Thursday, August 7, 2014

Eagle Heights Garden Meeting Minutes 2012



Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes 
January 11, 2012, 6:30 PM 
Eagle Heights Community Center

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Louisa, Kim, Karen, Alice, Gretel, Angus, Josh, Sandra, Malcom and Ulrike.

Kim welcomed everyone.

Treasurer’s Report 

Angus says that we do have our official Housing office financial data from July thru October 2011. They were very short staffed. There are a few discrepancies, but there is nothing serious. He will work to correct them. We were slightly over budget for garden worker hours with 1107.5 hours compared to the budgeted 1050 hours. We knew the hours would be a little over budget. There was an unexpected rise in the portapotty fee this season. There may be some minor changes reported because we do not yet have the official numbers for June 2011. We have an end of the year balance of around $9000, which worked out to exactly what we planned in November.

Registrar’s report 

Gretel says she has received 220 applications. So far more gardeners are requesting larger plots. Applications had been really steady at about 10-20 per day. The late penalty for no workdays does not seem to be working like we had hoped. More people are not paying on time; some are just paying the late fee.

Repackaging of seed should be done at workdays January 22, 1-4 and February12, 1-4.

Gretel says that Olds Seed Company is moving their seed packaging out of Madison. This could make it difficult to get as many seeds for the Seed Fair in the future. She suggests not give away seeds at the end of the fair this year and save some reserves for next year. She also reports that we received some fungicide treated seed that we will not give out at the fair. We did get enough eggplant for everybody to grow some!

Plant sales will be the same vendor, Gardens to Be, with selling cool weather vegetables on April 22 and the warm weather plants on May 26 or 27.

Opening day March 17

Seed sort March 23

Seed Fair March 24 


The seed fair will be run like last year with each plot getting 15 tickets. Doors will open for residents and students at 9am and other gardeners at 10am. We will not give away seeds at the end to everybody. Flower seeds will not require a ticket.

Will and Louisa will sell plastic and row cover. John and Sandra are doing the workshop. Gretel will ask Ann if she can do the St. Vincent de Paul information table. Josh will organize the seed table, Kim will work the entry table, and Karen will help where she is needed. It would be good if we had 30 volunteers, of which 10 were translators. We will have a lot of repackaged seed with no pictures this year, so it would be good if we had picture signs at the seed table.

Co-Chair Report 

Kim reports that Will, Gretel and Emma will be renewing their employment this year. Hobie will not be returning as a garden worker, as he is under greater time constraints. Emma will be leaving later and we should work on finding her replacement now. Gretel says it is a 4-month process to hire someone, so we should work on the position description at the next meeting. Kim suggests posting the job in mid March, right after opening day.

February Meeting- the next meeting will be at Eagle Heights Community Center.

We adjourned about 7:30 pm. 
Submitted by Karen


Eagle Heights Garden Committee
 Minutes February 8, 2012
 6:30 PM Eagle Heights Community Center

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by John, Emma, Will, Louisa, Kim, Karen, Gretel, Karen, Ann and Spencer.

Kim welcomed everyone.

Registrar’s report 

Gretel says she has received 382 applications as of yesterday. So far more gardeners are requesting larger plots. It is looking like we will be able to accommodate everyone and we might have a waiting list for those who apply late. The due date is next Wednesday.

Regular Garden Committee meeting on March 11

Opening day March 17

Seed sort March 23

Seed Fair March 24


We will conduct garden orientations on opening day, the 17th of March. There will be two each at Eagle Heights and University Houses, two during the week in the evening and some the afternoon of the seed fair.

Signs about the Garden orientation should be posted at the seed fair in Korean, Chinese and English. Notes for the orientation were sent to the committee. Gretel asked if there were any comments. Will suggests that we hand out the notes to gardeners. Gretel says she will edit the notes first. Gretel will send an email asking for volunteers for orientation.

Seed Fair 

Ann says the seeds were all repackaged in one session and we had a wonderful time.

We will need 20 volunteers for the seed sort on March 23rd. Gretel will send out a sign up request to the garden committee. The first 20 to sign up will be accepted. We don’t have room for more than 20.

We need 30 volunteers for the Seed Fair on the March 24. Gretel will send out a list to the Garden Committee and the first 30 people to reply will be taken.

