Sunshine Weekly Weeder Newsletter
5 March 2014
www.sunshinecommunitygardens.org
Many Thanks to all the Volunteers at the Plant Sale
Thanks to all our many volunteers for helping to make our 2014 Annual Plant Sale a huge success! In the short time we were open for business we generated over $41,000 in sales. Exact numbers from the sale will be available soon. On behalf of the board, thank you for a job well done.
Good News
In addition to having pleasant weather on Saturday for the plant sale, Sunshine Community Gardens received a $1,500 donation from the members of the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) Employees' United Charities Program to underwrite advertising for our annual plant sale.
All of us at Sunshine thank the members of the LCRA Employees' United Charities Program for their generous donation.
Spread the Word
We still have plants for sale. Check out the two greenhouses for available plants at $2:00 per plant
Site Rules and Bylaws
The Site Rules and Bylaws Committee has done their part and now it's time for the rest of us to do ours. The Committee has revised the Site Rules and amended the Bylaws and the Board has approved them. The newly approved Site Rules went into effect immediately per our existing Bylaws and the membership will have the opportunity to affirm them or repeal them at our annual meeting on May 31. Meanwhile, we will be holding a special meeting for the purpose of voting on the amendments to the Bylaws on April 12 at 10 AM. It is very important that we have a quorum at both meetings. Please put them on your calendar to attend. We have scheduled the special meeting in April so that the amendments may be in effect in time for our elections in May. Among other changes, the amended Bylaws change which positions are up for election each year to better facilitate continuity on the Board. The Site Rules and Bylaws committee agreed that this change should go into effect in time for our upcoming elections, if approved by the membership.
You may have questions or comments about the revisions to the Site Rules and amendments to the Bylaws. If so, please feel to contact any of the committee members by email or attend one of our Q&A meetings. You can find these documents and supporting information on our website.
We will vote on the amendments to the Bylaws on April 12 at 10 AM. We will vote on the revised Site Rules at our annual meeting on May 31 at 10 AM.
Q&A meetings, primarily for the Bylaws, are scheduled for 2 PM on Sunday, April 6, and 6:30 PM on Monday, April 7. We will schedule additional meeting times for the Site Rules after April 12.
The Site Rules and Bylaws Committee is composed of:
- Mary Gifford (chair), mgifford@austin.rr.com,
- Janet Adams, jartdaht@gmail.com,
- Cheryl Hazeltine, cph@austin.rr.com,
- Kay McMurry, scg.plots@gmail.com, and
- Philip Wiley, philip9wiley@gmail.com.
Update on Sunshine Community Gardens Forums
A new feature has been added to the forums. "Media" gallery - You can upload and share your pictures and videos with other gardeners once you're logged in. Please share your videos and pictures of the Plant Sale this last Saturday.
If you have problems, contact Sharon at scgardenweb@gmail.com.
Thanks!
Winter is Sticking Around
For those who bought starts (Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplants, Tomatillos) at our plant sale do not put them in the ground yet. Weather in Austin during spring is notoriously fickle. The average last frost date is mid-March, however, the latest freeze of record was on April 9th, 1914. What this means is that until the risk of a hard frost is over keep your plants in pots that you can put inside should a frost threaten. A light freeze can often be averted by covering the plants to keep them above 32. Once the summer plants have been frozen they will not come back.
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, peppers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, tomatoes and watermelon.
Colder temperatures (26-31 degrees F.) may burn foliage but will not kill: broccoli, cabbage, chard, lettuce, mustard, onion, radish, and turnip.
The real cold weather champs are beets, Brussel Sprouts, carrots, collards, kale, parsley, and spinach.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
4pm - Tea Time!
Native/Beneficial Ants vs Fire Ant Management
Bring an open mind and your questions about ants! We will have tea, scones, tea-sandwiches and sweets. There will be a short lecture, followed by extensive Q & A.
In an effort to better educate Sunshine Gardeners about "beneficial" ants vs fire ants, we will be welcoming Elizabeth "Wizzie" Brown of Travis County Extension.
Ms. Brown has an MS - Texas A&M University, 1999 - Entomology and serves as Program Specialist - IPM in the Austin metroplex encompassing Travis County and surrounding counties.
Vegetables to plant in March
Early to mid-month: Beets, Collards, Turnips, Kohlrabi.
All month: Lettuce, Radish, Mustard
Officer and Zone Coordinator Contacts - Sunshine Garden
Officers
- President - Ila Falvey ila.falvey@gmail.com
- Vice-President - Janet Adams jartdaht@gmail.com
- Secretary (acting) - Janet Adams jartdaht@gmail.com
- Treasurer - Jack Reynolds scgtreasurer1@gmail.com
- Director - Michael Hall fibercable@austin.rr.com
- Director - Kay McMurry scg.plots@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
