Sunshine Weekly Weeder Newsletter
14 January 2015
www.sunshinecommunitygardens.org
Announcements for all Gardeners
Bills for the 2015 gardening season and unworked service hours will be sent shortly.
Volunteers Needed to Help with Scheduled Repairs
The floor of the trailer is being replaced because it was rotting and is no longer structurally sound.This job is being done professionally but your awareness and help are needed.Work on the trailer started on Jan.12 and will last at least the rest of this week.
The bathrooms are not available until the floor is fixed.
After the floor is replaced, help will be needed to clean and paint the trailer, and move the furniture back.
There will be announcements of times to work. Please continue to read your emails if you are interested in this project at Sunshine.Or contact Janet at or another member of the Board for more specific questions.
The tool cleaning station also needs to be repaired.This is a small job compared to the trailer project.The base as well as the top boards need to be replaced.
Please contact Ila at if you are willing to work on this project.
Compost is Ready
The southern most compost pile is available to use.Sign reads "Harvest Compost Here".It is not first come, first serve.The compost is for all the gardeners so please take "your fair share".
Rabbits
The rabbit trapping continues.Please let Stewart know if you have any rabbit damage or see a trapped rabbit.His phone number is on the cages - his email is elmer@math.austin.tx.us. David Durbin is helping with the rabbit project. Thanks to you both.
Sunshine Spring Plant Sale 7th March
Our Spring Sale will be on March 7 this year. Some herbs have already been planted.Thanks to Nancy Seibert, and the Susans - Kramer and Prosperie who are heading up this activity as well as to other gardeners who have and will contribute.Thank you also to TSBVI who is allowing us to use their greenhouse to grow herbs.Our green house and hoop house will be used for pass along plants.Additional thanks to Michael Hall who is the chairman of the plant sale and to Bob Easter who will handle publicity.More about the Spring Plant Sale later
Thanks
To Sharon Rempert who continues to improve our web site and the on line green binder.Thank you Sharon
Go Away Cold...
Amazingly, our vegetables came through the first cold spell quite well.
Why Gardeners in Central Texas Should use Compost and Organic Matter.
(Excerpted from Skip Richter's article in the TCMGA's Garden Guide).
The cycle of nature in which plants and animals live, grow, die and return their nutrients to the soil is truly a masterfully designed system.Yet despite seeing it work miracles over and over, I still marvel when I see it again.Until the soil is rich with compost and has mellowed for a season or two, the new garden just seems to struggle.
Organic materials like leaves, grass clippings and composted bark contain the nutrients the plant took up during the growing season.In fact, they include just the right blend of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, iron zinc, etc. that a plant needs.As these organic materials decompose they become a bank account of all these nutrients in the soil.
We sometimes refer to fertilizing as feeding plants.We should think of adding compost as feeding the soil.In a small handful of compost-rich soil there are literally billions of microbial organisms: things like fungi.bacteria, actinomycetes and protozoa that feed on the organic matter breaking it down to humus.In the process these microbes release nutrients, secret glues that help the soil form a crumbly structure, and do a host of other thing that benefit plant life.
Here in the south the soils' organic matter content stays low due in part to our warm climate.The soil microbes work overtime breaking it down.If we are to maintain a high level of organic matter we must continue to add it to the soil each year.
What to Plant in January
Early to Mid-Month: Asparagus Crowns
Mid--Late Month: Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Onion sets, Peas, Spinach.
Officer and Zone Coordinator Contacts - Sunshine Garden
Officers
- President - Ila Falvey ila.falvey@gmail.com
- Vice-President - Janet Adams jartdaht@gmail.com
- Secretary - Ginny Heilman gheilman1@gmail.com
- Treasurer - Jack Reynolds scgtreasurer1@gmail.com
- Director - Michael Hall fibercable@austin.rr.com
- Director - Kay McMurry scg.plots@gmail.com
- Director - Linda Francescone linda.francescone@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 jingli80@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
