August 2023

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

August 9, 2023 7 PM

At University Houses and some people by Remote Meeting

Ann, Barb A, Lily, Jolene, Barb L, Nichole, Ric, Jessica,

Doug, Sandra and Karen.

Minutes Motion by Ann and seconded by Ric to approve the July 2023 minutes. The minutes were approved.

Registrar Update

Lily reports that the waiting list is quite short. There have been complaints about bikes in the UW Preserve. Bikes are allowed in the garden, but not in the Preserve. Laura would like us to cover the bike sign at the entrance.

There was a suggestion to use a butane torch to burn weeds off the wire fences. The Committee decided that this was a fire hazard and is not allowed.

There was discussion about an elderberry bush in a plot. Discussion ensued. There are elderberry bushes along the easement. Elderberry bushes are aggressive and very difficult to remove. Elderberries were removed with great difficulty from a plot. The garden workers have made a big effort to remove trees from the gardens and are making good progress.

Motion by Ric and seconded by Bard L to remove the elderberry from the plot after this year's harvest. All agreed.

A gardener was requested to remove Artemesia along the 12” boundary path with the neighbor and fell. Discussion ensued. It is difficult to get everyone to clear the paths between plots. People plant along the border and plants get larger than people expect. Lily will send out an email about keeping the 12” path between plots clear.

How many gardeners need a workday?

Lily estimates that 118 gardeners still need to complete a workday. There need to be enough workday opportunities so we can go back to the rule requiring a workday every year for every plot.

Doug will have a ditch workday and there will be a workday later to remove the elderberry.

Garden Worker Report

Ian reported a dead tree at University Houses. Since we were there, we could see the dead tree was on UW Preserve land and not our responsibility.

The west leaf pile at University Houses cannot be serviced any longer by Housing because the road is impassable in wet weather and overgrown.

The weed pile at Eagle Heights has not been removed this year. Lily will ask about it at the GOC. Nichole reports that many tasks have been caught up and she is now here working. Ian has now been removing the trees in plots and the buffer zones. Ian would like to know how many people still need to do workdays?

Budget and Fees

There was discussion about the budget and fee review. The GOC had concerns that the rise in fees for students and residents is too high. Since the chart with the information could not be shared electronically with all present, the decision to take the GOC recommendation will be made by email discussion.

Electronic Vole Deterrents

The vole deterrent puts out a beeping sound. After discussion there was a general consensus that these electronic deterrents do not work. Better advice is to take away the cover for them and they also do not like cayenne pepper. Someone suggested that Castor Bean was a deterrent. Castor beans are extremely poisonous! The garden said the castor beans would be removed from the plant.

Herb Garden

There was concern that a community herb garden would be quickly decimated and was probably not a good idea.

August Calendar

The tasks include weeding, the 700s wall and workdays in the former 400’s. Nichol will email Lily to set up workdays for the weekend.

People commented about how wonderful the new pink paint looks on the tools.

Karen, Ric and Ian need to set up a cart repair workday.

Adjourned

Some people took a tour of University Houses Garden after the meeting.

Submitted by Karen, subject to correction by the Garden Committee

July 2023

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

July 12, 2023 7 PM

Remote Meeting

7:00 Present: Ian, Ann, Barb A, Megan, Jolene, Sandra and Karen.


Minutes Motion by Ann and seconded by Sandra to approve the June 2023 minutes. The minutes were approved.

Registrar Update

The written report from Lily was read as she was on vacation. The gardens are full but some plots are changing hands. There are 9 people on the waiting list.

Budget and Fees

There was discussion about the budget and fee review. The GOC had concerns that the rise in fees for students and residents is too high. Since the chart with the information could not be shared electronically with all present, it was decided to put off any decision until the August meeting. One question the committee had was what is the student / community member split at the gardens.

Rain garden

It was suggested by Jim that we apply for a Dane County plant grant for more rain garden plants. The application is due July 21st.

Motion by Ann and seconded by Barb A to have Jim or Doug apply for the Dane County plant grant on behalf of the Eagle Heights Garden. Motion passed.

Hose Reels

Southwest Reel, the company that made the hose reels is now out of business so a new supplier will need to be found.

Leaves at the University Houses back location

Apartment Facilities has concerns that delivering leaves to the back location is not sustainable because in wetter weather, the road is impassable and has become narrower over time.

