Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes
January 12, 2011, 6:30 PM
Eagle Heights Community Center
6:30 – Eating and talking! Delicious Food and great conversation by Gretel, Will, Louisa, Robin, Emma, Ann, Surendra, Angus, Yvon, Mark and Karen
Interim Chair Mark thanked Robin, Emma and Jennifer for all their work with the Gardens.
Solicitation of a new secretary- Mark stated that Jennifer, our secretary will be moving away and asked if anyone would like to take over the job. Karen agreed to take minutes for just this meeting.
Registrar update- Gretel said that so far she has received 252 applications. As in past years, 40% of the applications are new gardeners. She is pleased that there seem to be more returning gardeners on the small plots. THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS FEBURARY 15. She states that every year there are a few returning gardeners that don’t meet the deadline.
Fundraising- Gretel says there is no way to tell yet how the details of the fundraising campaign are going as the money is sent to the UW Foundation and there is a time lag in our receiving the information.
Robin states that he has had some emails with Greg Giese who donated to the gardens last year. Mr. Giese had some concerns that the donation had not been used to purchase fruit trees, as had been his understanding, but that we were planning to buy supplies for the trees. Gretel and Will stated that we had not yet spent his donation. We could potentially take corrective action by planting more trees and small fruits. It might be possible to plant an infiltration area north of the arbor and the 500’s. Gretel and Mark will help with this issue.
Garden worker update – Will and Hobie will both return as garden workers.
Kris Ackerbauer, who is Assistant Director of the Physical Plant, is volunteering with moving rocks in the tree island. He rolled across an area in F. W. King that needs to be repaired. Repairs will begin when the soil conditions are right. We need to be able to provide irrigation to F. W. King and protect the irrigation line from heavy machinery.
Will reports that it maybe possible to make some barriers so gardeners will dump their weeds in the proper location. These barriers would be made to scrap steel and would be on wheels. As the materials are scrap, there would be no cost. There was general discussion as to whether we could get gardeners to dump their weeds in the right place and not on the path.
Stakes- Will has enough conduit for 300 stake and needs to buy 100 more stakes. He has a punch set to punch numbers on each stake. Will promises Gretel that they will be done before the garden season opens. He is hoping to do some of the work at the Apartment services shop where it is warm. It probably would not be possible for volunteers to help him there for liability reasons; however he would appreciate volunteer help for planting the stakes.
Will ordered the row covers and the black plastic for the sale.
Mark asked if Will and Gretel were charging fully for their work hours. Gretel said she was mostly charging for her hours.
Treasurers report- Angus states that it is somewhat difficult to reconcile the UW fiscal year with the garden year, but that EH gardens has ended the 2010 garden year with about $10,000. With the new garden year starting, we now have about $13,000. There was some earlier difficulty with a credit of $343 to our account from the WI Festival Brat Fest that has now been correctly removed.
Seed fair planning- Ann says the seed fair will be on March 26. Each garden plot will be entitled to 15 seeds. More popular seeds will require tickets. This year students will be allowed in at 9:30, other gardeners at 10:30 and others at 11:30.
The room layout will be a large square with the volunteers in the middle. Since we will use tickets, we will need more volunteers including bilingual volunteers.
For liability reasons we have been asked not to place sandwich boards on the tables. There was a discussion of how to properly advertise the seed location which degenerated into the volunteers wearing tomato and other vegetable shaped hats.
Childcare might be able to be provided.
Seeds will be sorted in the small gym on March 25 at 6pm. We need boxes. We will not be keeping the corn seed as it has been fungicide treated and is poisonous. We are concerned that someone could grind the corn and use it for food. Treated seed must not be eaten, it must be used for planting only. Some of the bean and pea seeds are also treated. Treated seeds will be labeled with a skull and crossbones and information will be provided in several languages. Robin stated that most seed used to grow our food is treated and there is a not a problem if we communicate this to the gardeners. Strict organic gardeners will probably not use the seed, but the seed could be used at University Houses Garden.
Repacking of larger quantities will be done earlier this year. Will and Lousia will sell row covers and Robin and possibly Melinda will do a gardening question and answer session.
Will reports that it maybe possible to make some barriers so gardeners will dump their weeds in the proper location. These barriers would be made to scrap steel and would be on wheels. As the materials are scrap, there would be no cost. There was general discussion as to whether we could get gardeners to dump their weeds in the right place and not on the path.
Stakes- Will has enough conduit for 300 stake and needs to buy 100 more stakes. He has a punch set to punch numbers on each stake. Will promises Gretel that they will be done before the garden season opens. He is hoping to do some of the work at the Apartment services shop where it is warm. It probably would not be possible for volunteers to help him there for liability reasons; however he would appreciate volunteer help for planting the stakes.
Will ordered the row covers and the black plastic for the sale.
Mark asked if Will and Gretel were charging fully for their work hours. Gretel said she was mostly charging for her hours.
Treasurers report- Angus states that it is somewhat difficult to reconcile the UW fiscal year with the garden year, but that EH gardens has ended the 2010 garden year with about $10,000. With the new garden year starting, we now have about $13,000. There was some earlier difficulty with a credit of $343 to our account from the WI Festival Brat Fest that has now been correctly removed.
Seed fair planning- Ann says the seed fair will be on March 26. Each garden plot will be entitled to 15 seeds. More popular seeds will require tickets. This year students will be allowed in at 9:30, other gardeners at 10:30 and others at 11:30.
The room layout will be a large square with the volunteers in the middle. Since we will use tickets, we will need more volunteers including bilingual volunteers.
For liability reasons we have been asked not to place sandwich boards on the tables. There was a discussion of how to properly advertise the seed location which degenerated into the volunteers wearing tomato and other vegetable shaped hats.
Childcare might be able to be provided.
Seeds will be sorted in the small gym on March 25 at 6pm. We need boxes. We will not be keeping the corn seed as it has been fungicide treated and is poisonous. We are concerned that someone could grind the corn and use it for food. Treated seed must not be eaten, it must be used for planting only. Some of the bean and pea seeds are also treated. Treated seeds will be labeled with a skull and crossbones and information will be provided in several languages. Robin stated that most seed used to grow our food is treated and there is a not a problem if we communicate this to the gardeners. Strict organic gardeners will probably not use the seed, but the seed could be used at University Houses Garden.
Repacking of larger quantities will be done earlier this year. Will and Lousia will sell row covers and Robin and possibly Melinda will do a gardening question and answer session.
Plant sale planning – Will will coordinate the plant sale. Potential dates are April 16 for the cool season crops and May 21 for the warm season plants, pending on conformation with the grower. We will need more volunteers at the plant sale. Will said he would like to sell row covers at the plant sale also.
Garden Calendar-
Opening day- March 19
Seed Fair- March 26
Plant sale (cool)- April 16
Plant sale (warm)- May 21
Chair recruitment- Gretel discussed the need to formalize the process for the selection of the chair. She stated that previously the committee interviewed the candidate and then voted. Gretel thought that the appeal to gardeners on this issue should start when the new email list is ready on March 19. Gretel states that with about 40% turnover in the garden every year, it is not a good idea to use the previous years list for communication.
Karen asked the committee to consider that the Chair be a student and that the Vice Chair could be a community member. Mark is able to serve until mid July and Karen is available for longer, which could provide continuity. Karen stated that the job is rather large and both she and Mark like the idea of sharing the responsibility. Maybe the recruitment of the Chair would be easier with the help of a Vice-chair.
The discussion continued about trying to get more people involved in the garden committee. The meeting needs to be advertised. Angus puts the notice in the Eagle Heights Newsletter. Notice is placed on the blackboard in season.
Pending issues with the Garden Oversight Committee
Water system, weeds and waste management, approval of the rules and compensation for the chair.
We adjourned at 8:05 pm.
Submitted by Karen
6:00 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Gretel, Will, Louisa, Robin, Ann, Angus, Mark, Alex, Cathie, Laura, Josh and Karen.
The meeting started early in order to have time to thank Robin, the outgoing Chair for his service to the Garden. Mark, interim Chair thanked Robin for his many hours of service to the Gardens. Gretel especially called attention to Robin’s excellent Garden Manual on our website. Laura conveyed thanks from the GOC and said she thanked Robin for all his teaching. Cathie from the Preserve agreed and said she appreciated the team feeling of the committee.
Robin thanked Gretel and previous Registrars Natalie and Rebecca for their excellent work and wonderful support. He also thanked the previous chair, Steven and recalled his advice. “Remember that everyone needs to be heard.” and “we have a problem; what do you think?” Robin said he will still help with the pruning workshop and try to get irrigation system estimates.
Angus commented that Robin was always chatting with people in the garden. The rest of the group spoke about how much they appreciated Robin’s service and hoped they would see him in the Gardens.
Announcements- Mark announced two gardening conference in the area. Youth Grow Local Conference on March 5 and Grow Together Conference on February 19. There is more information available on our website.
Registrar update- Gretel said that so far she has received 455 applications and that many of them are for half plots. She expects to be full and have a waiting list.
She notes a problem with the workday fee deadline, December 1 that we should address for next year. The students are not penalized if they pay the fee after the deadline because they are still at the top of the priority list and this problem is taking a lot of her time when she is very busy. She thinks we should think about a larger no work day fee if it is paid after Dec 1.
Gretel the prepared orientation script for opening day and asked if any changes needed to be made. Will said the weed pile, hoses out of the path and spigot issues needed further work. Last year 50 to 75 gardeners attended. Gretel suggests orientation on Opening day, March 19, some mid week evenings the next week and also the Seed Fair day, March 26.
Garden worker update – It was decided that the first workday would be after the seed fair. We still need to make repairs to the FW King Garden when soil conditions are right.
