your plot. Plants are $4 each, or 3 for $10. You can find the plant list and other information on their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/harvestmoonherbs/?eid=ARBsuZucmLnaMXXPBh9G96uX8hzwhMnQ2UDrqZR4uDAxkyslN4LC9vrl1wakxC78k_V5AMTcEkffNz-K

POTATO TIME – Many of the gardeners are planting potatoes now  – the middle of April is the time for southern Wisconsin. Here is some information on when, how, and what varieties to plant: https://eatwisconsinpotatoes.com/spring-is-here-time-to-plant-your-potatoes/

Happy Gardening, and Stay Safe,  

Kathryn