Proposed Soil Testing Project

A UW student and gardner has proposed a soil testing research project for community gardens in the Madison area and would like to include Eagle Heights. They have already received their UW Preserve permit. They propose taking samples in the fall. There was some concern about disruption of fall crops. The researchers are happy to work with us to receive consent for each plot and exact area to be sampled.

Motion by Megan and seconded by Barb Ato approve the soil testing research project.

Motion passed.

Proposed Herb Garden

There is a proposal to have a community herb garden. There was some discussion about having a non plot location for this garden, perhaps by the new rain garden in the existing triangle.

Garden Worker Report

Ian reports that many tasks have been caught up and Nichole is now here working. Ian has now been removing the trees in the paths. Ian would like to know how many people still need to do workdays?

Committee members commented that the bright pink tool handles look great. The University Houses tool handles still need to be painted.

There was some discussion about replacing a waterline and putting a second waterline up the 300’s. The faucets and risers have been assembled already for this project. More new faucets may need to be purchased for repairs. Ian will email the Plumbing sub-committee about replacing a water line.

Additional topics   

What is the policy about the use of electronic vole deterrents?

A garden has a neighbor with a beeping vole deterrent, which can be quite annoying. The neighbor says she can turn it off when she is in the garden. Are these deterrents effective? Sandra will contact UW Wildlife to ask their opinion about these devices. The committee decided to discuss it at the next meeting.

Website

Sandra, the webmaster, says there are more things we could do with the website. She suggests we talk about it at a Fall meeting. She also suggested we have an active Facebook page for pretty pictures, gardening and cooking. Multiple people should have access to the group and it should be under the Registrar’s email to retain access over time. Facebook would not be used as the place for complaints or to report problems. There should be 3 to 5 administrators.

There have been some problems with the garden maintenance form being used for Housing problems. Sandra will try to minimize these by changing the search terms so our website doesn’t appear so soon on a Google search.

Cart Repair

Ian will have a cart repair work group with Ric, Karen and other volunteers.in August.

Garden Worker Leave of Absence

Megan will take a leave of absence for a year. She has been gone the last two months and is sorry she must leave. The committee said goodbye for now and thanked her for her good work.

Still pending

Jolene suggested that workdays be set for the whole summer, one weekend and one week night.

Is it possible to have a Compost sale this year? Lily will check the budget and report back to the Committee.

In Person Meeting for August 9th

We will meet at University Houses garden at 7pm on August 9th. The rain location will be Room 139 in the Community Center.

Motion to adjourn by Karen and seconded by Barb A

Adjourned about 7:43.

Submitted by Karen, subject to correction by the Garden Committee

June 2023

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

June 10, 2023 7 PM

Arbor Garden, Eagle Heights Garden

7:00 Present: Ric, Lily, Ron, Ann, Rhonda, Alan, Jolene, Niels and Karen.


Minutes Motion by Ron and seconded by Lily to approve the May 2023 minutes. The minutes were approved.

Registrar Update

The gardens are full but some plots are changing hands. There are 16 on the waiting list.

Please use the maintenance reporting form for problems in the garden.

A discussion about buying parasitic wasps for Mexican bean beetles ensued.

Motion by Ann and seconded by Karen to purchase wasp larvae to control bean beetle.

The motion was approved.

The wasps will not be ordered until the first wasps are seen in the gardens. The wasps only feed on Mexican bean beetle larvae.

There is a new rain garden in part of old plot 115, which looks wonderful.

The old wood chips are full of dirt and jumping worms. It would be great to start with new wood chips. Lily will talk to Kevin in UW Housing.

The leaf pile needs to be gone by July. Purple cow has a $685 tipping fee, which makes it too expensive for us. We should encourage gardeners to use leaves. Lily will talk to Rhonda about the leaves.

The weed juries will be starting. We only have enough volunteers to have one jury per month.

GOC Meeting

The access point at the west side of the Eagle Heights shed was discussed. There was also discussion about FH King sharing the cost of the water system maintenance with us like they did in the past.

Budget

There is a $1400 cost in our spending which is unidentified. Lily will ask what it is for at the next GOC meeting.

Lily proposed that we stitch the garden budget to the UW fiscal year so we may more easily balance our accounts.

Motion by Ann and seconded by Ron to switch our budget to the UW fiscal year.

Motion approved.

Lily will also be bringing the new fees to the next GOC meeting.

The UW Foundation account has a considerable balance which can be used for operations, large projects and staffing. We must get approval to spend the funds from some of the members of the GOC. Discussion ensued. Plumbing replacement projects would qualify. We should also put information about the account on our website.

