Sunshine Weekly Weeder Newsletter
6 July 2017
www.sunshinecommunitygardens.org
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Tomato Tasting Results 2017
| Name | Score |
|---|---|
| Sungold | 4.76 |
| Muddy Mamba | 4.68 |
| Vorlon | 4.61 |
| Brandy Boy | 4.5 |
| Cherokee Purple | 4.37 |
| Negrillo de Almoguero | 4.35 |
| Black Krim | 4.29 |
| J.D's Special C-Tex | 4.29 |
| Tasmanian Chocolate | 4.13 |
| Lucid Gem | 4.06 |
| Black from Tula | 4 |
| Black Cherry | 4 |
A few others worth trying:
- Black Creek
- Black Apple
- Korean Love
- Lucid Gem
- Marizol Red
- Muddy Mamba
- Negrillo De Almoguera
- Pierrette
- Summer Cider
Interesting Facts:
- This is the first time since 2012 that the top 10 scored 4 or better on a scale of 1-5. Some years as few as 2 of the top ten scored a 4 or above.
- All but 3 of the top finishers this year were black tomatoes.
Full results of this year and previous year tasting are available on the SCG website.
If you had a tomato that did well in your plot and would like to insure that it is available in our Spring plant sale contact Randy at jartdaht@gmail.com.
Thanks to all who helped, donated and scored this year.
Board Meeting 7/12 6:00
The July board meeting is on the 12th at 6:00 at Central Market on Lamar. All active SCG gardeners are welcome to attend.
Avoid Heat Exhaustion or Heat Stroke
- The cool room in the trailer is air conditioned.
- There is ice in the freezer in trailer.
- Take breaks and sit on the porch in the shade.
Avoid Heat Stroke this Summer an article by a former SCG gardener
Go Fund Me Request
One of our gardeners had an allergic reaction to ants in the garden and had to be rushed to the emergency room. She does not have health insurance and the cost is around $2,000. If you can, please help her cover the cost of her medical bills through this go fund me page. https://www.gofundme.com/mercedeslaland.
Protect the Monarch Butterfly Forest
I think we all are pretty much aware of the Monarch Butterflies and the precarious environment in which they live. They come through Austin when migrating to Mexico in the fall - it's a sight to see. The reporting here is accurate. If appropriate, sign on, and pass it on. Thank you. (PS - You will receive an email from Change.org afterwards and easily unsubscribe) https://www.change.org/p/protect-the-monarch-butterfly-forest-bring-back-the-rangers.
What to do in your garden in July
Sow Seeds
Vegetables: Amaranth, Black Eyed Peas, Corn, Cucumbers, Malabar Spinach, New Zealand Spinach, Okra, Pumpkin, Summer Squash, Winter Squash.
Use the 4th of July holiday as your reminder to plant pumpkins in order to get nice, big Jack o' Lanterns in time for Halloween!
Fruits: Cantaloupe, Watermelon.
Annuals: Cosmos, Gourds, Morning Glory.
Plant
Vegetables: Eggplant, Peppers, Tomatoes. (Yes, tomatoes are technically fruits.)
Herbs: Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme.
Annuals: Blue Daze, Gazania, Geranium, Gomphrena, Marigolds, Periwinkle, Portulaca, Purslane, Zinnia.
Perennials: Black-Eyed Susan, Butterfly Weed, Copper Canyon Daisy, Cupheas, Coreopsis, Shasta Daisy, Ox-Eye Daisy, Four-Nerve Daisy, Daylily, Eupatoriums (including Gregg's Mistflower), Goldenrod, Kniphofia, Lamb's Ears, Lantana, Plumbago, Ruellias, Salvias.
Feed and Cultivate
If spring-planted, indeterminate tomatoes still look good, cut off 1/3 of the plant to rejuvenate them for the fall season. Give them some fertilizer, keep them watered, healthy and blooming and once temperatures cool off, the flowers will begin to set fruit. If your spring tomatoes don't look good, then pull them and replant now for fall.
Plant fall tomato transplants under shade cloth. It's counter-intuitive to plant anything right now, as hot and dry as it is in July, but the idea is to get your tomato plants big and blooming so those flowers can set fruit as soon as the heat breaks. (Typically, tomatoes won't set fruit if the temps are above 90 deg F.) Be sure to use shade cloth to allow your transplants to acclimate themselves to the heat. Also consider using Seaweed to reduce transplant shock and promote strong roots. Seaweed is also a great anti-stressor for plants. If you keep your plants healthy through the heat, you should have loads of tomatoes in the fall.
Tomato-growing tip: Keep moisture levels in the soil as even as possible. Tomatoes are tropical plants and they don't like to be drought stressed. They don't like to be too wet, either, but definitely don't let them droop repeatedly. Whether they're new fall transplants or spring plants that you're carrying through the summer, consistency of watering is crucial to produce healthy plants and lots of pretty fruit. Among other problems, swings in moisture levels causes blossom end rot and cat-facing.
Want Jack o' Lanterns for Halloween? You need to plant them now, and here's a short-course on how to do it:
Find an 8 foot by 8 foot area in full sun, with well-drained soil. Add a good amount of cow manure compost and mix in well. In the center, make a 3 foot by 3 foot "pitcher's mound" of soil, and mix in some Lady Bug 8-2-4 or Garden Pep Cottonseed Meal. Make four to six holes, one inch deep, in the top of the mound. Place one pumpkin seed in the center of each hole and firmly pat down the soil. Water-in, then lightly mulch the seeded area with Pine Straw mulch. Add about three inches of Pine Straw onto the sides of the hill. After your pumpkin seedlings emerge, thin out all but two or three of the strongest plants. As the plants grow sturdier and spread out, more mulch can be added onto the bare soil around them but do not pile up mulch onto the stems. Keep your pumpkin patch very well-watered, since these giants of the vegetable world need plenty of moisture to grow. Some good varieties of carving pumpkins are Howden and Jack O'Lantern. For extra-huge Cinderella carriage pumpkins, plant Big Max or Wyatt's Wonder. (Remember, giant pumpkins need a heck of alot of water, so be sure you're prepared to commit!)
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, Martin Morales marmoral512@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, 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 - Polly Porter pporter_scg@austin.rr.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
Record Service Hours Online - Green Binder
