April 2024

                                             Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

April 10, 2024  7 PM

Remote Meeting

Lily, Alex, Jolene, Ann, Jessica, Pam, Ron, Sam, Nick, Doug and Karen.

Jessica started the meeting.

The meeting started with introductions, including the new garden workers, Sam, Pam and Nick.  Will is also a new garden worker who was not able to attend.

Minutes  With a motion by Ann and seconded by Lily, the March 2024 minutes were approved. 

Registrar Update

There are 2 to 3 half plots left in all the gardens, but they will be assigned soon.  The Seed Fair was well attended with 234 plots picking up 8 packets each.  Our major donor is no longer giving us older seeds, which is why we were not able to give more packets.  Lily proposes a mini August Seed Fair for fall crops.  We will purchase spinach and other fall crops in bulk and repackage them.  The committee agreed to this idea.

Lily says there has been a request from a gardener to grow lotus in their plot.  The committee agreed to the request if mosquitoes are controlled and there is no water hazard present.  Permission will be revoked if the conditions are not met.

Jolene reports we have new keypads for the sheds and asks all of us to turn in old keys as they can be reused by housing.  Keys can be returned by placing the key in a green garden envelope and putting it in the drop box. Please contact Lily if you had a key and need the code.  

Lily requests we buy a second post driver so we can have one in each shed.  The committee approved.

There was discussion about there being a sapling puller in the shed.  It has not been found yet according to Nick, who has been cleaning the shed. Nick also said there was row cover in the shed.

Garden Calendar

Lily shared the Garden Calendar with the committee.  For March, tree removal, tree pruning, and servicing the mowers and other equipment is a priority. Repair of carts and especially wheelbarrows at University Houses is also a priority.  Ric and Karen agreed last fall to repair carts, but that never happened.  Ron said he would also help.

UW Housing does the mower servicing for the gardens. Jolene says that the Garden Workers will have a meeting with Sean of UW Housing Grounds to find out how to get gas for the mowers and understand how the gardens work with Housing Grounds.

The discussion turned to tools. A tool inventory was not done last fall and probably some new tools need to be purchased.

Motion by Karen and seconded by Ann to spend up to $800 on tools and cart/wheelbarrow supplies.  Motion passed. 

The committee stated that the garden workers should divide up the tasks on the priority list and get the jobs done among themselves.  Discussion ensued.  One of the garden workers suggested a rotating schedule of mowing when the mowing season starts and the committee thought this was a good idea.  Someone else said there might also be some specialization of tasks.

Weedpile

The background on the weedpile is that UW Grounds can not remove the pile until the large sticks, dirt balls, metal and trash are removed.  Doug was in the gardens during the meeting and said he thought it would take about 2 workdays and he agreed to lead the first one this weekend.  

The plan is the usable sticks can go in the barrels for reuse.  The dirt can go back to the gardens.  The unuseable sticks that can be chipped will be placed by the Christmas trees that arrived mysteriously over the winter.  This pile can be chipped by Housing Grounds when the pile is done.  The organic matter left over can be transported by UW Grounds to a composting facility.

Then we will be able to have Shorewood start again taking 15 loads of weeds a year for us as is our agreement.

Online Maintenance Form

Lily will remind gardeners to use the online form for maintenance requests when the water is turned on.

Jessica states she will be taking a maternity leave at the end of April.  We wished her well.

Motion by Ron and seconded Karen to adjourn

Adjourned 7:44

Submitted by Karen, subject to correction by the Garden Committee