Garden Worker Report

Ian reports that there have been no major plumbing problems. Ian is the only active garden worker at present. Nicole should be starting soon. Ian has been trying to hold more workdays and weed whacking. The tool handles need to be painted. Ian will be doing this job. Cart repair is still on the list. Ric and Karen volunteered to help Ian with cart repair. Ric can make new handles out of conduit.

We should check with the UW Plumbers about the main backflow valve installation.

There was discussion about producing a map to show exactly where mowing and maintenance should be done at the gardens. We all agreed it was a good idea.

UW Hose Reels and Leaf Mulch

There was a request that all water stations have hose reels at University Houses. Lily will check on where we purchased them. Is it possible to get leaf mulch to the back pile at University Houses? The truck can only deliver to the back when the weather is dry. Otherwise the truck gets stuck. Lily will ask UW Housing about delivering leaf mulch to the back.

Additional topics

Third Garden Worker

Jolene tried to hire the third garden worker with no success. Megan will be taking a leave of absence for a year. Lily will put a notice in the next email about the open garden worker position.

Jolene suggested that workdays be set for the whole summer, one weekend and one week night.

Compost Sale

Is it possible to have a Compost sale this year? Lily will check the budget and report back to the Committee.

In Person Meeting for July 12

We will meet at University Houses garden at 7pm on July 12. The rain location will be Room 139 in the Community Center.

Motion to adjourn by Niels and seconded by Ric

Adjourned about 8.

Submitted by Karen, subject to correction by the Garden Committee

May 2023

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

May 10, 2023 7 PM (said 2022)

Remote Meeting

7:00 Present: Ian, Ric, Doug, Lily, Ron, Ann, Ninja, Alan, Jolene, Barb L, Jessica and Karen.


Minutes Motion by Barb L and seconded by Lily to approve the April 2023 minutes. The minutes were approved.

Registrar Update

There were 8 plots that canceled their plot for the season before the May 1st deadline. Six of those received a refund and 2 plots donated their fee to the gardens. There is a long waiting list.

Requests

There have been three recent requests for the Committee to consider.

The first is a proposed workshop in insect identification by an Entomologist who is also a gardener. The time would be June 24 from 11am to 1pm.

Second, two gardeners who own a local restaurant would like to have a benefit dinner on behalf of the gardens.

Third, DATCP (State of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection) would like to survey the gardens for plant diseases. They would choose 10 random plots to take leaf samples. Discussion ensued. It was agreed that individual gardeners could request that their plot not be part of this survey.

Weed Juries

There was earlier discussion about having more frequent weed juries. It was agreed that there would be twice a month weed juries starting in June with the deadlines being the first week and the third.

Anniversary Party

The 61st anniversary of the gardens is this year and the party is planned for September. Lily has been finding old articles about the gardens and plans to make a display. Jolene suggested that the Wisconsin Historical Society might be able to help finding information. She also said that the Community Center staff might be able to help with the party.

Lily says the ice cream idea will probably be too expensive for us. Perhaps we could have some non-perishable snacks. The Committee could potentially provide some and gardeners could bring more. Discussion ensued. Lily thought we should open up the party to apartment residents because some new residents might not know about the gardens. Jolene said we might be able to have the Ice Cream Social that Housing has in conjunction with our party.

Doug volunteered to have a tomato tasting contest.

Since we had some new people at the meeting we all introduced ourselves.

Orientations have gone well with just a few people left needing orientations.

Lily reports that the access on the north south path (not a road according to the GOC) should be limited to large produce pick ups by FH King.

In Person Meeting for June 14

We will meet at Eagle Heights garden at 7pm on June 14. The rain location will be Room 139 in the Community Center. We will have the next outside meeting at University House.

Garden Worker Report

Ian said there are three workdays planned. Paint the tools and fix the wheelbarrows.

The 1101 plumbing leak has been fixed by the plumbers.

Additional topics

Review of Calendar

Things done!

A sign is posted to inform gardeners that the water is non potable.

The Eagle Heights gate lock has been installed.

Blackberries and trees are gone from 927B.

To do May

Paint tools

Fix carts and wheelbarrows

Make plot markers

Replace 1300’s waterline

Dumpster is arranged to remove the bricks by the weedpile. Junk in the shared tree island will be removed at the same time.

