Sunshine Weekly Weeder Newsletter
7 January 2014
www.sunshinecommunitygarden.org
Spring Plant Sale
Sunshine is gearing up for the annual plant sale which will be held on March 1st this year. This event allows Sunshine Gardens to cover costs associated with our garden, and supplies gardeners with starts of many, many varieties. Gardeners will find a much wider selection to choose from than most nurseries carry. Help will be needed in several areas, so there are lots of opportunities to fulfill work hours.
Help wanted
On Wednesday January 8th and Thursday January 9th help is needed to start Basil seeds. Volunteers will meet in the greenhouse at 9:00 am and continue as long as they can stand it. Volunteers are needed to mix soil, seed trays, make labels and mist completed trays.
Volunteers please email Nancy. Questions? call 512-784-4845.
'Pass-Alongs'
In addition to vegetable starts many gardeners donate or 'pass-along' ornamental plants from their home gardens to the sale. If you have any extras consider 'passing-along' your extra plants to Sunshine Community Gardens for the Spring Sale and Fundraiser. Bring your 'pass-alongs' to the hoop house (the one that's white with green trim). There is potting soil available in the hoop house but we could use your extra gallon size pots.
Efforts for the 2014 plant sale are well under way. Herbs have been started in our greenhouse. Gabriel Valley has received all of our tomatoes, pepper, eggplant and tomatillo seeds and everything is looking great. The call for volunteers is beginning and will continue. We look forward to a successful sale.
Plot Rentals
Bills will be sent out via email soon (within 10 days).
Any discrepancy with service hours billed, contact
Kay.
Any questions regarding plot rental fee payment, contact
Jack.
Payments are due by January 31, 2014.
Disconnection of Hoses
In the recent freeze, water hoses were detached based on the following information.
Disconnect - First things first, no matter what kind of hose bibs you have, freeze proof or not, it is very important to remove hoses, splitters or connections from the spigot during the winter. Not removing hoses or any other connections from the hose bib can trap water inside and will cause the fixture to freeze and break. This is always a difficult step to take because most people will want to use the outside water until the very point when freezing weather begins. It's best to disconnect hoses early since even one night of freezing weather can cause a break in our pipes.
When you reattach the hose, check for leaks. There are new washers in the tool shed for you to replace worn out leaky ones. If your hose bib is leaking please contact Stu.
Thanks to Stu, Jack McEvoy, and Caz for taking care of the hoses and water.
Which Vegetables Tolerate Frost and Which Don't?
Cold tolerance depends somewhat on preconditioning. For instance, if broccoli has been growing in warm conditions and temperatures drop below 22 degrees F., it will probably be killed. If these same broccoli plants had already experienced cool weather, they would probably survive the sudden cold.
A frost (31-33 degrees F.) will kill beans, cantaloupe, corn, cucumber, eggplant, okra, peas, pepper, potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, tomatoes and watermelon.
Colder temperatures (26-31 degrees F.) may burn foliage but will not kill: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, lettuce, mustard, onion, radish, and turnip.
The real cold weather champs are beets, Brussel Sprouts, carrots, collards, kale, parsley, and spinach.
Note From Editor:
I'd be interested in hearing other gardeners' experiences with the recent freeze. Let me know which plants survived, which didn't, were they covered or not, were they mature or seedling? I'll publish your experiences in a future Weeder.
Fire Ants
If your plot has fire ants in it, now is a good time to do maintenance in that area as the fire ants have retreated far underground. You can dig and weed without worry. If you would like to read more about fire ants, and join in webinars on the subject go to http://fireant.tamu.edu/learn/fire-ant-habitat/
Vegetables to Plant in January
All month: Lettuce, Radish, and spinach. Artichoke crowns and Asparagus crowns.
Middle to end of month: Onion sets (transplants), Beets, Broccoli, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower (transplants), collards (transplants), leeks, peas, turnips.
Officer and Zone Coordinator Contacts - Sunshine Garden
Officers
- President - Ila Falvey ila.falvey@gmail.com
- Vice-President - Janet Adams jartdaht@gmail.com
- Secretary - Berk Bettis dolrsdad@aol.com
- Treasurer - Jack Reynolds scgtreasurer1@gmail.com
- Director - Michael Hall fibercable@austin.rr.com
- Director - Kay McMurry scg.plots@gmail.com
- Director - Emily Tisinger etisinger@gmail.com
Zone Coordinators
- Zone 1, Jody Trendler jody.trendler@gmail.com
- Zone 2, Katy Davis katydavis@austin.rr.com
- Zone 3, Ludmila Voskov lvoskov@austin.rr.com
- Zone 4, Ila Falvey ila.falvey@gmail.com
- Zone 5, Mary Gifford mgifford@austin.rr.com
- Zone 6, Charlotte Jernigan charlotte@cybermesa.com
- Zone 7, Jing Li jingli.80@yahoo.com
- Zone 8, Irina Kaducova irina@austinshrooms.com
- Zone 9, Cheryl Hazeltine cph@austin.rr.com
- Zone 10, Christopher Schroder christopher.s.schroder@gmail.com
Other Coordinators
- Weekly Weeder Newsletter - Margaret Powis purslane2013@gmail.com
- Plant Sale - Michael Hall fibercable@austin.rr.com
- TSBVI Liason & Volunteer Coordinator - Janet Adams jartdaht@gmailcom
- Plot Rental - Kay McMurry scg.plots@gmail.com
- Carpentry & Repairs - Robert Jarry r.jarry@sbcglobal.net
- Water Leak Repairs - Stewart Nichols sgwater@math.austin.tx.us
- Tools & Wheelbarrows - Bob Easter beaster1@austin.rr.com
- Website Coordinator - Sharon Rempert scgardenweb@gmail.com
Record Service Hours Online - the Virtual Green Binder