Will reported on preparations for the plant sales and said we could give away left over seeds at the sales (April 17 and May 22). He passed out a list of possible plants that will be for sale and asked for comments and additions. It was suggested that Striped Roman tomato should be on the list. The translators should also be asked for additions. Will has a GREAT marketing plan for the sale.
Will discussed the planting of more trees and small fruits in the infiltration area north of the arbor and the 500’s. Cathie said the Preserve would need to approve the plan. It is important to the donor that trees be planted in his father memory. Mark said that he apologized to the donor.
Will said he needs to buy 20 to 30 spigots for a cost of about $20. Also we will need to spend $25 to 30 to reconnect the water system to FW King after the tree work is done.
Will said he is having trouble getting the conduit out of the shed because of all the snow, but he will get it done.
Spring Workshops will be Trees in March and small fruits in April.
Treasurer’s report- Angus states that EH gardens has about $25,000 in cash. The funds are good but this is the time of year when we receive most of our income. We had $13,000 at the end of 2010 and $4,800 at the end of 2009. Angus reports that the plumbing bill was late and somewhat confusing as the charge to turn off the water at University Houses was much higher than Eagle Heights. He will look into it.
Fundraising- Mark and Gretel report that they have learned to access the system for our fundraising accounts UW Foundation. We have $2,400 in our account and we will send thank you cards to the donors. Louisa said she could provide some thank you cards. Mark said that these donations were for the garden use only and after we have a balance of $20,000, the fund would earn interest. We should use this money as a last resort and we should be doing a basic annual fund solicitation.
Seed fair planning- Ann says the seed fair will be on March 26. One workday was already held and we will need another to repackage seed. March 25 will be the seed sort. Ann suggested that we buy ready made, larger seed envelopes. The committee authorized that up to $50.00 be spent for supplies for the seed fair. Erica will have a St. Vincent de Paul Food Bucket for donations, which is a good idea. The seed fair information will be in both newsletters (Housing and the Assembly), which are both delivered to Eagle Heights and University Houses. Each garden plot will be entitled to 12-15 tickets. More popular seeds will require tickets. This year students will be allowed in at 9:30, other gardeners at 10:30 and others at 11:30. Will suggests that we need a flier for the plant sales.
Garden Calendar-
Opening day- March 19
Seed Fair- March 26
Plant sale (cool)- April 17
Plant sale (warm)- May 22
Pending issues with the Garden Oversight Committee
Water system, weeds and waste management
We adjourned at 7:30 pm.
Submitted by Karen
Water system, weeds and waste management, approval of the rules and compensation for the chair.
We adjourned at 8:05 pm.
Submitted by Karen
Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes
February 9, 2011, 6:30 PM
Eagle Heights Community Center
6:00 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Gretel, Will, Louisa, Robin, Ann, Angus, Mark, Alex, Cathie, Laura, Josh and Karen.
The meeting started early in order to have time to thank Robin, the outgoing Chair for his service to the Garden. Mark, interim Chair thanked Robin for his many hours of service to the Gardens. Gretel especially called attention to Robin’s excellent Garden Manual on our website. Laura conveyed thanks from the GOC and said she thanked Robin for all his teaching. Cathie from the Preserve agreed and said she appreciated the team feeling of the committee.
Robin thanked Gretel and previous Registrars Natalie and Rebecca for their excellent work and wonderful support. He also thanked the previous chair, Steven and recalled his advice. “Remember that everyone needs to be heard.” and “we have a problem; what do you think?” Robin said he will still help with the pruning workshop and try to get irrigation system estimates.
Angus commented that Robin was always chatting with people in the garden. The rest of the group spoke about how much they appreciated Robin’s service and hoped they would see him in the Gardens.
Announcements- Mark announced two gardening conference in the area. Youth Grow Local Conference on March 5 and Grow Together Conference on February 19. There is more information available on our website.
Registrar update- Gretel said that so far she has received 455 applications and that many of them are for half plots. She expects to be full and have a waiting list.
She notes a problem with the workday fee deadline, December 1 that we should address for next year. The students are not penalized if they pay the fee after the deadline because they are still at the top of the priority list and this problem is taking a lot of her time when she is very busy. She thinks we should think about a larger no work day fee if it is paid after Dec 1.
Gretel the prepared orientation script for opening day and asked if any changes needed to be made. Will said the weed pile, hoses out of the path and spigot issues needed further work. Last year 50 to 75 gardeners attended. Gretel suggests orientation on Opening day, March 19, some mid week evenings the next week and also the Seed Fair day, March 26.
Garden worker update – It was decided that the first workday would be after the seed fair. We still need to make repairs to the FW King Garden when soil conditions are right.
Will reported on preparations for the plant sales and said we could give away left over seeds at the sales (April 17 and May 22). He passed out a list of possible plants that will be for sale and asked for comments and additions. It was suggested that Striped Roman tomato should be on the list. The translators should also be asked for additions. Will has a GREAT marketing plan for the sale.
Will discussed the planting of more trees and small fruits in the infiltration area north of the arbor and the 500’s. Cathie said the Preserve would need to approve the plan. It is important to the donor that trees be planted in his father memory. Mark said that he apologized to the donor.
Will said he needs to buy 20 to 30 spigots for a cost of about $20. Also we will need to spend $25 to 30 to reconnect the water system to FW King after the tree work is done.
Will said he is having trouble getting the conduit out of the shed because of all the snow, but he will get it done.
Spring Workshops will be Trees in March and small fruits in April.
Treasurer’s report- Angus states that EH gardens has about $25,000 in cash. The funds are good but this is the time of year when we receive most of our income. We had $13,000 at the end of 2010 and $4,800 at the end of 2009. Angus reports that the plumbing bill was late and somewhat confusing as the charge to turn off the water at University Houses was much higher than Eagle Heights. He will look into it.
Fundraising- Mark and Gretel report that they have learned to access the system for our fundraising accounts UW Foundation. We have $2,400 in our account and we will send thank you cards to the donors. Louisa said she could provide some thank you cards. Mark said that these donations were for the garden use only and after we have a balance of $20,000, the fund would earn interest. We should use this money as a last resort and we should be doing a basic annual fund solicitation.
Seed fair planning- Ann says the seed fair will be on March 26. One workday was already held and we will need another to repackage seed. March 25 will be the seed sort. Ann suggested that we buy ready made, larger seed envelopes. The committee authorized that up to $50.00 be spent for supplies for the seed fair. Erica will have a St. Vincent de Paul Food Bucket for donations, which is a good idea. The seed fair information will be in both newsletters (Housing and the Assembly), which are both delivered to Eagle Heights and University Houses. Each garden plot will be entitled to 12-15 tickets. More popular seeds will require tickets. This year students will be allowed in at 9:30, other gardeners at 10:30 and others at 11:30. Will suggests that we need a flier for the plant sales.
Garden Calendar-
Opening day- March 19
Seed Fair- March 26
Plant sale (cool)- April 17
Plant sale (warm)- May 22
Pending issues with the Garden Oversight Committee
Water system, weeds and waste management
We adjourned at 7:30 pm.
Submitted by Karen
Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes
March 9, 2011 6:30 PM
Eagle Heights Community Center 6:30
Registrar update- All 440 Eagle Heights’ plots have been filled, and there are two people on the waiting list. All but 7 of the 101 University Houses have been assigned. Gretel observed an increased interest in organic garden plots, some requests had to go to University Houses. Shall we convert some UW gardens to organic? There is also a growing interest in small garden plots. Finally, the pattern of 31% new gardeners continues. (An email will be coming out in the next few days announcing the upcoming event schedule.)
Opening Day is March 19 (Saturday). Assignments will be posted on the web and on the bulletin boards at each garden. The sheds will be open and Orientations will be held. Josh filled the last orientation volunteer slot. Seed Sort will be on March 25 in the small gym. We will need tables from 108 and perhaps a few others. The bulk seed repackaging is done. Mark got about 1000 seed packets from Olds. The will be a 6:30 potluck and please bring cardboard boxes. A request for volunteers from the garden committee will be sent and volunteers will need to RSVP.
Seed Fair – The seed fair will be on March 26. Eric Domyan from St. Vincent de Paul will man the Grow a Row Table. Will and Louisa will again be selling row covers and plastic mulch. Robin and Melinda will hold garden question/answer workshop. Ann will prepare a seed catalog display so people can look up their seed varieties. There will be maps of the gardens so people can find their plots. A request will go out for volunteers. It was suggested that we hold a seed saving workshop in August – there's an uneven distribution of donated seeds.
Water-We will request that the water be turned on April 8 (expect it by April 11). It may not be possible to turn on the water in the 600’s of Eagle Heights because of the F H King garden repairs that need to be done. Porta Potty should be here by April 15. Parking signs will be coming soon.
Garden worker update – Will has prepared 400 conduit blanks for stakes ready for marking plots. Half plots (A or B) will be labeled on the flashing. He will finish all the stakes and would like some volunteer help installing them. Will showed the committee some sample new, good quality tools. The committee liked the tools and asked Will to spend a little more and purchase these tools. The weed pile barrier will be accomplished using rocks from the tree island.
Memorial Fruit Tree Donation- These discussions are still ongoing concerning the planting of more trees and small fruits in the infiltration area north of the arbor and the 500’s. Cathie said the Preserve would need to approve the plan. Rhonda, the Landscape Architect is also involved. Mark and Will are keeping the committee informed. Spring Workshops will be Trees in March and small fruits in April.
Plant sales- There was a suggestion from the growers that the plant sale be held from 8 to 11 on April 17 and May 22. The committee thought that sales would be better from 10-1pm.
