Sunshine Community Gardens

23 September, 2021

www.sunshinecommunitygardens.org

Gardener's Picture page

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In this Issue:

• Kejari Melon
• Khaki Weed Fest - Part II
• All Gardeners' Zoom Meeting
• Garden Tasks for 9/23/21
• Goodbye to a longtime SCG Gardener
• "Sunday Sermon" - Old Farmer's Advice

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Kejari Melon

Susan says the Kejari Melon was grown from seed given to her by Kay McMurry. She also said: "So fragrant and sweet. Seems to like hot weather. Softball size got the seed last year from Kay McMurry. May have seed to share if you are interested."

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Khaki Weed Fest - Part II

There will be another 3 hour opportunity to rid the garden of the scourge of Khaki Weed this Saturday, 9/25/21 from 9 AM to noon.

Ila Falvey writes:

"Come join me (and other gardeners, I hope) in the meditative practice of pulling out Khaki weed Saturday from 9-12. Khaki weed is very easy to identify now because it is covered with sticker burrs.

These burrs contain the seed heads. Khaki weed grows like a flat mat that can be carefully lifted with its attached seeds, collected in a plastic bucket and thrown in the dumpster.

Seize this wonderful opportunity to welcome Fall and attempt to reduce the spread of this extremely noxious weed. Additionally, you will gain expertise in identifying this weed.

You will need gloves and a paint scraper or flat knife and a container to hold the khaki weed before you dump it in the dumpster.

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All-Gardeners Meeting Tuesday 9/28

The next quarterly All-Gardeners meeting will be Tuesday, 9/28, 7:00p. The meeting will be via zoom and the zoom link will be sent out the day before the meeting. The agenda will include a couple of important items:

1. Ratification of a nonsubstantive reorganization and reformatting of the site rules which the board has adopted. The goal is to make the site rules more readable and easier to use. The reorganized/reformatted rules can be found on the Sunshine website homepage along with a side-by-side comparison of the table of contents of the current rules and reorganized/reformatted rules.
2. Discussion of modification of the current service hours system. Even considering the Covid pandemic, important tasks either are not getting done timely or being done by a small group of gardeners. It appears the current service hour system would benefit from some modification. Among the modifications the board is evaluating is making a portion (2-3 hours) of regular service hours "must-work/no-pay hours". While there would be grace period to complete "must-work/no-pay hours", a member's failure to work these hours would ultimately result in termination of membership. Other approaches to modifying the service hour system include increasing participation in organized workdays, creating more coordinated teams like have for Micah 6 to assume responsibility for specific tasks, setting up "adopt-a-____" (e.g., section of fence line) program, contract with a lawn service to maintain areas along street, etc.

So mark your calendar and join your fellow Sunshine gardeners for a discussion of this important topic.

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Cool Weather Arrives! Fall Planting Season Begins! Plot Compliance.

The cool (mid 80's) weather this week is certainly welcomed after the very hot September we have had. With the cooler weather fall planting can finally begin -- broccoli and other fall plants have already started to show up in some plots. Now is also the time for gardeners who have not done so to get their plots in shape for fall planting - time for the bermudagrass and spent sunflowers to go.

Plot Compliance Reminder. The site rules require gardeners to garden at all times of the year and for gardens not to be neglected or unattended. During the very hot weather, gardeners were given quite a bit of leeway with respect to plot compliance. With the cooler weather, gardeners will be expected to bring their plots into compliance, and zone coordinators will begin closer monitoring of plots for compliance.

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Needed Service Hour Tasks - Thursday, 28 September, 2021

To help keep gardeners aware of what service hour tasks are needed, an attempt will be made to keep this list current.

Please observe our 3 mph speed limit! The garden road is not a ranch road!

Priority (Tasks specifically needed):

1. Digging up khaki weed, wherever you find it (Counts as TSVBI hours).
   We will be having a workday Saturday 9/18 and Saturday 9/25 to specifically address this problem. 9:00 until 12
2. Maintaining common paths and common areas. If you have plants extending into common paths, trim them. The common paths are designed to allow the biggest wheelbarrows that we own to traverse them unimpeded.
3. Mowing and maintaining perimeter fence line inside and out.

TSVBI:

1. Weeding paths in TSBVI garden and wood chip areas on west side. (This is normally needed. Try to get out roots. Be sure to smooth out paths after weeding to facilitate TSBVI students moving around garden). Mowing between fence and street along 49th St. and Sunshine Dr. along and 10' inside fence. (Frequent mowing will be needed this time of year.)
2. Picking up trash in compost area and along fence lines.

Regular:

1. Mowing (Please check area around trailer and greenhouses. Frequent mowing will be needed this time of year.)
2. Maintaining common paths. (Gardeners are required to maintain a 2' strip of common paths adjacent to their plot.)
3. Mowing and cleaning up overgrown/messy places in common areas.
4. Cleaning street curb gutters of dirt and debris build up. (At places in the curb gutter along Sunshine Dr. and 49th St., soil and debris has built up and grass beginning to grow. Scrape off with shovel and put in wheelbarrow. If debris is gravel can be put in low places in parking lot. Otherwise, put in dumpster.)

Note: TSBVI hour tasks can also count as regular hours.

The speed limit in the garden is 3 mph! Please observe it... especially on the(hopefully) crowded workday.

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Rest in Peace Nancy Seibert

Long time Gardener at Sunshine, Nancy Seibert, passed away on September 12, 2021. Nancy's daughter, Rhonda Mitchell sent the photo above and stated as follows:

"Dear Garden Friends of Nancy Seibert. Sadly, Nancy passed away on Sunday evening 9/12/21. She enjoyed years of meeting so many people, making friends and working at Sunshine Gardens and remembered everyone with fondness. A future date for a gathering of remembrance will be announced."

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Sunday Sermon

submitted by Gardener Susan Hoberman

Old Farmer's Advice:

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.
Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.
Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
Words that soak into your ears are whispered... not yelled.
Meanness don't just happen overnight.
Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.
Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.
You cannot unsay a cruel word.
Every path has a few puddles.
When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
The best sermons are lived, not preached.
Most of the stuff people worry about, ain't never gonna happen anyway.
Don't judge folks by their relatives.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
Live a good and honorable life, then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.
Don't interfere with something' that ain't bothering you none.
Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every morning'.
Always drink upstream from the herd.
Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.
If you get to thinking' you're a person of some influence, try ordering' somebody else's dog around.
Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, and enjoy the ride.
Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just shoot you!

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Weeder Content

Please submit weekly weeder articles, photos, and recipes by Wednesday to both Co-Editors:
Holly Gilman at hollyjgilman@gmail.com and
Maria Beach at dr.maria.beach@gmail.com

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