Sunshine Community Gardens

13 June 2019

www.sunshinecommunitygardens.org

Gardener's Picture page

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If you are signed up to receive the Weekly Weeder and have not been receiving it, here is a troubleshooting page to help. If this doesn't help, please let Sharon at scgardenweb@gmail.com know. Thanks.

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Sunshine's Tomato Tasting on June 9th

We had a good variety of tomatoes available at our tasting last Saturday, 65 of them to be exact! We also had a good turnout of tasters. Thank you to everyone who pitched in to make this a success. We rely on volunteers to provide tomatoes, help setting up and taking down the event, and to show up and actually taste the tomatoes.

We asked people to rate tomatoes on their taste, texture, and appearance. The heirloom and open-pollinated (OP) varieties are especially variable in appearance.

One caveat to bear in mind when comparing our results is that the flavor of a tomato is dependent on many factors, not just variety. A few to come to mind are: how much it rained just before harvest, how ripe a tomato is when picked, and overall ripeness when consumed. Personal preferences of the tasters are also important. Bearing that in mind, here are the top eleven as ranked by our tasters, regardless of type and number of responses. We were going to list the top ten, but there was a three-way tie for spots 9, 10, and 11. In order, Sun Gold (cherry), Champion II (hybrid), Sarah Black (heirloom), Large Barred Boar (OP), Black Cherry (cherry), Bella Rosa (hybrid), Vorlon, Zebra Rita, Orange Jazz, Muddy Mamba, and Black and Brown Boar (all OP).

You can see the full lists below. We have sorted them three ways, alphabetically, by taste score, and by type: cherry, container, heirloom, hybrid, or open-pollinated. The number of scores for taste, texture, and appearance is given for each variety. There were so many varieties that not everyone tasted all of them and no one variety was tasted by everyone in attendance.

Please contact Kay McMurry (scg.plots@gmail.com) if you have any questions. We also asked people to fill out a questionnaire on the tomatoes that they grew. More on that next week.

Tomato Tasting 2019 - Alphabetical (.pdf)

Tomato Tasting 2019 - by score (.pdf)

Tomato Tasting 2019 - by type (.pdf)

A big thank you to everyone who came to the tomato tasting and made it a success.

A big thank you and a hug to everyone who helped, things would not happen without you.

Thanks,
Randy

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Sunshine Garden's Next Happy Hour

Sunshine is having a happy hour at the Brewtorium on June 18th starting at 4:30 and going as long as folks stay. If the company of your fellow gardeners is not enough to convince you to come, perhaps the 5 dollars off pitchers will. Brewtorium located at 6015 Dillard Circle, Suite A, Austin, TX 78752

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Herb Garden Project - Volunteers Needed

Saturday June 15 - starts between 8:30am to 9:00am

Elaine Dill has taken over as coordinator of the Herb Garden in front of trailer. She will be weeding and putting down mulch on the garden Saturday morning. If you would like to learn a bit about herbs (at least what are herbs and what are weeds), please join Elaine and others on Saturday morning. Project should start between 8:30 and 9:00. This would be a great way to complete any unworked service hours.

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Spring Service Hours Deadline Nears

Sunday, June 30 is last date to complete spring season service hours - both TSBVI and regular. Don't forget to record your hours in the Virtual Green Binder on Sunshine website. An unrecorded hour is an unworked hour. Gardeners can also use the Green Binder to see how many hours they need to complete. Unworked hours will be billed: TSBVI: $50/hr. First Two Regular: $30/hr; Subsequent Regular: $10/hr. To help gardeners complete their hours, workdays are being scheduled the last two weekends in June. Watch future Weeders and your email for additional information about the workdays and tasks needed to be done.

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Workdays Scheduled

Workdays have been scheduled for the following dates:

• Saturday, 6/15, 8:45 (Weeding and mulching herb garden; see related article above)
• Tuesday, 6/18, 5:30-8:00
• Saturday, 6/22, 8:30-10:30
• Saturday, 6/29, 8:30-10:30

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Safety at Sunshine

Just a reminder to be aware of any unusual happenings when gardening. Apparently, on Monday, a couple of men were acting suspicious at the garden. They appeared to be "eating out of a plot" and "casing out" out tool shed. When they were approached, they left in a hurry, and got into a pickup and drove off. Sunshine does not restrict people from walking around and enjoying the garden or from having lunch at the picnic tables; in fact we want people to enjoy this free and public space. However, if you see someone who seems suspicious and not just walking through, politely inquire if they need assistance or share your concern with another gardener.

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Tomato Cheese Mini Tarts

Recipe by Holly J. Gilman

My new favorite appetizer recipe is a snap to complete and very tasty.

Ingredients: (1) Phyllo cups; (2) Goat cheese or feta cheese crumbles; (3) fresh basil leaves; and (4) cherry tomatoes.

Preparation:

• Purchase Athenia brand phyllo mini tart cups (at HEB in freezer section).
• Bake tarts at 350 degrees on cookie sheet for about 10 minutes.
• Let tarts cool slightly before adding a basil leaf.
• Top with one-half cherry tomato from your garden or purchased.

Serve at room temp and enjoy.

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Upcoming Events at Zilker Botanical Garden

Faerie Trail By Moonlight

Friday-Saturday, June 14 & 15, 2019 - 8:00pm to 10:00pm

RSVP via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/559391707919023/?event_time_id=559391721252355

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Weeder Content

Please email your article or suggestion to Holly Gilman by end of day Wednesday.

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