Sunshine Weekly Weeder Newsletter
10 June 2015
www.sunshinecommunitygardens.org
A Message From Our New President
Hi, everyone,
As the new president at Sunshine, I know I have some pretty big boots to fill. Ila has done a great job over the past two years, and I want to personally thank her for her service. I think the garden is a special place in Austin, and I want to do everything I can to keep it that way. To that end, if you see any issues around the garden that need attention, please let me know about them. Likewise, if you have ideas for how we can do something better, or for new projects that can benefit the garden, I want to hear those, too. I've already met quite a few of the gardeners at Sunshine, and I look forward to getting to know all of you in the future!
Jeff Monks
5th Annual Tomato Tasting and Potato Show-'n-Tell
Saturday June 13
It's that time again when the tomatoes start to ripen. Come join us for our 5th Annual Tomato Tasting Event. We will have paper bags in the trailer so you can drop off tomatoes starting on Thursday, June 11, or bring 'em on Saturday, June 13. Please label the bag with the variety and your name. We also need volunteers to help set up tables and slice tomatoes. If you're interested in volunteering, please contact Kay.
If you grew potatoes this year and would like to show them off, Please bring them to the tasting on Saturday. We will have a form you can fill out with the details of how you grew them.
- When: Sat. June 13
- Time: 9 o'clock. It is never too early to eat tomatoes...
- Where: Sunshine Community Garden, 4814 Sunshine Drive
Yes We Can! Tomatoes
Saturday, 20th June 2015. 11:00 am until 3:00 pm
The Sustainable Food Center (SFC), 2921 East 17th Street, Building C. Class and Hands on canning session in their wonderfully equipped commercial kitchen.
Cost: $14
For more information contact: amy@sustainablefoodcenter.org.
What to Bring: tomatoes; clean pint or quart-size canning jars with new or reusable lids; seasonings or other ingredients.
Join us in The Happy Kitchen to preserve your tomato harvest! Canning safety demonstration from 11:00-noon, followed by open access to shared processing and canning stations. If you want a dedicated canning station, one just for yourself, you are welcome to bring your own equipment. A demonstration of how to can tomatoes safely with time to process your own produce in the Happy Kitchen, at the Sustainable Food Center (SFC).
This opportunity is put on by the SFC with the cooperation of Sunshine and other Community Gardens. Thank you SFG for making this event possible at the very reasonable cost of $14. If you are interested contact Ila Falvey.
Dripping Springs Annual Tomato Round Up
Saturday 20th June
Dripping Springs 4th Annual Tomato Round Up is scheduled for Saturday, June 20th. There'll be live music, good food, and plenty of fun for the whole family. They still need entrants and judges for the tomato contests. If you're interested in being a judge, please email Stacy.
For times and details about the event, please visit www.cityofdrippingsprings.com.
Service hours due June 30th
To clarify what needs to be done the following excerpt comes from the current SCG site rules.
Service Hours must be worked and recorded by gardeners by the defined semi-annual close of each of two service semesters. YOU WILL BE BILLED FOR UNWORKED HOURS. The following excerpt from comes from the current SCG Site Rules:
SERVICE HOURS
- Full plots: 8 hours per six month season. Half plots: 4 hours per six month season. Quarter plots: 4 hours per six month season. Unworked service hours are billed at $30 per hour for first two hours, $10 per hour for subsequent hours.
- For each plot, regardless of size, one additional hour each season is due in service to the member-ship between Sunshine Community Garden and TSBVI. A $50.00 fee will be assessed for this hour of unworked service.
- While the garden seasons run from Feb. 1 to July 31 and Aug. 1 to Jan. 31, service hour periods run from Jan. 1 through June 30 and July 1 through Dec. 31. This is to simplify billing.
Gardeners are responsible for checking their hours before the deadline on June 30th.
If you have any questions about service hours, please contact your zone coordinator.
Soil Yard Closing at Natural Gardener
They are closing the Soil Yard part of their business at the end of June to make room for additional parking and other improvements. Come July, soils and mulches available in bags only. That means there's under one month to buy at bulk prices!
Compost Tea available this weekend.
We'll be brewing and the tea will be available on Saturday and Sunday.
Unused Areas of Your Garden
If you are leaving part of your garden fallow (unused) this summer Skip Richter (ex-Travis County extension agent) suggests the following:
- Mix and inch or two of compost into the soil, if you have leaves or grass you can mix them in as well. Soil microbes will decompose them rapidly. Then water and cover with an organic mulch such as leaves, pine needles, hay or dried grass clippings. When you are ready to plant later in the summer just pull back the mulch and you have soil ready to go.
What to plant in June:
Malabar Spinach, Okra, Southern Peas, Sweet Potato, Pumpkin.
Officer and Zone Coordinator Contacts - Sunshine Garden
Officers
- President - Jeff Monks garden@jeffmonks.com
- Vice President - Jim Willmann jwillmann@texasnurses.org
- Secretary - Ginny Heilman scgsecretary@gmail.com
- Treasurer - Caroline Limaye scgtreasurer1@gmail.com
- Director - Michael Hall fibercable@austin.rr.com
- Director - Kay McMurry scg.plots@gmail.com
- Director - Shannon Posern posern@hotmail.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 jingli80@yahoo.com
- Zone 8, Irina Kadukova 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
- Compost Coordinator - Janet Adams jartdaht@gmail.com
- Compost Tea - Jennifer Woertz jennifer.woertz@urs.com
- Education Committee - Shannon Posern shannonposern@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