Compost- A UW Green Business student group asked if the gardens would be interested in green scraps compost, which they are selling. There was discussion about the amount of non-compostable material contained in the product. Josh volunteers to talk to Taylor, the contact person about this issue. We will make clear that we are not able to buy this compost from them but would happy to use it if suitable. F H King has approached us about sharing our tiller during the season. Will will propose a draft rental fee for the committee. The timing probably works. The funds can be transferred between accounts.
Treasurer’s report- Angus states that EH gardens has about $27,000 in cash, but wages have not yet been paid. Fundraising- Louisa is designing thank you notes for the donations we receive.
Facebook- Graham and Alice are investigating the possibility of the gardens having a facebook page.
Garden Calendar-
Opening day March 19
Seed Fair March 26
Plant sale (cool) April 17
Plant sale (warm)- May 22
Pending issues with the Garden Oversight Committee Water system, weeds, waste management and discuss an exceptional volunteer priority policy.
Submitted by Ann
Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes
April 13, 2011, 6:30 PM
Eagle Heights Community Center
The meeting started on time, but, because of the large turnout, more tables and chairs had to be brought in from other rooms. Mark welcomed everyone and people introduced themselves around the room.
Announcements- Mark announced the new garden blog, available through a link on the website.
Registrar update- Gretel said that the gardens are full with 4 people on the waiting list. We have 569 gardeners. The gardens have 160 new gardeners this year. We conducted 6 orientation sessions.
Gretel thanked Ann, Alice and Karen for their seed fair help. 700 gardeners from 300 plots got seeds. Leftover seed will be given away at the Arbor on the day of the plant sale on Sunday.
The Porta potty will be delivered next week. The water will be turned on Friday of next week.
The Porta potty will be delivered next week. The water will be turned on Friday of next week.
Gretel notes that the new blog has good information on growing greens.
There has been a problem with broken glass, which is dangerous, and there have been some boundary issues.
Garden worker update – Will reported that we received permission from the Preserve Committee to install the Fruit forest and trees project as designed by Rhonda in the rain infiltration zone. Fruits will include pears, cherries, and plums. The plan will take time to completely implement.
The weed pile will be moved further east and boulders will be installed to make the boundary of the weed pile. The rocks are on site and will be moved soon.
Tilling have been delayed this year because of the wet and cold, but should start next week. Tilling will take 10 days. Gardeners get an email before and after the tilling and can be present during the tilling.
New tools are here. There will be 3 tine cultivators and hoes out next week. In spring there are more digging tools available and in summer there are more weeding tools.
Boundary issues have arisen in the University Houses Gardens. A gardener dug a cold frame in the Eagle Heights Woods next to the assigned plot. Unfortunately this was done close to a sign that stated that no digging should occur in this protected area. The gardener was unable to understand the sign due to language difficulties. The cold frame has been removed. Long discussion occurred regarding the communication difficulties. Will stated that the tenant leasing the plot should be ultimately responsible.
Water will be turned on soon and gardeners should not leave hoses in the paths as they interfere with mowing.
Sand will be delivered to the sandboxes by Housing.
Garden Committee -Mark asked people to sign up if they wanted to be on the garden committee. Gretel said that any gardener could be a member.
University Houses Garden- Mary Beth and Erin are liaisons of University Houses. Mary Beth said that the first issue of cold frames in the Eagle Heights Woods was discussed earlier in the meeting.
The second issue is the location of the weed and mulch piles. They need to be moved away from the buffer zone or we will continue to have problems.
There was a good turnout for the University Houses orientation. We have a nice mix of gardeners (same as Eagle Heights). University Houses needs a new tool rack.
Treasurer’s report- Will reported for Angus states that EH gardens has about $27,800 in cash. The funds are good but this is the time of year when we receive most of our income. We have $9000 more than this time last year. We have had no unusual expenditures.
Will states that we will have 500 to 600 hours of volunteer labor this year repairing paths and perimeter areas. The water system will need $300 to 400 worth of maintenance this year. Please do not dig near the water lines.
Compost- Josh reports that a business class has been collecting food waste and preparing compost. It is of quite good quality, but they are charging for it and we don’t have the money . Josh recommends that we try to get lake weeds delivered, as they are a good, free source of nitrogen.
Fundraising- Mark thanked Louisa for designing gorgeous thank you cards for our donors.
Communications- Graham reports the development of a facebook page. Everyone would be able to view the page. There would be an introduction of one to two paragraphs and a link to the website. Graham will act as the lead on facebook project.
The blog will be David’s responsibility and Sarah will write for it.
Gretel asked if we will keep the forum on the website. Mark stated the email is the primary means of communication method and the website is the primary source of information.
Alice said that images are very important in communicating. Pictures are easy to put onto facebook.
Co-Chair search- Mark stated that we need a new co-chair, as he will be leaving in July. He says that it would be better that the candidate be a member of the garden committee and be a student or a resident of University Housing. He asks interested people to contact him. In the past the committee voted on the chair via email. At this point we have a co-chair and a secretary position vacant. Will says we may have several people interested.
Garden Calendar-
Plant sale (warm season)- May 22
Pending issues with the Garden Oversight Committee
Water system
Weeds and waste management
A suggestion was made to offer to pay for any damages done to the plantings destroyed when the cold frame was dug in the Eagle Heights Woods.
We adjourned at 8 pm.
Submitted by Karen
Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes
May 11, 2011, 6:30 PM
Eagle Heights Community Center
Announcements- Mark welcomed the Garden Oversight Committee members present (our oversight committee) to the meeting. He thanked Jan, Laura, Kris and Cathie for their many hours helping oversee the gardens. Mark also thanked Will, Gretel, the GOC and others for their hard work during the early season of the garden. Introductions- Everyone introduced themselves.
Elections- Mark explained that he and Karen were interim co-chairs and he was leaving Madison soon. Karen expressed a desire to take the secretary position. Mark solicited interest in the position of chair of the gardens from the email list of all the gardeners of Eagle Heights and University Houses and received responses from two very well qualified people. He introduced Kim, a recent Horticulture graduate and Josh, a Plant Breeding graduate student and resident of Eagle Heights.
Josh Parsons – student and EH resident - plot 717
UW-Madison degree in Agriculture Education 2004-2007
Study abroad at the University of Philippines, Los Banos, 2005-2006
Employed by DL Parsons Construction - a long time
Agriculture Development in the Democratic Republic of Congo 2008 with HEAL Africa and Congo Initiative
PhD student in Plant Breeding and Plant genetics September, 2009-present studying nematode resistance in carrots. Josh is a second year gardener and attended Garden Committee meetings since last fall.
Kim Koch- Plot 922 Graduated UW-Madison, May 2011 with a BS in Horticulture and a Certificate in Environmental Studies
Employment- The Bruce Company, Middleton, Wisconsin, April 2010- present
As Customer Education/Sales Associate she identifies horticultural problems such as disease, insects and nutrient deficiency, work to educate and advice customer on best management strategies. She also informs customers about best growing practices, stocks and helps manage inventory and makes displays.
FH King Students for Sustainable Agriculture in Madison, WI she was the CSA Director from August 2009 to November 2010. She served on the Board of Directors to further the organization’s mission, supervised interns and acted as a representative for the group.
There was a motion by Ann and seconded by Karen to nominate Kim and Josh as co-chairs of the gardens.
Josh and Kim will split the job as they go along. Who ever is available first will take care of the task. Mark said that he, Kim, Josh and Karen will run the next meeting, as Gretel will be on vacation.
The candidates left the room and the vote was unanimous for Josh and Kim as co-chairs. Karen will serve as secretary.
Mark said that being co-chair of the gardens has been the best experience he has had in Madison and thanked the committee for the opportunity.
Registrar update- Gretel said that the gardens are full with 14 people on the waiting list. Three people have relinquished their plots and new gardeners are in the plots. Last years turnover was 35%. We are prompting a quicker turnover by seeing if people have started gardening and sending an email asking if they are still wanting the plot. Refunds for half the fee are given when gardeners relinquish their plots before June 1.
Weed juries will start soon. Juries are formed from ordinary gardeners on workdays. (A jury of your peers.) A warning is sent and posted giving two weeks to clean the plot of excessive weeds. The plot is taken after two weeks if there is no response.
Gretel will be gone for the first two weeks of June. All wished Gretel a good time on her vacation.
The shed keys have disappeared. Does anyone know about it? Jan suggests checking with the weekend Housing staff. Louisa says the keys should be signed out and there was general agreement that this is a good idea. Gretel will see to it.
The St. Vincent de Paul donations should start by the end of May
Garden worker update – Will reports that the tilling was largely completed by May 4. There's a short list with mostly recent additions to list or gardeners with plot debris to be cleared or wire grass.
About 40-45 additional tools were purchased, painted, and are available including rakes, hoes, 3-tine cultivators, digging forks. We have spent about 2/3rds of the tool budget, with the remainder for carts and wheelbarrows. Wheelbarrows will be delivered very soon to University Houses gardens.
Water turn-on was uneventful. Please contact Will or Gretel if you have an annoying leak. No water system issues have been reported by our neighbors.
Kris has done wonderful work moving rock in the tree island. The tree island is about 80% done.
Rocks from tree island are being staged nearby the weedpile for building out Rhonda James' weed confinement plan. It is very similar to the one at U. Houses. Breaker rock has been added to the swale, which is a big improvement. We will follow Rhonda’s plan for the weedpile. Will thinks the design will keep the weeds out of the path.
The Fruit forest and trees project as designed by Rhonda in the rain infiltration zone is proceeding. We're executing Rhonda's plan. Each step of the installation is field verified by Preserve or Physical Plant designees. Trees are in. The berm and swale water management phase goes in the end of May. Fruit bushes (exciting part!!!) follow thereafter.
