Sunshine Weekly Weeder Newsletter
4 September 2013
www.sunshinecommunitygarden.org
Mentoring opportunity
We often have new gardeners who are new to gardening. We're looking for seasoned gardeners who wish to share their expertise and gardening wisdom with the newbies or with people on the wait list. Mentoring can take as little or as much time as you want. Mentoring might involve showing them your plot and talking about how you do things to having them help you maintain your plot. If you're interested in being a mentor, please contact Kay McMurry at scg.plots@gmail.com.
Winter Transplant Sale at TSBVI
All Transplant Sale at TSBVI
A Heads up - Start thinking cool and get your plots ready. The TSBVI Horticultural Program under the direction of Michael Mobley is going to have a fall transplant sale the first weekend in Oct. They will have a wonderful assortment of broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, etc. for sale. More information later.
Events of Interest at the Natural Gardener
8648 Bee Caves Road, Austin 78735
- September 7 at 9 am - Double digging by Tom Grzinich
- September 14th at 9 am - The Benefits of Getting Life in Your Soil by Betsy Ross and JR Builta
Keeping Weeds Under Control
Michigan State has an article that suggests several methods of minimizing weeds in a vegetable gardening.
Work Day September 7
Come and join us for the first official workday for the SCG fall gardening season Saturday, September 7. It all begins with a brief meet and greet your gardening neighbors at 8:45. Work begins at 9 am and lasts until 11 am. Your workday coordinators Jody Trendler, Christopher Schroder and Luda Voskov will be there to give instructions and work assignments.
Be sure to bring water! Light snacks are welcome.
Virtual Green Binder
Good news for gardeners entering their work hours or checking their work hours.
You can now check your hours without entering hours in. Go to the tab "Virtual Green Binder" on the website and a dropdown list will show on hover:
- > Hours Worked
- > Enter Hours Worked
Each gardener is expected to contribute an hour a month to Sunshine, if you're unsure what to do check with your zone coordinator and watch this space. In addition one hour per six months per plot is required to be completed for projects for Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
Meet the Gardeners
Michael Chirillo interviewed by the editor of the Weekly Weeder, Margaret Powis.
When I asked Michael how he became interested in gardening, he explained that he actually began his college career by studying bassoon performance and German in Cincinnati. While he doing his undergraduate degree he went on a school-sponsored stay in Namibia to do social work. It was while he was there that he decided to pursue a medical degree. As he was finishing up his undergraduate degree and working on his master's in bassoon performance, he took some prerequisite courses for medical school. He became interested in plant biology while he was taking some pre-med courses. He mentioned that he found growing plants from seed a fascinating process. At present he is doing a joint MD, Ph D program that allows him to get a doctorate in neuro-science and a medical degree at the same time.
He only began gardening two years ago. He started with just a few houseplants and graduated to a 4'X 8' plot at the Hyde Park Community Garden. He found that there wasn't enough space so got onto the Sunshine list for a larger garden. When asked what his greatest success was last season, he said, "I grew some wonderful carrots, they tasted so much better than anything I've bought in the store". He also grew some Cherokee Purple tomatoes and some Blueberry tomatoes. He started his tomatoes from seed, purchased from Baker Creek Heirloom seeds, under grow lights in his bedroom. He commented that the hardest thing for him at Sunshine is keeping up with the weeds. "They seem to grow so quickly, and then I put off weeding and they just get worse". He wants to try growing heirloom cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli started from Baker Creek seed this winter. In common with other gardeners at Sunshine he hates aphids.
I was interested to find out how he managed to get the information to begin gardening. He said his main source was You Tube, he commented, "you can find anything on You Tube". Although the Internet is not always an authoritative source, when he asked neighboring gardeners in Sunshine he got different answers from everyone. So now he uses trial and error and You Tube.
The most aggravating gardening event he has encountered was at the Hyde Park Gardens. After just preparing and planting a new bed a loose dog ran all over it. When he pointed out what the dog had done, the owner just shrugged and turned away. The other creatures he doesn't like are rabbits. None of this has stopped him from gardening and he would enthusiastically recommend Sunshine Gardens to friends.
Thought for the week
The possessor of an acre, or a smaller portion, may receive a real pleasure, from observing the progress of vegetation, in in a culinary plant.
Vicesimus Knox, c. 1778
Things to do in September
Early month: plant Beans and Summer Squash
Mid to late month: plant Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chinese Cabbage, Collards, Garlic, Kohlrabi and Peas
Officer and Zone Coordinator Contacts - Sunshine Garden
Officers
- President - Ila Falvey ila.falvey@gmail.com
- Vice-President - Janet Adams jartdaht@gmail.com
- Secretary - Berk Bettis dolrsdad@aol.com
- Treasurer - Jack Reynolds scgtreasurer1@gmail.com
- Director - Michael Hall fibercable@austin.rr.com
- Director - Kay McMurry scg.plots@gmail.com
- Director - Emily Tisinger etisinger@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
