Sunshine Weekly Weeder Newsletter
30 September 2015
www.sunshinecommunitygardens.org
Announcing Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired Annual Fall Plant Sale
October 1st-3rd the Garden will be selling cool weather vegetables and flowers in four inch pots:
- Asian Mixed Greens
- Broccoli - Marathon, Packman
- Brussels Sprouts - Jade Cross
- Cabbage - Emeral Cross, Ruby Perfection, Red Acre, Rubicon (Chinese)
- Cauliflower - Cheddar, Graffiti, Veronica/Romanesco
- Kale - Dinosaur, Red Russian, Scarlet, Vates
- Swiss Chard - Bright Lights
- Herbs - Calendula, Garlic Chives, Greek Oregano, Italian Parsley, French Thyme
- Flowers - Ice Plant, Copper Canyon Daisy, Gregg's Mistflower
All four inch pots are $2 each.
Open hours:
- Thursday, October 1st Noon to 4 pm
- Friday, October 2nd Noon to 4 pm
- Saturday, October 3rd 10 am to 2 pm
Where: TSBVI Greenhouse - park at Sunshine Community Garden, at 4814 Sunshine Dr. Walk toward the back of the garden and go through the gate to get to the greenhouse.
The Fall Plant Sale is a fundraiser for the Horticulture work training program of Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
For more information contact Jennifer Woertz at 512-739-5721 or jen@enjeneer.com
Got Milk Jugs??
Please leave any one-gallon milk jugs that you may have in the greenhouse Today or Tomorrow for the fall plant sale. They will be used to sale compost tea! Thanks to those who have already brought some!
Reminder: Brite Ideas discount
Back in the spring, Ila arranged with the owner of Brite Ideas (a local horticultural/hydroponics supply store) for Sunshine gardeners to receive a discount on all purchases at their two Austin stores. It seems not many SCG gardeners are aware of this offer, so this is a reminder. The discount is significant - our prices are 25% over wholesale cost. As an example, High Mowing Organic seeds (a very good non-GMO, organic seed supplier) are normally $2.75 per packet, but are only $1.49 with our discount.
To obtain this discount, you must identify yourself as a gardener at Sunshine *BEFORE* your purchase is rung up. Membership cards have been created for this purpose, and were previously distributed through your zone coordinators. If your zone coordinator doesn't have any, some are available in the trailer (on the blue bookshelf near the door) that you can show the clerk to verify that you're an SCG gardener. On the same bookshelf are also a few catalogs of some of the organic amendments and soil products that Brite Ideas carries.
There are two stores, the north store was formerly Third Coast Horticultural Supply, and is located at 7010 Burnet (just north of Charles Maund Volkswagen) and the south store is located at 4201 South Congress #310.
Fire Ant Feedback Requested
It's been a little while since we started suggesting the use of orange oil and molasses as an organic fire ant drench. If you have used this concoction on a fire ant mound at the garden, please let us know how well it worked. Did it get rid of the ants? How long did it take to work? Did one treatment get the job done, or did you have to do a second application? Did you notice any negative side-effects (damage to plants, etc)? There are many "recipes" for this particular treatment, so if you tried something other than the specific directions supplied in the tool shed, we'd like to know about that, too. Please send any feedback to Jeff Monks (garden@jeffmonks.com).
Mason Bee Project
Sunshine is partnering with two Girl Scouts who, as part of their Silver and Gold Award projects, are providing the garden with mason bee housing. Our first "bee hotel" has arrived and is located near the trailer, by the olive tree. It was built by Erin Nolan, a scout from Troop 671, as part of her Silver Award project. More houses, of a smaller design, will be installed throughout the garden by Julie Morales as part of her Gold Award project in the spring.
