Sunshine Weekly Weeder Newsletter
25 September 2013
www.sunshinecommunitygarden.org
Free Stuff
On Friday afternoon, we will be receiving a delivery of revitalizer compost. Each full plot should help themselves to 10 gallons, half and quarter plots 5 gallons. Please stay within these parameters so that everyone may have some some.
Gardeners Meeting
All gardeners meeting scheduled for October 5th 2013 at 11 am in the portable. Come meet your fellow gardeners and find out what is going on at Sunshine Gardens.
Garden Updates
Tools
The tool shed now has loppers for your cutting pleasure. They have been used and brought back to the shed for about a month now. Keep up the good work.
The broken tools (lying on the bench to the right of the door of the toolshed) will soon be repaired by Bob Easter aided by Berk Bettis. Bob is the tool master and keeps our old tools going. The usual repair is replacing the handle (at a cost of about $20 each) when it has been snapped by a gardener using it as a crow bar. We have crow bars to use when the job requires one. Several tools are beyond repair - a metal shovel was ripped and a steel shaft of a digging fork was bent. The repairer cannot figure out the forces that must have combined to cause this type of damage. Please use the proper tool properly. After use clean it and return to the shed.
Get Your Garden in Compliance
With the cooler weather and rain that we have all been waiting for,
now is the ideal time to get your garden in compliance and get rid
of the weeds. If your garden is not in compliance as of September
30th, you will be receiving a
"Notice of Non-Compliance." Please
check the
site rules for the description of non-compliance.
Fire Ants
With the cooler weather and wonderful rain, fire ant nests are popping out all over. The garden supplies fire ant bait (Spinosad) that is recommended for organic gardens. The ants carry the bait back to the colony. It is best to apply the bait when ants are actively foraging as they do early in the morning or in the evening, not in the heat of the day. To apply sprinkle a small amount around the mound not on the mound. Fire ants do not eat in bed. The bait loses its effectiveness quickly after the package has been opened. Ideally only one or two bags will be in the shed. After you use it, please return it to the shed so it can be used by other gardeners. It is on the table with the Green Binder.
Dumpster
A reminder - The dumpster is for garbage, noxious weeds and diseased plants. Sunday's viewing of the dumpster's contents revealed lots of purslane that the compost pile would have welcomed, and plastic pots and trays in good condition that could be reused. Leave items that can be reused by the toolshed for other gardeners to use.
Noxious Weeds
Thanks to those of you who are digging Khaki Weed. Remember to toss it in the dumpster. This is the prime time for seed production so lets get rid of it now. Stamp down the path after removal.
Watering
There is no overhead watering (sprinklers) allowed because most of the water evaporates before it reaches the soil. If you are spraying water into the air, you should be holding the hose in your hand. Austin's drought restrictions are still in effect.
Winter Transplant Sale at TSBVI
There will be a total of 1,300 plants for sale at $2.00 each.
- Broccoli - Packman
- Broccoli - Marathon
- Brussels Sprouts - Jade Cross
- Cabbage - Emerald Cross
- Cabbage - Ruby Perfection
- Cauliflower - Snowball
- Cauliflower - Veronica
- Kale - Red Russian
- Pansies - Mixed
The greenhouse will be open for business on:
- Wednesday, Oct 2, from 7:30a - 12:00p, and 1:30p - 4:30p.
- Thursday, Oct 3, from 7:30a - 3:30p
- Friday, Oct 4, from 1:30p - 4:00p
- Saturday, Oct 5, from 8am - 2pm.
Plants may be on sale the following week, depending on availability.
Come support the TSBVI horticultural program. The plants were raised by the students of this program.
Rocks
Please do not throw rocks onto the paths and common areas because they pose a danger to the mower and the mower operator and anyone else that is around. Put them in the road in low spots.
Monarchs and Mexican Milkweed
Felicia Kongable (one of our gardeners) suggests planting one tropical milkweed plant per plot to aid Monarch butterfly migration. Here are some pictures that she took.
Virtual Green Binder
Good news for gardeners entering their work hours or checking their work hours.
You can now check your hours without entering hours in. Go to the tab "Virtual Green Binder" on the website and a dropdown list will show on hover:
- > Hours Worked
- > Enter Hours Worked
Each gardener is expected to contribute an hour a month to Sunshine, if you're unsure what to do check with your zone coordinator and watch this space. In addition one hour per six months per plot is required to be completed for projects for Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
Thought for the week
I scarcely dare trust myself to speak of the weeds. They grow as if the devil was in them. I know a lady, a member of the church, and a very good sort of woman, considering the subject condition of the class, who says that the weeds work on her to that extent, that, in going through her garden, she has the greatest difficulty in keeping the ten commandments in anything like an unfractured condition.
Charles Dudley Warner, 1876
What to do in September
Mid to late month: plant Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chinese Cabbage, Collards, Garlic, Kohlrabi and Peas
Officer and Zone Coordinator Contacts - Sunshine Garden
Officers
- President - Ila Falvey ila.falvey@gmail.com
- Vice-President - Janet Adams jartdaht@gmail.com
- Secretary - Berk Bettis dolrsdad@aol.com
- Treasurer - Jack Reynolds scgtreasurer1@gmail.com
- Director - Michael Hall fibercable@austin.rr.com
- Director - Kay McMurry scg.plots@gmail.com
- Director - Emily Tisinger etisinger@gmail.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 jingli.80@yahoo.com
- Zone 8, Irina Kaducova 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
- 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