University Houses Garden- Mary Beth, a liaison of University Houses, reports that most of the plots are being worked. Mary Beth says the new tools are great and requests that the weed pile be condensed.
Kim Koch- Plot 922 Graduated UW-Madison, May 2011 with a BS in Horticulture and a Certificate in Environmental Studies
Employment- The Bruce Company, Middleton, Wisconsin, April 2010- present
As Customer Education/Sales Associate she identifies horticultural problems such as disease, insects and nutrient deficiency, work to educate and advice customer on best management strategies. She also informs customers about best growing practices, stocks and helps manage inventory and makes displays.
FH King Students for Sustainable Agriculture in Madison, WI she was the CSA Director from August 2009 to November 2010. She served on the Board of Directors to further the organization’s mission, supervised interns and acted as a representative for the group.
There was a motion by Ann and seconded by Karen to nominate Kim and Josh as co-chairs of the gardens.
Josh and Kim will split the job as they go along. Who ever is available first will take care of the task. Mark said that he, Kim, Josh and Karen will run the next meeting, as Gretel will be on vacation.
The candidates left the room and the vote was unanimous for Josh and Kim as co-chairs. Karen will serve as secretary.
Mark said that being co-chair of the gardens has been the best experience he has had in Madison and thanked the committee for the opportunity.
Registrar update- Gretel said that the gardens are full with 14 people on the waiting list. Three people have relinquished their plots and new gardeners are in the plots. Last years turnover was 35%. We are prompting a quicker turnover by seeing if people have started gardening and sending an email asking if they are still wanting the plot. Refunds for half the fee are given when gardeners relinquish their plots before June 1.
Weed juries will start soon. Juries are formed from ordinary gardeners on workdays. (A jury of your peers.) A warning is sent and posted giving two weeks to clean the plot of excessive weeds. The plot is taken after two weeks if there is no response.
Gretel will be gone for the first two weeks of June. All wished Gretel a good time on her vacation.
The shed keys have disappeared. Does anyone know about it? Jan suggests checking with the weekend Housing staff. Louisa says the keys should be signed out and there was general agreement that this is a good idea. Gretel will see to it.
The St. Vincent de Paul donations should start by the end of May
Garden worker update – Will reports that the tilling was largely completed by May 4. There's a short list with mostly recent additions to list or gardeners with plot debris to be cleared or wire grass.
About 40-45 additional tools were purchased, painted, and are available including rakes, hoes, 3-tine cultivators, digging forks. We have spent about 2/3rds of the tool budget, with the remainder for carts and wheelbarrows. Wheelbarrows will be delivered very soon to University Houses gardens.
Water turn-on was uneventful. Please contact Will or Gretel if you have an annoying leak. No water system issues have been reported by our neighbors.
Kris has done wonderful work moving rock in the tree island. The tree island is about 80% done.
Rocks from tree island are being staged nearby the weedpile for building out Rhonda James' weed confinement plan. It is very similar to the one at U. Houses. Breaker rock has been added to the swale, which is a big improvement. We will follow Rhonda’s plan for the weedpile. Will thinks the design will keep the weeds out of the path.
The Fruit forest and trees project as designed by Rhonda in the rain infiltration zone is proceeding. We're executing Rhonda's plan. Each step of the installation is field verified by Preserve or Physical Plant designees. Trees are in. The berm and swale water management phase goes in the end of May. Fruit bushes (exciting part!!!) follow thereafter.
University Houses Garden- Mary Beth, a liaison of University Houses, reports that most of the plots are being worked. Mary Beth says the new tools are great and requests that the weed pile be condensed.
Gretel says one of the assigned plots in U Houses had ground bees. This plot was assigned to the Islamic School and one of the children is allergic to bees. Ground bees can be aggressive, so the Islamic School plot has been moved away from the bees.
Treasurer’s report- Angus states that EH gardens is still in good financial shape. A big part of his job is matching our records with the University accounting. Will stated that our financial control from Housing is very strict and we think that is good.
There was a problem with a bill from a year ago that was hard to trace. Laura reports that she has solved this problem and that duplicate books are a good idea. Angus says we keep detailed records and that our funds are about $8000 above last year at this time.
Volunteer Coordinator- Gretel would like to reduce her hours and have the gardens hire a volunteer coordinator who would supervise volunteers on workdays. Mark stated that this would not have any budget implications as far as he could tell. Josh stated that the position would be advertised through Housing and would be hired by the committee. Gretel stated that last year we had 40 workdays. Will likes the idea. The committee reached a consensus to pursue hiring a volunteer coordinator. Gretel will write the job description, as she has the expertise. Jan says to go ahead with the hire if a LTE volunteer coordinator
Fundraising- Mark announces a new gift of $4500 for the completion of the previously mentioned fruit forest and trees project as designed by Rhonda in the rain infiltration zone. This gift allows us to complete a five year project this year and includes five years of maintenance. On May 28 there will be a workday on the swale, following Rhonda’s plan. Phase II will be filling in the rest of the area with 4-6 foot high shrubs and 9-12 foot high trees. Will states the rest of the project can be can be done by the end of the season. Laura is pleased that a five year program will be completed within one year. She notes the good, thoughtful planning and great execution.
Mark brought up the topic of recognition of our donor. Cathie says that the preserve rules state there should be minimal signage. She said that it was important to tell the story of the project with its biodiversity, ecology and water and erosion control on our website. She also said we might be able to pursue the idea of a modest boulder. Kris stated that he thought web recognition was better. Lousia said there were many recognition boulders. Kris said in the near future, we need to send a thank you card. We could use one of Lousia’s new cards.
Communications- Alice says the reports facebook page is up and we have 7 friends. The page is linked to the webpage. Alice and Mark have photos for the page. Graham did great work on the facebook page and we thank him.
Compost- Josh reports that a business class has been collecting food waste and preparing compost. It is of quite good quality, but they are charging for it and we don’t have the money. Discussion ensued and Josh suggested we charge by the cartload. Kris said it is gorgeous stuff and we could sell it and offset the costs.
June Meeting- The next meeting will be in the garden, weather permitting. Angus will facilitate getting a room in the event of bad weather because Gretel will be on vacation.
The GOC will tour University Houses Gardens on May 20.
We adjourned at 8 pm.
Submitted by Karen
The Chair of the garden committee is a volunteer position whose primary responsibility is facilitating communication within the gardens. The main duty of the Committee Chair is presiding at and moderating the garden meetings; the Chair also helps to moderate the forum and the discussion list. The Committee Chair has no particular power to make decisions – just one vote, like any other committee member - but does have power to frame the debate, setting agendas and encouraging or limiting debate and bringing issues to a vote. Because of this, the Chair has a special responsibility to make sure that all voices are heard and that everyone who is interested has a chance to participate. The Chair is not responsible for the decisions the committee makes, but is responsible for the process by which those decisions are made, and ensuring that that process is timely, fair, and transparent.
Other aspects of the Committee Chair's role as communication facilitator include making sure that minutes are taken at garden meetings, taking notes at the Garden Oversight Committee (GOC) meetings, and being a representative from the garden committee to the GOC, along with the Registrar and the UHouses representative. The Chair also announces garden meetings and agendas and ensures that minutes and other relevant information is distributed. While the Registrar is the primary person who communicates with all gardeners via the e-mail list, the Committee Chair also has some responsibility to make sure that all gardeners are staying informed and are given the chance to be involved in decision making.
The Committee Chair, the Registrar, the Treasurer, and the Secretary must work closely together and can distribute responsibilities between themselves and the rest of the committee. In addition to the communication role outlined above, the Chair is expected to help the Registrar and Treasurer prepare annual budgets and provide oversight to make sure that income and expenses are in line with projections. The Chair is expected to participate in the supervision of the Registrar and Garden Worker(s) regarding the hours they work and their completion of necessary tasks.
The Chair may also choose to take on special projects as desired. Ideally, the Chair would also set an example to gardeners and other Garden Committee members by providing leadership at workdays.
There is the potential for this position to be filled by two co-chairs who divide up the responsibilities between them.
Qualifications: Besides interest, there are two qualifications for the garden committee Chair. First, it is highly desirable that any candidate for chair should be either a UW student, a resident of UW housing (specifically Eagle Heights, University Houses, or Harvey Street), or both. This is particularly important if the Registrar is not currently a student or resident. The second is that the committee Chair must be a gardener at either Eagle Heights or University Houses.
Garden worker and volunteer coordinator position:
This position will be part-time limited-term employee within the University of Wisconsin system with most of the labor needed during weekends in the growing season. This position’s primary responsibility will be supervision of weekend garden workdays. This position will supervise and perform gardening work in common areas of the Eagle Heights and University Houses gardens, including planting and caring for fruit trees, shrubs and perennial beds, inspection of plots for problems or needed work, advising and responding to garden jury recommendations, tilling of garden plots, doing routine inspections, cleaning and maintenance of gardening equipment, assisting in selection of gardening equipment, coordinating volunteers in weeding and clearing abandoned garden plots, and planning and coordinating workday tasks and other activities.
Occasional special projects may be assigned by the garden committee. This employee will communicate and coordinate his/her activities with the garden committee, other garden workers and registrar.
Preference will be given for applicants with previous knowledge or experience with Eagle Heights Community Gardens.
To apply for the position, please send a brief email of interest and resume to Mark Sieffert, Interim Co-Chair, Eagle Heights Community Gardens, sieffert@wisc.edu by Monday, May 30, 2011.
Treasurer’s report- Angus states that EH gardens is still in good financial shape. A big part of his job is matching our records with the University accounting. Will stated that our financial control from Housing is very strict and we think that is good.
