Sunshine Weekly Weeder Newsletter
3 June 2015
www.sunshinecommunitygardens.org
5th Annual Tomato Tasting and Potato Show-'n-Tell
Saturday June 13
It's that time again when the tomatoes start to ripen. Come join us for our 5th Annual Tomato Tasting Event. We will have paper bags in the trailer so you can drop off tomatoes starting on Thursday, June 11, or bring 'em on Saturday, June 13. Please label the bag with the variety and your name. We also need volunteers to help set up tables and slice tomatoes. If you're interested in volunteering, please contact Kay.
If you grew potatoes this year and would like to show them off, Please bring them to the tasting on Saturday. We will have a form you can fill out with the details of how you grew them.
- When: Sat. June 13
- Time: 9 o'clock. It is never too early to eat tomatoes...
- Where: Sunshine Community Garden, 4814 Sunshine Drive
Service hours due June 30th
To clarify what needs to be done the following excerpt comes from the current SCG site rules.
Service Hours must be worked and recorded by gardeners by the defined semi-annual close of each of two service semesters. YOU WILL BE BILLED FOR UNWORKED HOURS. The following excerpt from comes from the current SCG Site Rules:
SERVICE HOURS
- Full plots: 8 hours per six month season. Half plots: 4 hours per six month season. Quarter plots: 4 hours per six month season. Unworked service hours are billed at $30 per hour for first two hours, $10 per hour for subsequent hours.
- For each plot, regardless of size, one additional hour each season is due in service to the member-ship between Sunshine Community Garden and TSBVI. A $50.00 fee will be assessed for this hour of unworked service.
- While the garden seasons run from Feb. 1 to July 31 and Aug. 1 to Jan. 31, service hour periods run from Jan. 1 through June 30 and July 1 through Dec. 31. This is to simplify billing.
Gardeners are responsible for checking their hours before the deadline on June 30th.
If you have any questions about service hours, please contact your zone coordinator.
Yes We Can! Tomatoes
Saturday, 20th June 2015. 11:00 am until 3:00 pm
The Sustainable Food Center (SFC), 2921 East 17th Street, Building C. Class and Hands on canning session in their wonderfully equipped commercial kitchen.
Cost: $14
For more information contact: amy@sustainablefoodcenter.org.
What to Bring: tomatoes; clean pint or quart-size canning jars with new or reusable lids; seasonings or other ingredients.
Join us in The Happy Kitchen to preserve your tomato harvest! Canning safety demonstration from 11:00-noon, followed by open access to shared processing and canning stations. If you want a dedicated canning station, one just for yourself, you are welcome to bring your own equipment. A demonstration of how to can tomatoes safely with time to process your own produce in the Happy Kitchen, at the Sustainable Food Center (SFC).
This opportunity is put on by the SFC with the cooperation of Sunshine and other Community Gardens. Thank you SFG for making this event possible at the very reasonable cost of $14. If you are interested contact Ila Falvey.
Break-Time
Homegrown Magazines (a Texas Gardening Magazine) are on the bookshelf in the main room. When you take a break from gardening, get a drink of water, sit in the cool room, and have a read.
Volunteer Opportunity
Can't keep up with your tomato production, want to help support our Micah 6 community project? We need harvesters and drivers.
Get your volunteer hours in before June 30th.
Sunshine Community Gardens regularly delivers fresh, organic vegetables to the Micah 6 Food Pantry which serves those in need. Presently, we are harvesting and delivering on Saturdays. Harvesters gather either Friday afternoon or evening or 7:00 AM Saturday, and one or more gardeners take the produce to the Food Pantry that is located in the basement of the University Presbyterian Church (near UT on San Antonio Street) by 9:00 AM. As our produce increases, we will also harvest and deliver on Thursdays getting the produce to the pantry by 3:00 PM. Harvesters harvest Thursday morning for the afternoon delivery. Harvesters and drivers receive credit towards the required service hours per plot.
Gardeners are encouraged to donate herbs and vegetables from their gardens, at any time, but especially right before delivery day. Gardeners can place vegetables in the Cool Room or in the refrigerator in the trailer. Vegetables should be cleaned and bagged. Bags are available in the Cool Room. In addition, we have a system for "flagging" gardeners' plots so that designated donations can be gathered by the harvesters while gardeners are away on vacation or are unable to harvest their gardens. Gail Reese will review this procedure during the All Gardeners' Meeting this Saturday.
Peggy Seaquist and Dana Kuykendall coordinate the schedule of harvesters and drivers. It is hoped that a volunteer would serve one Thursday or one Saturday a month. At this time, contact Peggy Seaquist at 512 426-3166 or Dana Kuykendall 512 496-6575 (after June 19th) to get on the schedule.
Tomatoes are ripening fast - they need to be picked before the birds destroy them. If you can't keep up with them consider giving them to the Micah 6 Food Pantry.
What to Plant in June
All Month: Malabar Spinach, Okra, Southern Peas, Sweet Potatoes, Pumpkin.
Officer and Zone Coordinator Contacts - Sunshine Garden
Officers
- President - Jeff Monks garden@jeffmonks.com
- Vice President - Jim Willmann jwillmann@texasnurses.org
- Secretary - Ginny Heilman scgsecretary@gmail.com
- Treasurer - Caroline Limaye scgtreasurer1@gmail.com
- Director - Michael Hall fibercable@austin.rr.com
- Director - Kay McMurry scg.plots@gmail.com
- Director - Shannon Posern posern@hotmail.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 jingli80@yahoo.com
- Zone 8, Irina Kadukova 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
- Compost Coordinator - Janet Adams jartdaht@gmail.com
- Compost Tea - Jennifer Woertz jennifer.woertz@urs.com
- Education Committee - Shannon Posern shannonposern@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