To do June

Paint signs by gardener volunteer

Turn 114B and 115 into a rain garden. Doug has volunteered and will talk with gardeners who did the rain garden by the Arbor.

Clean tree line and chip. Perhaps plant blueberries.

Work Party to maintain the 700’s wall

Various other weeding parties noted in calendar

Mowing

Ian reports he needs gas for the mowers. Jolene says she will work with UW Housing because they supply the gas.

The porta potty will be cleaned on Thursday. A new sign will be posted in Spanish, French, English, Korean and Chinese that says: Contents of toilet are poisonous. Do not use in garden!

Other

Lily removes community tools from plots when she sees them. The weed Juries will be asked to concentrate on plots with noxious weeds like Artemesia, thistles and they will remove tools and cats from plots.

Ron asks if it would be alright to have the West High Rocket Club have a fundraiser at the gardens with the club members doing work in individual plots for donations to the club. After discussion, it was decided that it would not be a good idea.

There are very few garden forks. More were bought, but they need to be painted.

Motion to adjourn by Barb L and seconded by Lily

Adjourned about 7:37 pm.

Submitted by Karen, subject to correction by the Garden Committee

April 2023

                              Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

April 12, 2023 7 PM

Remote Meeting

7:00 Present: Ian, Rin, Nichole, Lily, Niels, Ann, Ninja, Megan, Jolene, Barb A, Jessica and Karen.


Minutes Motion by Ann and seconded by Barb A to approve the March 2023 minutes. The minutes were approved.

Registrar Update

The gardens are all full now with a total of 565 plots. The waiting list has 16 people on it and 2 plots have already been turned over to new gardeners. A full refund is available to gardeners that give up their plots until May 1st.

Orientations have gone well with just a few people left needing orientations.

The Preserve is creating a new Long Range plan that will include a Visitor Center. More information is available on their website here: https://lakeshorepreserve.wisc.edu/

Lakeshore Nature Preserve
Division of Facilities Planning & Management
lakeshorepreserve.wisc.edu

The Seed Fair went well with a steady stream of gardeners on Saturday.

The Irrigation Sub-Committee now includes Megan, Lily, Ron, Niels, Jeff, Ric and Ian,

Lily is getting ready to install the Eagle Heights gate combination lock. She needs to coordinate with all the parties including the Madison Fire Department.

Garden Worker Report

Megan said the only things to report are that the tools and carts are out. The water should be turned on probably by the last week of April. Megan will show the new Garden Workers how to reinstall the hose reels at University Houses before the water goes on.

Megan introduced the new Garden Worker Nichole. She will be in Madison at the end of the high school year because she is a teacher.

Another new Garden Worker is Ian who was also introduced. Ian worked at the Seed Fair already this year.

The first workday will probably be repainting the tools.

Additional topics

The water is not potable.

Calendar for April

A sign is needed to inform gardeners that the water is non potable.

The Eagle Heights gate lock needs to be installed.

We decided that we will revisit the idea of a keypad in the future.

A volunteer subcommittee is needed to plan a September all garden party.

Corner markers and number posts need to be replaced at University Houses.

Tool painting needs to be done.

For May- It might be a good idea to start with a smaller water project like the 1300’s line.

New Garden Worker

Jolene said we are now able to offer a job to the third person as the bureaucratic mess has been solved. Jolene will know on Friday if she will take the job.

Adjourned about 7:20 pm.

Submitted by Karen, subject to correction by the Garden Committee

March 2023

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

March 8, 2023 7 PM

Remote Meeting

7:00 Present: Lily, Ric, Ann, Ninja, Megan, Jolene, Barb L, Ron, Nou and Karen.


Minutes Motion by Lily and seconded by Barb L to approve the February 2023 minutes. The minutes were approved.

Presentation from the Gardens Network and Rooted

Nou Thao explained how the Gardens Network and Rooted helps promote gardening, preservation and expanding land for community gardening and food growing in the greater Madison area. They have workshops and promote gardening and sustainability for everyone in the community. Nou said she used to work at UW Housing and helped create the Children’s Garden and the Community Center.

They have gardening activities at a farm in McFarland, gardens by Marlborough Park and Troy Gardens, among others. Their website is https://www.rootedwi.org/ for more information. Nou is interested in how we can work together. Are we interested in having a workshop at Eagle Heights or participating in their Garden Summit?

After an interesting discussion we decided to see if we could have a workshop or other activity in the middle of summer. The committee thanked Nou for her presentation.