There was a problem with a bill from a year ago that was hard to trace. Laura reports that she has solved this problem and that duplicate books are a good idea. Angus says we keep detailed records and that our funds are about $8000 above last year at this time.
Volunteer Coordinator- Gretel would like to reduce her hours and have the gardens hire a volunteer coordinator who would supervise volunteers on workdays. Mark stated that this would not have any budget implications as far as he could tell. Josh stated that the position would be advertised through Housing and would be hired by the committee. Gretel stated that last year we had 40 workdays. Will likes the idea. The committee reached a consensus to pursue hiring a volunteer coordinator. Gretel will write the job description, as she has the expertise. Jan says to go ahead with the hire if a LTE volunteer coordinator
Fundraising- Mark announces a new gift of $4500 for the completion of the previously mentioned fruit forest and trees project as designed by Rhonda in the rain infiltration zone. This gift allows us to complete a five year project this year and includes five years of maintenance. On May 28 there will be a workday on the swale, following Rhonda’s plan. Phase II will be filling in the rest of the area with 4-6 foot high shrubs and 9-12 foot high trees. Will states the rest of the project can be can be done by the end of the season. Laura is pleased that a five year program will be completed within one year. She notes the good, thoughtful planning and great execution.
Mark brought up the topic of recognition of our donor. Cathie says that the preserve rules state there should be minimal signage. She said that it was important to tell the story of the project with its biodiversity, ecology and water and erosion control on our website. She also said we might be able to pursue the idea of a modest boulder. Kris stated that he thought web recognition was better. Lousia said there were many recognition boulders. Kris said in the near future, we need to send a thank you card. We could use one of Lousia’s new cards.
Communications- Alice says the reports facebook page is up and we have 7 friends. The page is linked to the webpage. Alice and Mark have photos for the page. Graham did great work on the facebook page and we thank him.
Compost- Josh reports that a business class has been collecting food waste and preparing compost. It is of quite good quality, but they are charging for it and we don’t have the money. Discussion ensued and Josh suggested we charge by the cartload. Kris said it is gorgeous stuff and we could sell it and offset the costs.
June Meeting- The next meeting will be in the garden, weather permitting. Angus will facilitate getting a room in the event of bad weather because Gretel will be on vacation.
The GOC will tour University Houses Gardens on May 20.
We adjourned at 8 pm.
Submitted by Karen
Chair, Eagle Heights Garden Committee
Job Description
Other aspects of the Committee Chair's role as communication facilitator include making sure that minutes are taken at garden meetings, taking notes at the Garden Oversight Committee (GOC) meetings, and being a representative from the garden committee to the GOC, along with the Registrar and the UHouses representative. The Chair also announces garden meetings and agendas and ensures that minutes and other relevant information is distributed. While the Registrar is the primary person who communicates with all gardeners via the e-mail list, the Committee Chair also has some responsibility to make sure that all gardeners are staying informed and are given the chance to be involved in decision making.
The Committee Chair, the Registrar, the Treasurer, and the Secretary must work closely together and can distribute responsibilities between themselves and the rest of the committee. In addition to the communication role outlined above, the Chair is expected to help the Registrar and Treasurer prepare annual budgets and provide oversight to make sure that income and expenses are in line with projections. The Chair is expected to participate in the supervision of the Registrar and Garden Worker(s) regarding the hours they work and their completion of necessary tasks.
The Chair may also choose to take on special projects as desired. Ideally, the Chair would also set an example to gardeners and other Garden Committee members by providing leadership at workdays.
There is the potential for this position to be filled by two co-chairs who divide up the responsibilities between them.
Qualifications: Besides interest, there are two qualifications for the garden committee Chair. First, it is highly desirable that any candidate for chair should be either a UW student, a resident of UW housing (specifically Eagle Heights, University Houses, or Harvey Street), or both. This is particularly important if the Registrar is not currently a student or resident. The second is that the committee Chair must be a gardener at either Eagle Heights or University Houses.
Garden worker and volunteer coordinator position:
This position will be part-time limited-term employee within the University of Wisconsin system with most of the labor needed during weekends in the growing season. This position’s primary responsibility will be supervision of weekend garden workdays. This position will supervise and perform gardening work in common areas of the Eagle Heights and University Houses gardens, including planting and caring for fruit trees, shrubs and perennial beds, inspection of plots for problems or needed work, advising and responding to garden jury recommendations, tilling of garden plots, doing routine inspections, cleaning and maintenance of gardening equipment, assisting in selection of gardening equipment, coordinating volunteers in weeding and clearing abandoned garden plots, and planning and coordinating workday tasks and other activities.
Occasional special projects may be assigned by the garden committee. This employee will communicate and coordinate his/her activities with the garden committee, other garden workers and registrar.
Preference will be given for applicants with previous knowledge or experience with Eagle Heights Community Gardens.
To apply for the position, please send a brief email of interest and resume to Mark Sieffert, Interim Co-Chair, Eagle Heights Community Gardens, sieffert@wisc.edu by Monday, May 30, 2011.
Eagle Heights Garden Committee
Minutes June 8, 2011, 6:30 PM
Eagle Heights Community Center
The meeting was held in the Community Center due to bad weather.
6:00 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Will, Louisa, Ann, Mark, Josh, Alice, Kim, Karen, Angus, Emma, John, Kaoe, Tony and Shuhong Nie
Treasurer’s report- Angus states that EH gardens is still in good financial shape. Very little revenue comes in at this time of year, but we still have $5000 over what we had last year. We are able to pay our garden workers for the hours they work, which was our goal when the fees were raised. Will states that it has been a busier year for him this year with more mowing. The compost sales brought in $620, which is $13 under our costs. The intention was to break even. Mark says it would be a good idea to calculate the garden workers time into the compost sales. All agreed that that was a good idea. We still have a small amount to sell, so we may be able to pay for the workers time with the additional sales. Shunhong Nie asked how many loads of compost were sold at Eagle Heights. Alice states that we should strive to build sustainable models for the running of the garden.
Registrar update- Kim reported for Gretel as she is on vacation. We need to thank Lousia for helping load compost for the compost sales. The first pick up for the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry was made and Alice says the bins did have some produce in them. Kim says that 10 plots at University Houses and 6 plots at Eagle Heights received weedy plot notices. In the 200’s Emma reports a half-plot was weeded by neighbors, who are not the gardeners. This makes the plot weeded appear to be gardened, which it is not. Kim says she will take care of this by email. There are only a couple of people on the waiting list. The Garden Oversight Committee (GOC) toured the University Houses garden at their last meeting and were pleased. Kim gave the University Houses update for Mary Beth. They like the mulch and the new wheelbarrows. There is a problem with the tools being left in the plots. New hoses will be delivered.
Garden worker update – Will says that Kris is almost done in the tree island. Physical Plant will come tomorrow and move rock so the weed pile corral can be built if it doesn’t rain. Then we will remediate the tree island. Will has mowed both Eagle Heights and University Houses twice. Will requests a workday on Saturday to remove wiregrass. Josh will send out the notice and gardeners will report to Will. There is a mother rabbit that has taken up residence in the low 300’s. The nest is now abandoned and the baby rabbits dispersed into the garden. These rabbits have eaten lots of transplants. Some gardeners have lost all the plants they set out. There was discussion about borrowing traps and Ann said that when she gardened last year at University Houses that there is a bad rabbit problem there too. After discussion Will requested funds to buy a live trap to relocate the rabbits. There was a motion by Josh and seconded by Louisa to have Will buy two live rabbit traps. Alice said we also have a big mice problem too and we have to keep vigilant.
The fruit tree buffer and infiltration zone is continuing. The soil needs to be conditioned. The work is like making a raised bed. Will is inclined to do the work with the tiller, as it is easier on the soil. Fruit bushes will be installed in September. CALS has a new irrigation system that he will try to borrow. Fundraising- Mark says we have not yet received the previously mentioned gift for the fruit forest and trees project. He would like to invite the donor for a tour before he leaves in July. We had a successful annual fundraiser last year and we should report to the donors how we used the money. Mark will write a letter reporting our progress and soliciting donations for this year. We should also send a picture of the capital improvements, like the weed barriers. The committee thinks this is a good idea. He will send the letter around June 21. Mark will show Angus how to check our donation account at the Foundation before he leaves. Mark also suggests we have an all gardeners photo taken from the roof of the shed. We all thought this was a good idea. Kaoe said she has a good camera. Kim has a pilot friend that could also take an aerial shot.
Garden Worker (Volunteer Coordinator)- Kim states that we received four applications. Emma left the room, as she is one of the applicants. Two of the candidates had strong Eagle Heights gardening and volunteer experience, and Josh, Mark and Kim interviewed them. The interview committee recommends Emma for the position as she spent a good part of last year doing the job as a volunteer. It was moved by Louisa and seconded by Mark to hire Emma for the position. The vote was unanimous for sending on Emma application to Housing so she can be officially hired after the background check. Alice asked how many hours would the position be? The hours will come from Gretel’s hours, as she wishes to cut back her hours, especially on workdays. Kim states that the other candidate interviewed was also impressive and she would like to get her more involved in the gardens. Will said she lead a group of workday volunteers and did a very good job.
A general budget and fees discussion ensued. Will says that Hobie has other commitments and is not working as much. Alice asks if we are setting up a sustainable system? How many hours do we need? Will says we have records to what types of tasks were performed in each pay period and that we used this information to raise the fees last year. Shuhong Nie asked if the fees would be raised next year. Probably the fees will stay the same. Ann asked if was possible to have a scholarship fund? Mark said we could discuss it. Mark asked there were problem plots in the gardens. Will said that some of the plots have a lot of wiregrass and that we are trying to remove the wiregrass from the gardens. There are probably 20-25 plots with problems. The plots in the EH 500’s are wet in the spring. Shunhong Nie asked why there were no shovels in University Houses gardens? Will stated that gardeners were not returning the shovels to the racks, but leaving them in their plots. Will said that he is repairing 8-10 shovels and putting new handles on them and will put them out soon. A general discussion ensued about tools left in plots. It was restated that we should not go into others plots. Garden workers can get and return tools left in plots. Alice suggested that gardeners should make a note of the plot number with community tools left in the plots.