Josh will be the pit boss, Kim will be at the entry table, Karen will assist with crowd control, Will and Louisa will sell row cover and plastic, Gretel and Emma will be at the garden map and Ann will be at the St. Vincent de Paul table. We will have two Chinese translators at the entry table. Ann has prepared signs for the seed table that include pictures, which should really help with communication. John and Sandra are doing the workshop. There will be no childcare this year, as it was not used much last year.

Time schedule will be: 8 am-Volunteers arrive, 9 am- Residents can enter, 10 am- All other gardeners can enter. The seed fair will be run like last year with each plot getting 15 tickets. There will be no seed give away this year.

St. Vincent de Paul 

Spencer and Ann are coordinating the volunteers this year. Spencer said he thinks that changing the name of the program would help. He suggests, “Share the Bounty”. Pickups will be Saturday mornings about 11am and Wednesday morning. Will says the garden workers can put the bins out. Signs are needed with pickup times so people will know when to donate produce.

Volunteers will drive the vegetables to the food pantry and will get work credit after they have done 3 hours of work.

Spencer will rewrite the Share the Bounty information to be given out at the seed fair. He will also walk around the garden and talk to people about the program.

Treasurer’s Report

Gretel reported for Angus. The issues are being corrected with our financial accounting. Our ending year balance is about $9000, as we expected. The bill for turning off the water and blowing out the lines is about $400. Discussion ensued.

Bean beetles 

Gretel said that about five years age, we purchased and released a wasp predator (Pediobus foveolatus) to the Mexican bean beetle. This control worked well, but it seems to be time for another release, as more bean beetles were seen last year. Malcom says the cost is $150 for 1200 or $180 for 2000. The release needs to be timed to when we have some bean beetles for the wasps to eat. Will asked how many wasps UW extension thinks we should release. Gretel asked for a $200 authorization to buy the predators. They would be shipped just before they would be released. The committee approved the request for $200.

Garden Worker Report 
Will said there was a lot of work to do in the spring. Tools need to be painted and engraved. We have 4000’ of row cover and some needs to be cut. Will and Emma will check all the plot markers and a/b splits. They will also continue replacing all the water spigots.

University houses paths need to be ready. The new paths will be mulched this spring and reseeded in the fall. University Houses fruit plantings is in process.

Dirt needs to be moved in the 700 and 800 and the paths fixed. We need a workday for this project.

Will will coordinate the pruning of the fruit trees with a professor from Horticulture. He asks for authorization to buy some loppers for pruning and it was given. A more general discussion of tools followed.

The big project this spring will be restoring the grass path around the weed pile. Will will use a tractor with a disc and harrow to prepare the ground for seeding. Kris will provide a snow fence so no one will walk on the new grass.

Co-chair report 

Kim says we should be advertising our garden worker position as soon as we have a new garden wide email list. She also said that the picnic point parking lot will be metered this year, which could cause problems for our parking.

Plant Sales

Plant sales will be the same vendor, Gardens to Be, with selling cool weather vegetables on April 22. Emma said that Scott and April we concerned that May 27th is Memorial Day weekend. Discussion ensued. Emma will ask about the evening on Monday the 21 from 4-7pm.

March Meeting- the next meeting will be at Eagle Heights Community Center. 
We adjourned about 8 pm. 
Submitted by Karen



Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes 

March 14, 2012, 6:30 PM 

Eagle Heights Community Center


6:00 – Delicious Food and great conversation by John, Emma, Will, Louisa, Kim, Karen, Gretel, Karen, Ann, John, Sandra and Malcom.

Kim welcomed everyone.

Co-Chair’s Report 

Kim reported that we have $240 in our UW Foundation account and Gretel has recently received $50 in donations. We have also received a donation of office supplies.

John has been blogging about the garden, But he will be leaving soon. We need someone to take his place. The will be a sign at the seed fair advertising the blogger opening.

The opening for garden worker will be announced thru the website and via the new garden email list on the 14 or 15 of March. The due date for resumes and letters of interest will be March 31. Interviews will be conducted by the interview committee the following week. They will present a recommendation to the garden committee at the April meeting. Garden committee members interested in serving on the interview committee should talk to Kim.