Mason bees are gentle, solitary bees. They look for small holes, such as those left by woodpeckers, or dried reeds and bamboo, to lay their eggs. The female bee will find a suitable hole, and lay an egg in the bottom. Then she will collect and deposit a small pile of pollen with the egg, and seal the hole with mud. The egg hatches and the larva eats the pollen until it's mature enough to spin a cocoon. The bee larva then stays in this cocoon over winter, transforming into an adult bee. In spring, when the temperature rises, the bee awakens, chews through the mud plug, and starts the cycle over. As you can imagine, collecting all that pollen means mason bees are incredibly good pollinators for the garden. They are a native species, unlike the imported honeybees we're all familiar with. Mason bees don't form hives. They live their lives alone, congregating only for mating. Since they do not have a hive to defend, they are not aggressive, and will almost never sting a person. They're much more interested in our flowers than in us.
Khaki Weed
When you remove this from our paths, please put it in the can by the wheel barrow shed or the dumpster - NOT - in the compost. It is bad news & appears to be spreading. Now is the time to remove as much as possible as the plants are going to seed.
What's On in Austin ?
Backyard Basics - Plant Propagation
Thursday October 8, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Learn how to make new plants for your yard through propagation methods such as rooting slips and cuttings. In this workshop you will assemble a self-watering propagator and select cuttings to grow new plants. All supplies, instructions, and cuttings will be provided for each participant. Master Gardener Sue King, a Plant Propagation Specialist, is a retired school librarian, an avid soup-maker, and a life-long gardener. Master Gardener Carolyn Turman found propagating plants using cuttings as an easy and inexpensive way to add wonderful additions to her landscape.
Space is limited to 25 - register on-line. No on-site registration available.
Cost: $25 thru 9/28, $30 starting 9/29. No cash accepted-checks & credit cards only.
Register: https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu/TravisCounty
Register by Phone: 979-845-2604
Contact: Sue Carrasco, 512-854-9610 or sacarrasco@ag.tamu.edu.
Straw Bale Gardening; Minimal Maintenance and Maximum Production
October 25, 2015
Admission to Zilker Botanical Garden effective October 1, 2013
- $1 for children (ages 3-12) & seniors (age 62 & over)
- $2 for adults, Austin resident (ages 13-61)
- $3 for adults, non-resident (ages 13-61)
cash or check please
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm Sunday
Having difficulty bending over to dig, weed, plant, and other garden chores? Are you experiencing poor soils or no soil but you have concrete or asphalt space available? Straw bale gardening allows anyone to grow a bountiful garden in almost any location that is highly productive while being much less labor intensive. Not to mention, it's a festive addition that makes a great focal point through the fall and winter. Towards the end of spring, recycle the bales into mulch and compost to help your perennials through the summer. Harvesting potatoes means simply knocking over a bale and picking up the produce- with no digging required! Come get your hands dirty and plant a straw bale, learn different watering techniques, how to condition the bales, and how weeding is nearly nonexistent through this method. Make corn dollies for the youngsters to take home and learn about a traditional custom practiced by cultures from around the world to ensure a bountiful harvest the following year.
Free Class - Hummingbird Gardens
Date: Saturday, October 03, 2015 At 10:00:00 AM
Natural Gardener
Mark Klym, Coordinator of Texas Wildscapes & Texas Hummingbird Roundup programs of the Texas Parks and Wildlife department, presents, "Hummingbird Gardens - Myths And Mysteries" The program will look at commonly held beliefs about what hummingbirds look for in a landscape and then explore facts. Stay tuned for more information.
Except where noted, classes are held on Saturday mornings at 10am and are about 1 hour long. Classes are subject to change. Please call first to confirm. Classes are held outdoors under an open air canopy - The Revival Tent - please dress for the weather. Arrive early for best seating. You are welcome to bring your own chair. If possible, please park on Bell Drive, adjacent to the Tent.
What to Plant in October:
Early to Mid-Month: Arugula, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chinese Cabbage, Kohlrabi.
Officer and Zone Coordinator Contacts - Sunshine Garden
Officers
- President - Jeff Monks garden@jeffmonks.com
- Vice President - Jim Willmann jwillmann@texasnurses.org
- Secretary - Shannon Posern scgsecretary@gmail.com
- Treasurer - Caroline Limaye scgtreasurer1@gmail.com
- Director - Michael Hall fibercable@austin.rr.com
- Director - Kay McMurry scg.plots@gmail.com
- Director - Vacant
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