July Meeting- The next meeting will be in the garden, weather permitting.
We adjourned at 8 pm to the tornado shelter room and waited for 30 minutes for the storm to pass. Submitted by Karen
Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes
July 13, 2011, 6:30 PM
Eagle Heights Community Center
The meeting was held at Eagle Heights Garden Arbor. 6:00 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Will, Louisa, Ann, Mark, Alice, Josh, Kim, Karen, Emma, John, Yvonne, Rick and Mary Beth.
Thanks to Mark- Kim thanked Mark for his service as Co- Chair and all his hard work developing the Fruit Tree and Shrub area. Louisa thanked Mark for all his humorous comments. Gretel said she appreciated the work with the foundation account. Ann thanked Mark for taking her off the hook and splitting the job with Karen. Mark said we received the gift from our donor for the Fruit Tree and Shrub area and that the donor does not want web based recognition. Will described the Fruit Tree and Shrub project as a permaculture forest. Mark will pass on the foundation information to Angus and Gretel. We will send a thank you note to our donor. Mark thanked Louisa for her beautiful thank you card.
Co-Chair Report- Kim asks everyone to email their agenda items. The EH garden will be featured on The Wisconsin Gardener on Channel 3 Thursday at 7PM. Yvonne would like to donate a fruit tree to replace one that has died. She will donate it in memory of a friend who has passed away. There will be a small tag (about 2 x6 inches) on the tree. Will will approve the tree variety.
There will be a Bike Tour on August 27 from 9-1, which will end at the Eagle Heights Garden. Gretel says there might be a band and we might need permission.
Kim reported for Angus that we are in good shape financially. The sheds are rekeyed with the same key for both locks. Gretel says the keys will be signed out. Vegetable left on the St. Vinny’s shelf on the wrong day should be put on the share shelf.
Registrar update- Gretel Says there will be a workday Saturday. She will give away seeds for fall planting during the workday. Alice says late blight has been seen in Wisconsin. Gretel says we need to be careful because we have had some overreaction to late blight in the past. Gretel said since we have seen bean beetles maybe we should put out some parasitic wasps. Compost sales made $10 over the costs. We could do it again next April. Ann stated a need for compost at the University Houses Garden. Gretel said that there is one free plot at University Houses and a waiting list of three people. 45 plots have turned over this year. Gretel said she needed help with the Arbor maintenance. The poles are rotting at the bottom.
University Houses Update- There was a big leak at University Houses that has now been repaired. Kim suggested that we discuss making University Houses an organic garden. Mary Beth stated that they had thought about it. She thinks it should be all or nothing. It was decided to have the next meeting at University Houses and get input about making University Houses organic.
Coffee grounds- Alice collects coffee grounds from Indie Coffee in 5 gallon buckets and puts them in the shed. She will be leaving and would like to see the program continue. Ann and Josh said they would take over for her.
Garden worker update – Will says that one of our gardeners is a small engine mechanic and he was able to fix our tractor in 20 minutes! We spent $400 on the machine last year and it still didn’t work. Thank you gardener mechanic! Now we need to get a new battery for it. Kris is done moving rock and the Landscape Architect needs to approve the grade in the weed pile. The UW Arborists took out trees in the tree island. We will use extra soil from University House to remediate the island and then sugar maples will be planted. We have 100 feet of irrigation for the fruit trees. It should be installed in warm weather. We will try to install 330 feet this weekend.
In the Fruit Tree and Shrub area we have the use of a laser level to make the berm and swale area. We will need one workday for this project. Paul Williams, an expert in composting and beneficial insects, would like to set up a prototype of a composting system in the gardens. In the summer compost tea would be produced and in the winter vermiculture would be used. He will also advise us on the cultivation of beneficial insects in the gardens.
Garden Worker Hours- Kim started the discussion of worker hour allocation. Some of the hours are coming from Gretel’s hours. The budget has 12 hours a week for worker hours in this quarter. Kim said that Emma will be going twice a week to University Houses. Mary Beth said University Houses should to be mowed. Discussion ensued about the mowing and equipment at University Houses. Gretel stated that the budget we presented to the GOC was very conservative and she thought we could discuss spending more on garden workers. Will stated that he thought we are about 250 hours short on garden labor. Tilling was not in the labor budget and neither was the money. Therefore the hours are artificially down due to 40 hours of tilling. Gretel said we gave the GOC a minimum hours budget. We have the money. Ann said we were talking in circles and we needed more information. Discussion ensued. There was general agreement that we would not limit the workers hours right now and discuss this issue at the next meeting.
August Meeting- the next meeting will be at University Houses Gardens, weather permitting.
We adjourned at 8 pm. Submitted by Karen
Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes
August 10, 2011, 6:30 PM
University Houses Gardens
6:00 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Will, Louisa, Ann, Kim, Karen, Emma, Gretel and Angus.
Co-Chair Report- Kim gives everyone Josh’s regards. He is on vacation. Kim says that with the new reporting system, the garden worker hours need to be reported to Jan in Housing by early Sunday morning. Angus explained that supervisors must approve employee hours by 10am Monday, which is earlier than before.
There will be a Community Gardens Bike Tour on August 27 from 9-1, which will end at the Eagle Heights Garden. F H King will be involved also. Participants will be in the garden from 12:15 to 1. Lunch will be provided in the Arbor area. Kim said the other stops have children’s activities and that maybe we could give away so more of our seeds. Gretel said we have lettuce, radish and other fall crops. Louisa will write the information on the chalkboard. Emma stated that we should tell our gardeners about the event. Angus discussed the possibility of ice cream being available. Emma said that the mayor might attend.
Kim said there is a meeting on August 30 from 6:30-7:30 to discuss the University Houses transition to organic gardening. Gretel stated that we have a greater need to provide organic plots and we are not meeting that need. It was decided that a forum-based poll would be put on the web. Registrar update- Gretel reported that there is one plot available at Eagle Heights and one at University Houses. There are 5 people on the waiting list at Eagle Heights and that 4 new gardeners have plots since last week. 35 people have left since the beginning of the season, which is about a 10% turnover. Gretel made some suggestions for next year that we should discuss before the December application time. Issues include a financial penalty for not paying the no workday fee by December 1. Gretel made some specific suggestions which she will write up. There was general agreement that this is a good idea. Another issue is a rule requiring people to plant their plots.
University Houses Update- Mary Beth is dropping off the garden committee. Erin is unable to attend and sends her greetings. There was discussion of making a mowable path between the d and e row and e and f row. Some of the plots at University Houses are landlocked and a mowable path would solve many access problems. Emma says with such a path that all plots at University Houses would open on a path. Discussion ensued. Will needs to but conduit to mark the new path in advance of the work. There was general agreement that these new paths were a good idea.
Garden worker update –Gretel asked Will where the wall building will be in the fall so she can inform the plots in question early. Will said he will talk to Gretel soon. Will said the “speed bumps” on the path by the Tree Island will be smoothed soon and planted in grass. A couple of plots will have blocked access until the grass is grown. Will discussed a need for vegetable washing stations. Some of the paths have large ponds due to vegetable washing. He suggests installing vegetable washing stations near the east side of the shed. The drainage will be into a dry well and excess water could also go into the raspberries. The cost will not be very high.
Treasurers Report- Angus said that due to a fiber optic cable cut, he has not had much access to our financial data. He says the fiscal year ends in June and he will not have the information about it for another month. He will try to get the information earlier.
Tree Island- Will said the tree island will be done soon. Some trees were removed and the Preserve Committee will have to approve the replacement trees. Will plans to circulate a draft proposal. We have a gardener in the 700’s who is an expert on chestnuts. The proposal will probably include sugar maples and chestnuts. Ann reports that she has taken over Alice’s coffee ground collection. Gretel reports that the shed has not yet been rekeyed.
Weedy Plot Problems- Kim reported that there are difficulties with two different weedy plots, both of which the juries have given a second weedy plot notice of the season. The garden rules state that on receiving the second weedy plot notice, the gardener loses the plot and it is reassigned to another gardener. In the case of plot “A”, it was discovered that the registrar was receiving none of the emails being sent from the gardener. This communication problem was our fault. The plot ”A” gardener had difficulties with a computer virus last year and was blocked out of the university email system. The communication problems have been solved and the registrar reports that progress is being made in this case. In the case of plot “B”, the gentleman was very upset to receive the second weedy plot notice. Kim agreed to meet the gardener at the plot in question. Kim waited for the gardener at the plot, but the gardener did not come to the appointment in the garden. Further communication was received from the gardener stating his concerns. Kim stated that our rules say that upon receiving a second weedy plot notice; the garden is reassigned to another gardener. Discussion ensued. Emma stated that the jury of gardeners volunteering on the workday was very through and worked hard to give fair recommendation. Moved by Ann and seconded by Louisa that the plot be reassigned. The motion passed unanimously.
September Meeting- the next meeting will be at Eagle Heights Garden, weather permitting.
We adjourned at 8 pm. Submitted by Karen
Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes
September 13, 2011, 6:30 PM
Eagle Heights Garden
6:00 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Will, Louisa, Ann, Kim, Karen, Emma, Gretel, Carol and Steve.
