7 February 2019
www.sunshinecommunitygardens.org
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.
Volunteer
sheet for
Plant Sale
Plant Lists for 2019
Tomatoes
Peppers
Eggplants/Tomatillos
Herbs
pdf
Work Days
- Saturday, Feb 9 8:30- 11:00am
- Sunday, Feb 10, 9-11 (see details below)
- Saturday, Feb 16 8:30- 11:00am
- Saturday, Feb 23 8:30- 11:00am
Susan Wallar, Zone Coordinator for Zone 1, will be hosting a workday - February 10th from 9-11 AM.
The focus of this workday is to clean out the gardens near the trailer in preparation for the plant sale. Bring any hand tools you may have as we'll be cutting back a lot of the perennials.
Reach out to Susan at swallar@gmail.com with any questions. Great opportunity to get some hours in and get the place looking good for the plant sale. Wear a jacket as it may be chilly!
Planning for Potatoes
by Chris Winslow
The following article is being shared from the "The Austin Garden" newsletter. The letter is curated and edited by Darrel Mayers.
To sign up to receive the newsletter, please visit https://austingarden.org/
Chris Winslow, was co-owner of the It's About Thyme nursery which closed in 2018. He is the author of many articles on central Texas gardening.
Article by Chris:
Towards the end of this month (January) my garden thoughts turn to the potato patch. Potatoes have to be one of the most satisfying vegetable crops for me...in the growing, the harvest, and in the kitchen.
Ounce for ounce, potatoes have just about the greatest nutritional package one can imagine.
They are one of the most economical and nutritious foods we can grow. Some say the complex carbohydrates of potatoes make them 'brain-food'.
And they're easy to grow. All you need is a sunny area and good drainage. Potatoes are planted not from seed but from 'seed' potatoes.
Later this month you will start to see them in local nurseries and feed stores. These seed potatoes are cut up into smaller pieces with dominant 'eyes'. (This is the bump - the node - where the new potato sprouts.)
Next step: dust the fresh cuts with sulfur powder and place them in a airy, dark place to encourage the 'eyes' to sprout. I like planting the potato pieces around Valentine's Day when the ground temperature gets close to 50 degrees. Plant the tubers in a row 12 inches apart. Cover them with 3 to 4 inches of soil. This soil should be rich in compost and well fertilized with a balanced organic blend. Potatoes like the soil to be loose. (Composted leaves and straw work well.)
The plants will emerge in 2 to 3 weeks depending on the weather.
At this time add some additional soil around the base of each plant. When the plants get 6 to 8 inches tall, I like to cover them half way up. Keep them moist during the growing season but not overly wet, or they will rot.
Towards the end of May, potato plants will begin to wilt and the harvest can commence. Now the real fun begins.
If you sift through the soil around each plant, you will find little (and large) potatoes everywhere.
Potatoes can keep for months if placed in a cool, well-ventilated location. I kept them in the laundry room on racks till November, without having to purchase them once in the grocery.
Red potatoes seem to do better in central Texas, but folks also have had great success with whites. The top red varieties are Red Lasoda and Red Pontiac. I can't tell the difference. The most popular white potato is Kennebec.
This year, I'm looking forward to Yukon Gold. This buttery, golden variety is so-o-o yummy for mashed potatoes.
Happy potato growing everybody. They're a ton of fun!
February Meeting Of Austin Organic Gardeners
Date: Monday, February 11th
Time: Doors open at 6:30 PM for mingling and questions, the meeting starts at 7
Location: Zilker Botanical Garden - 2220 Barton Springs Rd, Austin TX 78746
Program: Nick Ulrich, the propagator from Barton Springs Nursery (BSN), will discuss ground covers and their role in soil conservation, soil building, erosion control, the suppression of weeds, and the creation of habitat. Nick will feature several ground covers grown at BSN that are off the beaten path. Nick will also discuss a few plants that aren't generally billed as ground covers but can be used to good effect as ground covers.
Sunshine Gardens' Annual Plant Sale - Saturday - March 2, 2019
Here are some ways to help out with the Plant Sale recommended by Randy and Janet:
- Spread the word about sale itself.
- Come to work days as we prepare.
- Sign up for specific tasks once Sign Up Genius is posted.
- Get passalongs ready for the sale.
- Checkout the plant list when posted.
- Spread the word about the sale itself.
The Annual Plant Sale is a great way to get in some of your Volunteer Hours for 2019.
Silent Auction for Plant Sale - Headed by Mary Drake
This is your fellow gardener, Mary Drake, who has volunteered to be in charge of the silent auction for this year"s plant sale. I will be asking Austin area businesses and organizations to donate items and services for the silent auction. If you have items, services to donate or time to help with the auction please let me know. Please send me leads on businesses or organizations that would be willing to donate.
Mary Drake
rkdrake@comcast.net
More Plant Sale Info...
Time to start collecting boxes for the plant sale. Shallow is best. Please put under the tables in the trailer.
Instead of Kathleen feeding us, there will be a potluck this year. Check our website to sign up.
Please take the time to clean up your plot and the area around it - the sale showcases Sunshine and we want to look our best.
The Friday March 1st sale is only for those who volunteer to work the sale. Another reason to sign up.
Compost
This is the last load of compost before the sale, please get some soon. Still a bargain at $1 a bucket with a 20 bucket limit per full size plot. So if you got your 20 buckets the last few days, let someone else have some now.
Tools
Please return tools when finished with them. Currently, the tree puller is missing. The combination to the southern end of the tool shed has been changed. If you need in, contact either Bill, Carrie, Janet or Randy.
Weeder Content
Please email your article or suggestion to Holly Gilman by end of day Wednesday.
Officer and Zone Coordinator Contacts - Sunshine Gardens
Officers
- President - Marilyn Landberg scgpres2019@gmail.com
- Vice President - vacant
- Secretary - Noelle Letteri - nletteri@yahoo.com
- Treasurer - Caroline Limaye scgtreasurer1@gmail.com
- Director - Linda Booker - lindaruthbooker@gmail.com
- Director - Jeff Taylor - kscjtaylor@prodigy.net
- Director - Randy Thompson jartdaht@gmail.com
Email the board.
Zone Coordinators
- Zone 1, Susan Wallar swallar@gmail.com
- Zone 2, Wayne Kuenstler wckuenstler@gmail.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 - Holly Gilman hollyjgilman@gmail.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
- 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
- Spanish language contact - Andriana Prioleau gabp8dec65@hotmail.com
Record Service Hours Online - Green Binder