Sunshine Weekly Weeder Newsletter
15 March 2018
www.sunshinecommunitygardens.org
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Time to Be Social!
Join your fellow gardeners and plant sale volunteers for an after plant sale gathering! Sunshine will be buying some food to start the celebration.
Where: The Brewtorium, 6015 Dillard Circle Suite A Austin, TX 78752 -
map
When: Tuesday, March 20, at 5 p.m.
Thank You to All from the Plant Sale Organizers
Randy and I want to thank everyone for all the work that went into a successful plant sale. Fortunately for all of us, the weather could not have been better. It really does make the difference. As Randy said, "we really don't have a good plant sale or a bad plant sale, we just have a plant sale." Our efforts pay off a little better some years than others. This was a good one.
The effort in pulling off the plant sale is immense. From ordering the seeds starting in September to the sale in March, it takes many hours and many people to make it work. Thank you for volunteering and shopping to support your community garden. Every hour and every $2 count. --Janet Adams
Thank You to Those Who Brought Sustenance!
Many thanks to the wonderful gardener/cooks who contributed to the annual "Feed the Volunteers" effort on the day of the Plant Sale. All was greatly appreciated - outstanding dishes and a bounty of compliments and thanks received from the volunteers. Sunshine is fortunate to have such talent amongst us! Karen Farnsworth (egg salad and oatmeal muffins), Suzanne Bradford (deviled eggs), Jing Li (fried rice) , Marilyn Landberg (blueberry lemon muffins), Nicole Fisher (vegan dish), Charlotte Jernigan (beans), Jasmine Baker (kombucha casserole), Carol Schneider (egg sausage casserole, muffins, breads).
Special thanks to Carol for her assistance throughout the entire day in the trailer helping with keeping the coffee and tea going, food refreshed, clean-up and other KP duties. Forgive me if I missed anyone and shoot me an email to let me know. --Kathleen Cobb
When Live Gives You Sunflowers, Make Sun Sticks!
During a dispute with a neighboring gardener at Sunshine Community Gardens in Austin, Berkley Bettis decided to plant a thick row of sunflowers between the two beds to put a pleasant barrier against an unpleasant situation. Soon, birds began spreading sunflower seeds.
The following season, sunflowers grew all over his plot. He let them grow and cleared the stems once they dried up. An idea struck him while he handled a stiff, gnarled stalk.
He turned the stem upside down, cleared most of the shoots from the root ball, and imagined a sturdy yet light walking stick. After a bit of polishing and staining, the sunflower stalks are ready for a new life making sure p eople have steady footing.
Bettis has been making SunSticks ever since.
"When life gives you sunflowers, make SunSticks," became his motto. A bad situation turned into an unexpected form of art.
Now Bettis makes two sizes, a short cane for daily use and a longer staff that's perfect for hiking. The sunflower's root ball seems to fit perfectly in the palm in shorter versions and invoke a dramatic mysticism in longer versions.
The walking sticks sell for $15 for canes and between $20 and $50 for staffs, depending on how intricate the root ball is. Bettis donates the entire purchase price to Sunshine Community Gardens as a gesture of gratitude for all the flowers, fruits, and memories the space has given him over the years.
The reprinted post was written by Joseph M. de Leon, a founding member of Gus Garcia Community Garden, who lives in an RV with his wife Denise and a pitbull called Kimbo. Joseph blogs about travel and experiences at http://w2wwg.blogspot.com.
Weeder Content
Should you have any content to add to the Weeder, email your article or suggestion to Kristin Phillips. On normal weeks content should be received by end of day Wednesday.
Officer and Zone Coordinator Contacts - Sunshine Gardens
Officers
- President - Nick Sweeney nick.sweeney@hotmail.com
- Vice President - Marilyn Landberg marilynlandberg@utexas.edu
- Secretary - Polly Porter pporter_scg@austin.rr.com
- Treasurer - Caroline Limaye scgtreasurer1@gmail.com
- Director - Bill Cason wccason@gmail.com
- Director - Lori Dobbin loridobbin@gmail.com
- Director - Randy Thompson jartdaht@gmail.com
Email the board.
Zone Coordinators
- Zone 1, Jasmine Baker austinjasmine@gmail.com
- Zone 2, Wayne Kuenstler wckuenstler@gmail.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, Maria and Philip Wiley m.stroeva@gmail.com, philip9wiley@gmail.com
- Zone 8, Shannon Posern sposern@hotmail.com
- Zone 9, Kerry Howell casonhowell@gmail.com
- Zone 10, Christopher Schroder
christopher.s.schroder@gmail.com &
Karl Arcuri karl.w.arcuri@gmail.com
Other Personnel
- Weekly Weeder Newsletter - Kristin Phillips phillips.102@gmail.com
- Plant Sale - Randy Thompson & Janet Adams jartdaht@gmailcom
- TSBVI Liaison & Volunteer Coordinator - Janet Adams jartdaht@gmailcom
- Plot Assignment - Kay McMurry scg.plots@gmail.com
- Compost Coordinator - Janet Adams jartdaht@gmail.com
- Education Committee - Shannon Posern shannonposern@gmail.com
- Carpentry & Repairs - Robert Jarry r.jarry@sbcglobal.net
- Water Leak Repairs - Steve Schulz sschulz784@aol.com
- Tools & Wheelbarrows - Bob Easter beaster1@austin.rr.com
- Kitchen Supplies - Anita Keese
anodekraft1@msn.com
(If supplies are needed for events, contact by email or at 512-773-2178) - Compost Tea - Jennifer Woertz jen@enjeneer.com
- Micah 6 - Dana Kuykendall kuykendall@austin.rr.com
- Micah 6 - Mary Gifford mgifford@austin.rr.com
- Website Coordinator - Sharon Rempert scgardenweb@gmail.com
- Spanish language contact - Andriana Prioleau gabp8dec65@hotmail.com
Record Service Hours Online - Green Binder
