Sunshine almost Weekly Weeder

05.01.12
www.sunshinecommunitygardens.org


BOARD AND COMMITTEE ELECTIONS MAY 26th

Members: Mark Your Calendars: Board and Committee Elections May 26th! It is time to select the leadership for our extraordinary community garden, now celebrating its 30th year. All Sunshine Gardeners are members of the Community Garden Initiative of Central Texas, Inc. (CGICT) and all of us have a role to play in its governance. If you are passionate about urban agriculture and have the skills to help manage a highly effective non-profit enterprise, the garden needs your service!

Sunshine is guided by a seven member board. As a board member, you have a hands-on role in shaping the future of our garden and representing our organization in the community.

On May 26th at 11 a.m., you will elect 3 at-large director positions to the board for 2-year terms. You will also elect 3 nominations committee members for 1-year terms. (The other four board positions are currently in mid-term and will be elected in 2013.) Candidates for these 6 positions are recommended to the ballot by the Nominations Committee. If you would like to serve, or know someone ideally suited who we should get to know, please contact one of us by May 18th: Charlotte Jernigan - charlotte@cybermesa.com (or call 512-459-9113)
Scott Morris - scott@austinencode.com (or call 371-7961)
Margret Trachtenberg - margiet999@hotmail.com (or call 512-899-8526)

Nominations can also be made from the floor by any CGICT Member at the 5/26 meeting. Finally, this is an open invitation to all members to serve Sunshine through the crucial work done by committees (Plant Sale, Membership, Audit, New Communities…to name a few.) Let's get you working on a committee! Committee membership allows you to choose how you can best serve our organization.

Thank you and see you on the 26th!
Charlotte, Scott & Marge

ALL GARDENERS MEETING - MAY 26
Time: 11:00 AM
Location: Garden Trailer

The Agenda will include:
The meeting will be followed by a potluck lunch. Sandwiches will be provided, and gardeners are encouraged to bring a side dish or dessert to share.

WATER-WISE GARDENING

It finally rained, but not enough that we don’t have to think about watering. Austin is still in drought conditions. The site rules concerning watering are being revised but the main emphasis of the rules is to conserve water. We, as organic gardeners, should be good stewards of natural resources including water. There should be NO UNATTENDED WATERING. If you are not at the garden, your water should be turned off.

Overhead watering results in most of the water being lost to evaporation. If you are hand watering you can modify how you are watering to reduce evaporation and water waste. The farther you spray into the air, the more water is lost to evaporation. Due to the drought NO overhead sprinklers are currently allowed even if you are present.
If you have soaker hoses set up, you may run them when you are present.

When you are using hoses be sure to check the attachment to the faucet for leaks. Frequent sources of leaks are worn out washers, hoses improperly attached to the faucet, and/or hoses with breaks in them. There are extra washers in the tool shed. If your hose is ripped or torn do not use it and buy another one. Hoses are the responsibility of the gardener. If your faucet has a leak, or if you have a water use question, please contact Stewart Nichols as he is Sunshine’s “Water Czar,” gardener@math.austin.tx.us.
Happy water-wise gardening

BEE CAREFUL

Two beekeepers have set up hives near the office trailer. Honey bees are a welcome addition to the health of the garden and production of fruit.
Squash, pumpkins, melons, and most cucumbers are insect-pollinated because they have the male and female flower parts in separate flowers on the same plant and insects transfer pollen from male flowers to female flowers while going from flower to flower, collecting nectar and pollen. The most common pollinating insects are honeybees and bumblebees.


Honey bees are usually not aggressive unless their hives are disturbed so "BEE Careful".

GARDENING TALK about Gardening in the Austin area

Monday, May 14, at The Austin Organic Gardeners' Club Meeting
Location: Zilker Botanical Garden Center, 2220 Barton Springs Road

The speaker will be Cheryl Hazeltine, a longtime Sunshine Gardener.

The doors open at 6:30 for the Austin Organic Gardeners' Club meeting for visiting with club members and guests. Announcements and club business starts at 7, followed by the program at 7:30. Visitors are welcome.

Gardening Seminar: SMALL SPACE GARDENING
Saturday, May 19, 2012, 10am-12pm
Austin Community College South Campus
1820 W. Stassney Lane, Rm 1130

This seminar will help you do more with the area you have and make better use of the entire garden. You will learn how to design in layers, and use color, containers and creativity to add punch to small spaces. This class is sponsored by the Travis County Master Gardeners Association and the Travis County AgriLife Extension.

The class is free and doesn't require a reservation, but if you want to ensure a seat, sign up online at: http://travis-tx.tamu.edu/horticulture/.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
  • Workday - May 26, 8:00 - 11:00am
  • All Gardeners Meeting and Potluck Lunch - May 26, 11:00am
  • Workday - June 9, 9:00 - 11:00am
  • All Gardeners Meeting for updates to Site Rules and By-Laws voting - June 9, 11:00am
  • Sunshine Tomato Tasting - June 9, after All Gardeners Meeting
  • Board Meeting - June 12, 6:00pm

Contact Information

Jack McEvoy, President - scgpresident@gmail.com
Jeff Schulz, Vice President - vice-pres@sunshinecommunitygarden.org
Suzanne Bradford, Treasurer - scg4814treasurer@gmail.com
Sue Brownlee, Secretary - scgsecretary@gmail.com
suzanne Erickson, Director - lacasita88@gmail.com
Ila Falvey, Director - ila.falvey@gmail.com
Michael Hall, Director - fibercable@austin.rr.com

Coordinators & Chairs

Zone 1, Patsy Painter - patsy_painter@yahoo.com
Zone 2, Katy Davis - katydavis@austin.rr.com
Zone 3, Sheila Bartholomew - sheilab@concrete.com
Zone 4, Alan Marburger - alanmarburger@gmail.com
Zone 5, Mary Gifford - mgifford@austin.rr.com

Zone 6, Annik Jackson - anij@aol.com
Zone 7, Diana Dworaczyk - dianadworaczyk@aol.com
Zone 8, Felicia Kongable - feliciako@yahoo.com
Zone 9, Cheryl Hazeltine - cph@austin.rr.com
Zone 10, Emily Tisinger - dtisinger@austin.rr.com

Plant Sale -Michael Hallfibercable@austin.rr.com

TSBVI Liaison & Volunteer Coordinators
Mike Meyer meyermic2001@yahoo.com
Carpentry & Repairs - Robert Jarry - r.jarry@sbcglobal.net
Compost - Steve Uecker - steven_uecker@hotmail.com
Tools & Wheelbarrows - Bob Easter - beaster1@austin.rr.com
Maintenance Coordinator - Ila Falvey - ila.falvey@gmail.com
Website Coordinators - Kathleen Neville and Larry Olsen - lolsen@suddenlink.net

Record Service Hours Online - the Virtual Green Binder

To unsubcribe send a message to:scgsecretary@gmail.com
Sunshine Community Gardens
www.sunshinecommunitygardens.org