Kim said that at the GOC meeting it was announced that UW Houses will undergo a complete renovation of the insides of all the apartments. Very little work will be done to the outsides of the buildings. Work will start on June 30, 2014. All residents will move out. The job will be finished in May of 2015. University Houses garden will remain accessible. We may have trouble filling the plots at University Houses during the renovation. The will also be a retention pond built near the present F1-2 weedpile. We will need to move the weedpile to A1-4. Gretel said she hasn’t assigned these plots in anticipation of these changes. This will also solve the problem with the present weedpile being too close to the playground for safe truck access.

Kim asked about the timing for water turn on and portapotty delivery. Discussion ensued. Gretel thought that we should try for around the 10th of April, because it is warm this year. Portapotty delivery would be around April 13th.

Treasurer’s Report 


Kim reported for Angus. Kim noted that Gretel has been working extremely hard lately. Emma and Will have also been working hard. Gretel said that we have just received the balances for June, December and January and that she and Angus have some minor issues to resolve. The finances look good and we are on budget.

Registrar’s report 

Gretel says she has assigned 546 plots and three are on the waiting list at Eagle Heights. There are 2 small plots available at University Houses. We will probably fill tomorrow. This year we have 162 small plots assigned, which is more than last year with 134. We might have to split some more plots. The new organic garden plots at University Houses filled first.  We may have to enlarge the organic section of University Houses in the coming years.

The mix of residents, students, faculty/staff and community members is similar to last year, but this year we have more new gardeners (35%). Gretel will provide complete statistics at a later meeting. We did lose some plots this year with the weed pile move at University Houses A1-4. 1301A has been rehabilitated. We are in good shape.

Orientation schedule is five on Saturday the 17th, one on Sunday the 18th, one Tuesday the 20th, one Thursday the 22th and two on Saturday the 24. Gretel asks the volunteers doing the orientations to take attendance so we know what time are best for gardeners.

There will be a workday on Sunday the 25th of March.

The seed sort will start with a potluck at 6:30 on March 23. Gretel has 20 volunteers, so the signup is closed.

There is parking available on Eagle heights Drive on the weekend. The signs for gardener parking should go up soon.

Garden Worker Report 

Emma said that all the plot markers and stakes are done in both gardens. Will and Emma are making carts and painting tools. Will said they discovered a problem with the struts in the carts. Some of them are too short, so new ones need to be ordered and we can fix the five remaining carts. The next five workdays are already planned and include fruit planting at University Houses, weedpile work and path rehabilitation. Tomorrow we will receive the snow fencing for the grass growing near the weedpile.

University Houses needs more shovels and pitchforks. There are enough tools that need to be repaired that we don’t need to purchase anything but the cart struts. Will suggested that we buy a scythe for staff use only. Staff would use it to cut grass around the fruit trees.

Emma suggests that we buy more gloves for workdays as our old ones have all worn out. Cathie Brunner knows a good source for gloves and Emma will talk to her. Emma will buy 2 dozen.

Will suggests we announce the new fruit planting at University Houses at the seed fair.

Seed Fair

We have 25 volunteers for the Seed Fair on the March 24. Gretel said we have 5 Mandarin speakers and one Korean speaker.

Josh will be the pit boss, Kim will be at the entry table, Karen will assist with crowd control, Will and Louisa will sell row cover and plastic, Gretel and Emma will be at the garden map and Ann will be at the St. Vincent de Paul table. We will have two Chinese translators at the entry table. Ann has prepared signs for the seed table that include pictures, which should really help with communication. John and Sandra are doing the workshop at 10:30. There will be no childcare this year, as it was not used much last year.

Time schedule will be: 8 am-Volunteers arrive, 9:30 am- Residents can enter, 10:30 am- All other gardeners can enter. The seed fair will be run like last year with each plot getting 15 tickets. There will be no seed give away this year.

Kim prepared a map for the table layout and circulation. Exact layout of the seeds on the tables will be planned after the seed sort on the 23 of March.

Gretel says everyone is helping and she thinks we are in good shape.

Plant Sales 

Plant sales will be the same vendor, Gardens to Be, with selling cool weather vegetables on April 22, Sunday from 10-2pm. Warm weather vegetables will be on May 13, Sunday from 10-2pm.

Coffee grounds 

Gretel asked for a volunteer to take over getting coffee grounds from coffee shops. Ann is now assisting Spencer who is coordinating the St Vincent de Paul donation.