Co-Chair Report[- Kim gives everyone Josh’s regards. He is at a conference and unable to attend. Kim reports that she will be gone from Saturday until October 2 and that Josh will be available. Emma says that the Community Gardens Bike Tour on August 27 went well. Emma, Josh and Will helped set up the lunch. Afterwards Josh took some people on garden tours. They have sent us a nice thank you note. Spence and Ann are going to be organizing the St. Vincent de Paul food donations. Carol says that she sometimes takes greens directly to the food pantry because the greens wilt in the bins. Gretel says that in the future, we need to do orientations in several languages telling people about the donation boxes so they realize that food should not be taken from the bins.
Ann reported that she has been doing the coffee pickup and that the used coffee grounds have a high nitrogen content. Will thinks we should be working on a more open process to distribute the coffee grounds to the gardeners. Perhaps after workdays, the coffee grounds came be given to the volunteers. Gretel suggests that we work on the distribution process during the winter.
Registrar update- Gretel presented the end of the gardening year demographic report for the 2011 season. 47 plots changed gardeners after the initial assignments (approximately 10%) After April, most of these reassignments were new gardeners. Original waiting list (from March 1) assigned a plot (or declined a plot) by mid-May. About 7 reassignments per month involving settling refunds with first gardener, arranging a transfer date, meeting new gardener at plot or posting reassignment notice in plot and getting/ refunding settled with the new gardener. There were many fewer problems with “gardening in the wrong plot” due to the new markers.
Category Original Percentage Gardeners leaving at mid-year (% of total) Residents 41% 55% Students 17% 17% Fac/Staff 23% 15% Alumni 9% 2% Community Members11%11% Gardeners new this year 32% 69% in small plots 48% leaving in large plots 21% leaving Returning Gardeners 68% 30% Gardeners leaving at mid-season were distributed close to their original representation, but more new gardeners quit in mid-season than those who had gardened in the previous year. Many more new small plot gardeners (who tend to be new to gardening) left that those new gardeners with large plots. Gretel stated that 47 plots were turned over to new gardeners. New gardeners are more likely to leave than gardeners who have had a plot the previous year.
Gretel reported on the workday obligation. She said that last year 60% of the gardeners worked, 10% paid the fee early, 20% paid late and 10% did not pay. Eagle Heights and University Houses are very similar in this regard. This year 45% have worked and 10% have paid early and we still have more workdays left. We will soon be having our 25th workday of the year. There have been 6 Eagle Heights and 4 University Houses weed juries. Gretel said that there have been more 2nd weedy plot notices this year, 5 at Eagle Heights and 1 at University Houses. Three notices drew no response and the plots were reassigned. Two plots were cleaned up and making progress and one plot appealed the notice. Gretel suggests that the following language for an appeal of the 2nd weedy plot notice. “If you would like to request to appeal, please write to the Garden Committee in care of the Co-Chairs with a explanation of how you will address this issue now and in the future.” There was general agreement that this should be added to the rules.
Treasurers Report- Kim stated that Angus reports we are doing well financially.
University Houses Update- Emma reported that the next workday be working on the buffer area. There is also a weed issue. Roma reports that weeds have been dumped in the buffer area and also on the path. We will work on this issue. Gretel says that proper weed disposal needs to be part of the orientation. Kim says the University Houses organic meeting had to be moved to the Community Center at the last minute, due to bad weather. Kim also sent an email survey to University Houses gardeners about making University Houses garden organic just 2 days ago. Gretel pointed out that we have more requests for organic garden plots than we can fill. Discussion ensued. We need more time to receive responses to Kim’s survey before making any decision. Kim said that no one at the meeting had much to say about the proposed change to organic gardening, but many people commented on the proposed path changes. The gardeners wanted to have north-south paths to the water spigots. Emma says that there are already some fairly good north- south paths. Garden workers will maintain any paths by mowing. Emma also said that University Houses needs restaking and marking. It is hard for juries to tell the plots apart and know exactly which plot they are observing.
October Meeting- the next meeting will be at Eagle Heights Community Center.
We adjourned by flashlight at 8 pm. Submitted by Karen
Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes
October 11, 2011, 6:30 PM
Eagle Heights Community Center
6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Will, Louisa, Kim, Karen, Emma, Gretel, Ulrike, John, Josh, Alice, Malcom and Sandra.
Co-Chair Report- Kim welcomed everyone and reported there will be a GOC meeting on Friday at 8:30am.
University Houses Update-
Paths- Emma, Gretel and Kim marked out possible north-south paths at University Houses gardens. The paths are one and a half feet on either side of the boundary markers. Emma says they tried to make a path between every other plot so all would have better access to the water and the main path. Emma also suggested that, in the future, the committee talk about water feeder lines to the north of the main path, serving the F plots. Many of the proposed paths are already well trodden. The paths would be running north from the main path between plots C2/C3, C4/C5, C6/C7, C7/C8, C9/C10, C11/C12, and C13/C14. A path would also go south between plots B9/B10. The Committee agreed to marking and maintaining these new north-south paths.
Organic section-An organic section is proposed for the following University Houses plots: B10 through B24 and A19 through A27. These A and B row sections have gardeners who reported that they would that they are already organic or would be willing to change. There was general consent for this proposal.
Fruit bushes- Emma reports many boundary and stake issue at University Houses. Gretel says that plots F8, D15, and E12 are especially bad, as the plots are very irregular and have been abandoned repeatedly by their gardeners. There are walnut trees in the immediate vicinity, which makes growing many crops difficult. D15 is also difficult to garden due to ground bees. It is proposed that this area be planted in small fruiting bushes, as has been done at Eagle Heights. Emma says another area for fruit bushes is the “area not gardened” on the map south of the B row. This area south of the B row is problematic due to unauthorized weed dumping and trash buildup. The fruit bushes that were maintained would help solve some of these problems. Will thinks the total project would cost about $1000. This money would include about $300 for the fruit bushes in the F8, D15 and E12 areas: about $150 more for the Area not gardened in the B row and a further $500 to finish the fruit projects at Eagle Heights. Will and Emma will present a plan as to the types of fruit and placement. Gretel wondered if the donor funds could be used. Josh said he about find out. The committee gave consent to spend either our regular funds or donor funds to do this project. Emma also notes that the weedpile problem at University Houses has been fixed.
Garden worker update- Will says we are waiting for Physical Plant to complete some work before finishing the weedpile project at Eagle Heights.
Registrar update- Garden email list Gretel announced that there is an email list for the Garden Committee and all are welcome to join.
2012 Application Draft -Gretel presented the draft application for the 2012 gardening season. Most of the changes have been discussed and approved at previous meetings. Gretel stated the plot fees remain the same as last year. Gretel enumerated the changes from last year.
1. There is an addition check box to request a plot in the new University Houses organic area.
2. There is an addition sentence in the rules in the Weeds section. “ If you wish to request an appeal to the garden committee, a written plan to avoid problems in the future will be required.
3. There is a fine now for failure to pay the no workday fee by the Dec 1 deadline. “This fee must be paid by Dec. 1, 2012. Gardeners who do not work or pay the fee by this date will be considered new gardeners for priority purposes and will not be eligible to request their old plot back. In addition, a ‘late fee’ of $10 per large plot and $5 per small plot will be assessed and the prior year must be settles before any new application will be considered.”
4. As the gardens are part of the Preserve, the rules now state that the gardens and preserve are closed between 10pm and 4am.
5. Garden paths- The common paths are maintained by the garden workers but gardeners should be mindful of the need to maintain the path integrity and avoid digging or trenching into this area. Paths should be kept free of obstacles.
6. The address has been added to the application page.
7. Check boxes have been added for organic, non-organic and any plot is fine to the application. Everyone on the committee agreed with these changes.
Budget and further 2011 Expenditures- Gretel said that the Garden Organizing Committee (GOC0 must approve our yearly budget. We, of course, need to stay within our budget. Gretel reported that Angus says we have about $13,000 left at the end of this season. He cannot be exactly sure because we have not seen an official budget numbers from the University since May. Angus tries to track all the garden spending and labor costs along with the University’s accounting. It makes has job as Treasurer very difficult when we our numbers cannot be compared with the University’s record for months at a time.
Background information The gardens supply land, water, tools, carts and wheelbarrows, composted leaves, weed disposal, portapotties, garden maintenance, trash disposal and organization among other things to all gardeners as part of the plot fee. Gardeners at University Houses only are supplied with hoses. All these services must be maintained from year to year. The budget reflects this charge of keeping the gardens running smoothly so services and garden infrastructure can be maintained. All of these categories are contained in the budget. Some additional services are provided by the garden for a fee to individual plot holders. These items include labor for tilling plots, row cover sales, and compost sales. These monies are not included in the budget because they are all provided at our cost. Further expenditures for 2010 Gretel stated that we have approximately $13,000 in our balance. Ideally, we would like to have a balance of about $10,000 at the end of the year so we can provide the services enumerated about in the next year.
We would like to spend about $3,500 by the end of the year on needed supplies and repairs. For the water system, we need spigots at both gardens and miscellaneous plumbing parts. Row cover and plastic need to be purchased in advance of the seed fair in the spring. The tool inventory will be taken at the end of the season and replacement tools and parts purchased. Ulrike asked if a certain number of tools were provided? Will said yes, for example, he has put 20 shovels a University Houses this season. Ulrike also asked if the garden workers repair tools. Will said yes. It was suggested that a broken tool bin be put by the sheds.
