Sunshine Weekly Weeder Newsletter
1 June 2017
www.sunshinecommunitygardens.org
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Deadline for Spring Season Service Hours 6/30
The deadline for completing spring season service hours is June 30. Gardeners are billed for unworked hours: $50/hr. for TSBVI hour(s), $30 for first two regular hours and $10 for other regular hours. Gardeners should check the Green Binder on the Sunshine Gardens website for both their required hours and the number of hours worked. A listing of which tasks count for regular and TSBVI service hours can be found in the service hour guide on website. Several all-garden workdays have been scheduled to assist gardeners in completing their needed hours. Some zone coordinators may also be scheduling special projects for their zone.
All-Garden Workdays in June
- Saturday, 6/10 8:30-10:30 Leader: Shannon Posern (Zone 8 Coordinator)
- Saturday, 6/17 8:30-10:30 Leader: Mary Gifford (Zone 5 Coordinator)
- Sunday, 6/25 Time TBD Leader: Chris Schroder (Zone 10 Co-coordinator)
SCG 7th Annual Tomato Tasting
Sunday June 11th, 10:00 - 12:00 pm
It's never to early to eat tomatoes!
Sunshine Community Gardens, 4814 Sunshine Drive
Our 7th Annual Tomato Tasting event will be held on Sunday, June 11, from 10-12 . Please come and taste what's ripe. We will have paper bags in the trailer so you can drop off tomatoes starting on Friday, June 9, or bring 'em on Sunday, June 11. Please label the bag with the variety and your name (optional). If you grew potatoes and this year and would like to show them off, please bring them to the tasting on Sunday. We will have a form you can fill out with the details of how you grew them.
If possible, please let us know ahead of time what varieties you're bringing to the tomato tasting so we can have the sheets ready to go. Also, we need people to help set up the event and slice tomatoes. If you can help with setup, please show up around 9:30 and bring a cutting board and knife.
Gail Reese will be conducting the potato show-and-tell, which was a big hit other years. If you are participating, forms are available in the trailer on the table. This is to provide how you grew your potatoes, timing, harvest info, etc.
We also need volunteers to help set up tables and slice tomatoes. If you're interested in volunteering, please contact Kay McMurry (scg.plots@gmail.com) or Randy Thompson (jartdaht@gmail.com).
Garden Etiquette Reminder
Remember to wash your tools before you put them back in the shed. Clean tools work more effectively, are easier to use, and last longer.
SCG Purple Martin Update
Did you know that three years ago, Sunshine Community Gardens invested in two new Purple Martin gourd colonies that now stand near the green house and along the north fence. With the protection provided by these nesting boxes, and those erected and maintained by several dedicated gardeners in their own plots, the birds have thrived. For the first time, volunteers from Travis Audubon and Capital Area Master Naturalists are monitoring these nests to measure success and submit data to the Purple Martin national scientific database.
Over 250 eggs were laid by the Sunshine Martins this year! As of May 27th, over 160 eggs hatched and 40 young birds fledged (matured sufficiently to take flight). There are still well over 100 young birds still in the nests over your head, soon to fledged themselves. That's why the Martins are especially busy, bringing in mouthfuls of flying insects to feed the young all day. Not all eggs successfully hatch, and not all hatchlings survive to fledge. But the Sunshine Martins have a high success rate thanks to good conditions found at SSCG.
Purple Martins (progne subis) are members of the swallow family. They are one of the aerial insectivores - birds that eat airborne insects. They eat and drink on the wing, feasting on many insects our gardeners are happy to see eaten! They have a long association with humans, going back to Native Americans who erected gourds near their villages. Purple Martins are migratory, leaving late summer to winter in the Amazon basin. Before leaving, Martins gather by the 10's and even 100's of thousands in large flocks, one of which is located east of SCG's each year near Highland Mall and Capital Plaza. No doubt some of our Martin's use this roost for a day or two before leaving on their long journey south. Watch for information on this year's roost and drop by one evening. It is one of Austin's most amazing sites, some say grander than the bat fight on Congress Avenue.
Mark Wilson
President, Capital Area Master Naturalists
(and spouse of SSCG Gardener)
Volunteers Needed - Porch Repairs
We are looking are volunteers with construction experience to assist with repairs to the trailer porch. If you are interested please contact Jeff Monks at garden@jeffmonks.com
Micah 6 Food Pantry and Sunshine Community Garden
Sunshine Community Gardens has been donating vegetables to the Micah 6 Food Pantry since 2003. Micah 6 is a coalition of eleven University of Texas area churches. This organization saw the wisdom in coming together to form one large accessible food pantry in that area. It has been recognized as one of the largest distributors of food from the Central Texas Food Bank.
What does SCG do?
We garden the large area in front of the office trailer specifically for the Food Pantry. We collect donations from gardeners and deliver them directly to the Food Pantry. When gardeners are out of town and notify us of their willingness to donate vegetables during that time, we harvest and include those vegetables in our deliveries. Gardeners may contribute vegetables from gardens by harvesting them and cleaning them as much as possible and placing them either in the refrigerator in the office trailer or in the designated "Cool Room" in that trailer. Those contributions will be included in the twice a week deliveries.
When do I need to get my vegetables to the office for inclusion?
Deliveries are being made on Thursdays at 3:00 PM and Saturdays at 9:00 AM.
How can I be a part of the volunteer team?
We do need volunteers to help harvest and prepare deliveries and/or to deliver. We are in particular need for volunteer to help with the Thursday harvesting/deliveries since we have just added that day to our schedule. Service hours will be awarded.
Who do I contact?
Contact Dana Kuykendall at kuykendall@austin.rr.com or (512) 496-6575 or Mary Gifford at mgifford@austin.rr.com or (512) 453-9742.
What do I do if I want someone to harvest while I am on vacation?
For now, notify either Dana or Mary. Be prepared to share your specific plot location and the dates that you will be gone. Also, provide any specific information about what you want to be harvested. Soon specific information on our flagging procedure will be posted in the Cool Room and featured in an upcoming Weekly Weeder.
Water Capture, Storage & Conservation at Community Gardens Panel Discussion
Saturday, June 3rd, 10-11:30am
Homewood Heights Community Garden, 2606 Sol Wilson Dr., 78702
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1272163382882375/
Just in time for summer gardening - let's talk about water! Visit Homewood Heights Community Garden for a tour and panel discussion all about water capture, storage, and conservation. Learn successful strategies for setting up a rainwater system and the technical ins and outs of water storage and conservation and mulching techniques. Meredith Gauthier from City of Austin Parks and Recreation will also explain the City's rainwater rebate program.
Panel speakers: Greg Hammond from Homewood Heights Community Garden. O ther water expert panelists TBD. Panel discussion will be held in a shaded area.
Monthly Board Meeting
The monthly board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 6/7 at 6:00 on the SCG trailer porch. All members are welcome.
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