April Meeting- the next meeting will be at Eagle Heights Community Center.

We adjourned about 7:45 pm. 
Submitted by Karen



Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes 

April 11, 2012, 6:30 PM 

Eagle Heights Community Center

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by John, Emma, Will, Louisa, Kim, Karen, Gretel, Karen, Ann, Angus, Mindy, Mark, Tracy, Josh, Ulrike, Sandra and Malcom.

Kim welcomed everyone.

Treasurer’s Report 

Angus reported that the gardens are on budget. We have $23,000 on hand and all major adjustments have been made. Josh said that the garden worker hours are up this year, but that is also to be expected because of the good weather.

Co-Chair’s Report 

Kim reports that a graduate student in Entomology, Natalie Hernandez, would like to place aphid traps in garden plots, close to the crops. She is looking for plot volunteers starting in May.

Registrar’s report 

Gretel says she has assigned the last plot and there is a waiting list of thirteen. Three hundred plots checked in at the seed fair and about 700 people attended. We sold $300 in row cover. There are 800 people on the email list for primary and secondary gardeners. 135 people attended the orientations.

The cool season plant sale will be April 22 from 10-2. We will sell row cover and compost. Compost will be available at University Houses thanks to Emma and John, who will drive it over with their truck. We will need volunteers. The plants that will be for sale are listed on the website.

This year we have more new gardeners wanting a large plot. There are 170 small and 580 large plots in both gardens. 30% are new gardeners this year. 60% are residents and students, 23% are faculty and staff and 20% are alumni and community members. All gardeners who applied before the February 15th deadline got their old plot. This year we lost plots A1-A4, D15, E12, F8, 1128A and F3. Plot 1301A was recovered. Some of the lost plots will be recovered next year.

Garden Worker Report

Ulrike said that the porta-potty arrived at University Houses. Emma said that the water is on at University Houses. At Eagle Heights there have been some problems with the lines that will be fixed soon. The 100-200 and 500-600 lines are on. There will be workdays for the University Houses paths and for planting fruit bushes. Emma also said the path by the Eagle Heights weed pile needs to be tilled and seeded.

New Garden Co-Chair needed 

Kim said she will be leaving by the end of July, if not sooner. We need a new garden co-chair to work with Josh. Please talk to Kim or Josh about the position. Co-chair duties include running the meeting, maintaining contact with Gretel and the garden workers, helping hire new workers and maintain contact with gardeners via the email list. It would be good to have someone nominated by the next meeting so there can be some overlap.

Blogger about the garden needed 

John has been blogging about the garden, but he will be leaving soon. We need a volunteer to take his place.

Garden Worker Position

Kim said that She, Josh, Gretel and Emma interviewed 4 candidates out of 6 applications for the garden worker position. Two of the applicants did not have the required gardening experience.

Applicant 1 is a gardener at Eagle Heights and is a talented gardener with horticulture experience. Applicant 2 is a University Houses gardener with leadership experience, but limited gardening experience. Applicant 3 has gardening experience with an impressive resume and is a market gardener. Applicant 4 is an Eagle Heights gardener with cross-cultural experience, gardening experience and lives in the Eagle Heights community. The interview committee unanimously recommended Applicant 4 for the position.

Moved by Ann and seconded by Karen to hire Applicant 4, Adam for the garden worker position. Motion passed unanimously.

Further Co-chair Report 

Kim said there was a recent purchase that was larger than expected. Discussion ensued. The process for purchases is approval by the garden committee.

Josh said that the new tools need to be engraved. Unfortunately the engraver has disappeared. A new engraver will be less than $25 and should be purchased. Ulrike said we should engrave the engraver.

Malcom said he will be coordinating the release of the Mexican bean beetle predator. It will probably occur in mid June.

Will said we need to remind gardeners to disconnect their hoses at Eagle Heights and keep items out of the path to facilitate mowing. Gardeners also need to keep weeds out of the path at the weed pile.

Gretel reminds gardeners that there is no dumping in the woods at University Houses.

Plant Sales 

Sale of warm weather vegetables will be on May 13, Sunday from 10-2pm.

May Meeting- the next meeting will be at Eagle Heights Community Center. 
We adjourned about 8 pm. 
Submitted by Karen






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