Will stated that the fruit bushes for University Houses could be purchased now with delivery at planting time in the spring. Garden carts and wheels barrows are also an ongoing concern. We have not purchased any new carts since 1996. Will proposes that we purchase 8 new cart tubs and other spare parts to refurbish our existing carts. Josh asked about the spare parts for carts. Will said the order would have 4 wheels, 8 tires and 20 tubes. New carts cost $280 plus $40 freight, while new tubs cost only $83 when bought in bulk. There was some discussion of other types of carts and it was pointed out that having carts of all the same type makes repairs easier. There was some discussion that carts would be useful at University Houses. Sandra, a University Houses gardener, said she thought wheelbarrows were better there because of the narrow paths. (Some new wheelbarrows were purchased last year.) Ulrike asked about the replacement of hoses at University Houses. Will said to send Gretel an email about broken hoses and the problem will be fixed. After discussion, the committee agreed to buy the cart tubs and parts along with the fruit bushes, water spigot and plumbing parts, replacement tools, row covers and plastic.
Budget 2012- Gretel stated that we are presenting a very conservative budget to the GOC. A budget with expenses broken down into quarters was presented. A summary of that budget is presented here. In the 2012 budget: Projected income (from plot and other fees) is $25,500. This number does not include the increases from the new late fine for the no workday fee (projected to be $750.)
Projected expenses
1. Labor costs for the registrar have been decreased and more hours are allocated for the garden workers as a new garden worker has been added. Labor hours are budgeted for all quarters. Total labor for 2012 is budgeted at 1385 hours at a cost of $19,390.
2.Portapotty- Total cost is $1400 per year.
3. Supplies- The total amount is $3600 with more expenses in the later half of the year. 4.Plumbing- The water system must be turned on and off by the UW physical Plant. The yearly cost is $1000. This is $25,390 budgeted as total expenditures in 2012.
Carryover spending on capital/tools of 2011 is $5000. Expected carryover after spending in fall 2011 is above $10,000. Additional items not presented in the budget are those items provided to the gardeners at cost. They include: compost income and expenses of $650, row cover/plastic sales expenses and income of $900 and tilling labor expenses and income of $1050. Josh asked if there were any objections to presenting the GOC with this 2012 budget and there were none.
Other business- Gretel presented some research from Vincent Smith’s PhD thesis titled “The Socioeconomic Value of Community Food Production”. The information presented will be posted on our website. In summary he finds the highest motivation factor for gardeners are: presented in declining order- fresh food, enjoyment, therapy, health, environment, availability, money and sales. Note that his study included other gardens where sales are allowed, unlike our garden where sales are prohibited. The monetary value of the produce produced on average from a large Eagle Heights garden plot was $810 a year. Sandra said that her University Houses plot has so far produced 572 pounds of produce this year.
November Meeting- the next meeting will be at Eagle Heights Community Center.
We adjourned at 8 pm. Submitted by Karen
Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes
November 8, 2011, 6:30 PM
Eagle Heights Community Center
6:00 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Will, Louisa, Kim, Karen, Emma, Gretel, Angus, John, Josh, Ann and Ulrike. Kim welcomed everyone.
Treasurer’s Report- Angus says that we still do not have our official financial data from the Housing office. He also keeps an accounting of the money and believes that we have about $11,000. We probably have about 991 worker hours reported and the budget for the year has 1050 hours. Gretel says that some money is coming in from no work fees. Will says if we do the small fruit plan, we will be right on budget.
Registrar’s report - Gretel reported that the GOC approved our 2012 budget at their last meeting. The schedule for next year is as follows:
Opening day March 17
Seed Fair March 24 Repackaging of seed should be done sometime in January and February and the seed sort will be on March 23. March 17 is an early opening day. We will have a lot to do. All plots will have to be marked. Angus asked if we would have orientation next year. Gretel says orientations in English, Chinese and Korean are planned. Last year about 100 people attended orientation. Seed repackaging will probably be held January 21 and we were given a lot of envelopes. Help is needed to coordinate the seed fair. November 27 will be the shed clean up and tool inventory. Most, but not all of the tools and carts will be put away. Gretel suggests that we change the meeting time permanently to Wednesday in January. She says it is difficult to reserve a room on Tuesday at the Community Center because it is the busiest day. The GOC will meet Friday after our meeting.
Co-Chair Report- Kim reports that rules being discussed about rehiring retirees could affect the garden. We do not know if the policy will extend to LTE’s. Hobie may or may not be returning as a garden worker, as he is under greater time constraints. Kim will be leaving next summer and Josh will remain. We will need another co-chair.
Garden worker update-Will says the wall building has gone really well this year. Gretel says there will be a workday both Saturday and Sunday. Angus says that Kris has been working really hard this year, always moving rock. We are all grateful to Kris for his beautiful work. Will says we were held up for a while, so the project didn’t move as quickly as we liked. We have asked Shorewood not to come into our area when the ground is wet, because it leaves ruts. We still need to fix the path outside the weedpile. Gretel says the weedpile situation has improved with the rock walls. Will says what is still missing is a culvert plan. We hope to get it done next summer.
University Houses Update- Fruit bushes- Emma reports that we could plant fruit bushes south of the B row, in the north of the garden in D15, E12 and F8 and in the irregular areas north of D13 and D14. She suggests blueberries, bush cherries, currants, hazelnuts and rhubarb. The blueberries will not be planted near the walnuts. Will says he thinks this will add to the attractiveness at University Houses. Gretel says we are only losing 2 small, difficult plots. Louisa moved and Angus seconded to approve the University Houses small fruit plan. All were in favor, none opposed. Issues- Ulrike asked if the gardens had ever contemplated keeping bees. Gretel said it would not be possible under the rules, because they are considered livestock. FH King has bees and a Shorewood resident keeps bees. We all realize they are important for pollination. There are ground bees in a plot at University Houses where the small fruits will be planted. A permanent planting is more compatible with the ground bees. Ulrike also asked the policy concerning dogs at the garden. Gretel says the dogs must be on a 6 foot leash and owners must pick up after their pet. Ulrike says dogs off leash at University Houses is a problem. Will said that some poles will be installed to keep the leaves out of the woods at University Houses.
December Meeting- the next meeting will be at Eagle Heights Community Center.
We adjourned before 8 pm. Submitted by Karen
Location: room 139 Eagle Heights Community Center In attendance: Kim, Gretel, Sandra, Officer Buckley, Josh, John, Emma, Ulrike, Ann
Eagle Heights Garden Committee meeting notes December 13th, 2011
Location: room 139 Eagle Heights Community Center In attendance: Kim, Gretel, Sandra, Officer Buckley, Josh, John, Emma, Ulrike, Ann
Shed Security- We have had two “break ins” this fall at EH shed. One Sunday, early in November shed door had been kicked in resulting in a broken deadbolt. Nothing seemed taken or disturbed. It was probably done Saturday night as it was not noticed Saturday during the day. There are no lights in shed. A UW Police Officer came Monday to look at it. Metal casings are being made for door jams at both sheds. Early in December, the rolling garage door at EH had been kicked.Now the rolling doors have been jammed shut from rafters and the glass door has been secured in both sheds. Break ins could have been done by teens who don’t take anything. Thieves generally look for the easiest break in possible, so taking the measures to secure shed is good. Could be a good idea to put a light on outside of shed. Clearing some of the brush out of the preserve area between the road and shed increases visibility in the area, especially from the road. We also have general garden theft. We usually don’t report missing vegetables because there isn’t much that the police can do. It is good to let Officer Buckley know that there is theft of produce, just so she can keep tabs on the issue.
Shed pack up day and tool inventory- Tool inventory at sheds do not indicate that we have lost any tools/ carts and it went really well. Both EH and UH sheds were packed. Will is going to do a summary for long term planning. We have tools to repair over the winter. No more tools or carts are out for garden use. New tools will need painting in the spring. New carts and replacement/repair parts were received
Seed Fair- March 24th. Row cover came in for seed fair sales. Enough black plastic remains from last year to sell this year at the fair. John and Sandra can run the workshop. Room 139 is reserved Friday night to sort the seeds for the fair. Beans, peas, etc will be sorted Sunday Jan. 22nd and Sunday Feb. 12th by select garden volunteers.
Opening day is March 17th. We will need to hold orientations the 17th through the 24th. Some weekend and some weekday orientations will be held, with some translators at both gardens.
Plant sales Mid April 4/22 (both plant sale and compost sale) and Mid May 5/13 (plant sales). We should plan to sell compost about the same time. We cannot dump compost at UH, but if we could find someone with a pickup truck we could sell out of the back of the truck. Emma will contact Gardens to Be
Garden meetings will move to Wednesday in January.
Workdays- We had about the same number of workdays this year as last. Approx. 35 were held this year. People still complain about not having a workday that fits their schedule. Next year we will try to post at least one workday per month significantly in advance to allow people to plan better. Workday tally as of Dec. 13th 2011 2010 2011 Worked 60% 60% Paid with application 10% 10% Paid fall (or later) 20% 14% Neither paid or worked 10% 16% It is a problem that we have a higher percentage of people who are skipping out. We will not accept new applications until last years fees are paid. Gretel is still receiving payments regularly.
New posts and plot markers are installed at UH. Markers are in the front of the plot not the back. Emma- Kris is done with the rock wall around the weed pile at EH. Looks wonderful! We really tore up the paths near the rock wall with the equipment. They will need to be fixed in the spring. The plan is to fence off most of the paths to the North and West of the rock walls where the path is destroyed. It will require a small detour around the rock wall but will only be a super short detour. Snow fencing will be used to fence off those areas to prevent gardeners from entering. There is dirt in between the rocks on those walls. We may want to plant in that area so weeds don’t grow. Perhaps just grass? The rodent situation at the gardens is bad, hopefully next year will be better. Could use chicken wire, mounding root vegetables, hawk perches, etc.
Applications will be posted December 15th. Applying early is best.
There will be no GOC meeting this month. Notes submitted by Kim
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