Registrar Update

Opening day will be March 25th. At this time we have 9 full and 3.5 half plots still empty at Eagle Heights. At University House there are 2 empty full plots and one empty half plot. There is a concern about EH plot 632A and B being too shady. Lily and Megan will check it out. They will also check UH plot 14B which maybe should be a rain garden. EH plot 741 was eliminated and needs to be mowed. Perhaps there could be a sandbox there.

There is still a big problem with plot markers and corner posts missing and removed at University Houses. The corner markers are being thrown in the paths and the plot markers are being used for fence posts. Perhaps we should make the posts J shaped at the bottom and dig them in so they are hard to remove.

Jolene reports that we have about $11,000 in the UW Foundation account and a plumbing upgrade will probably be approved to spend the Foundation money on.

We need to check and comment on the Long Range Plan Draft.

Garden Worker Report

Megan said she will be showing around the second garden worker at the end of the month. A cart workshop is needed and the tool handles need to be painted.

Additional topics  

Jolene reports that two garden workers have been hired, Nicole Kirk and Ian Hoff. Nicole is a teacher who runs a greenhouse at the high school where she teaches. She will start when her school year ends. Ian will start March 26 and has experience managing a garden at an inn. The third person hired is stuck in a bureaucratic problem that is not her fault and it will hopefully be solved soon so she can start working. She requests that the Committee helps impart information so they can be trained.

The Irrigation Subcommittee will be Megan, Lily, Ron, Niels and Ric.

The existing waterline also goes to the Biocore Prairie and FH King. In the past FH King helped pay for the upkeep of the water system. Lily will be checking on this.

The preliminary plans include a second main line up the hill. Replacement of the 1300 side line is most pressing. Every faucet needs a riser post. The main line at Eagle Heights needs a backflow valve. The water is not potable.

Calendar for March

The Seed Fair will be April 8th in person at the Community Center.

Orientations will be held by Lily, Ric and Megan.

A non-potable water sign will be posted at the share shelf.

New shed locks with key pads are needed.

There should be a focus on irrigation.

There needs to be a committee formed for a September party at the gardens.

The volunteer trees need to be removed from the gardens.

The mowers need to be taken to UW Housing for servicing.

Eagle Heights gate key needs to be installed.

Adjourned about 8pm.

Submitted by Karen, subject to correction by the Garden Committee

February 2023

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

February 8, 2023 7 PM

Remote Meeting

7:00 Present: Lily, Ric, Ann, Ninja, Megan, Jolene, Barb L, Barb A and Karen.


Minutes Motion by Lily and seconded by Ann to approve the January 2023 minutes. The minutes were approved.

Registrar Update

Opening day will be March 25th. Ric, Ninja , Lily and Barb A said they would help with Orientations. Orientation is now mandatory for new gardeners due to too many problems with new gardeners gardening in the wrong plot. If the weather is really terrible, opening day will be pushed to April 1st.

The Irrigation Subcommittee will be Megan, Lily and Ric.

Lily says we have 308 renewals and 53 new gardeners. This rate is about the same as last year.

Seed Fair

The Seed Fair will be April 8th in person at the Community Center. Nou, from the Gardens Network will come to the Seed Fair to discuss their mission.

We have had a request from Let’s Grow Stuff at PBS for filming in their own plot. They will need a media permit and a research permit from UW. They have applied for a plot pending these approvals. The Committee agreed that their plot neighbors need to have their privacy.

Food Pantry Donations

There was discussion about reviving the food pantry donations. Possibilities include Open Seat, which Jolene says comes to the Gardens every Wednesday in season. Another possibility is MOMS, which Barb A will check on. It would be good to have a donation box where donations can not be removed.

Lily contacted Scott from Gardens to Be about the plant sales and he said he would not be able to do it this year. So Blue Moon will be doing both Plant Sales.

Monthly Calendar

The mowers will be serviced in March. The irrigation sub-committee was formed in February.

Garden Worker Report

Megan said the garden tool order has been completed. Many short garden forks were missing. We had 26 and she could only find 11. Many forks are left at the leaf piles and disappear under a new load of leaves. A T-post with a hook to store the fork at each leaf pile could help with this problem.

Another problem is University Houses residents taking tools to work on the plots at their houses. Much discussion about tool labeling ensued. Jolen suggested that we label the tools with the garden name, so UW Housing staff can help with returning the tools to the University Houses shed. A UW property tag would probably not work, it would have to be garden property. Wood burning would be a permanent labeling solution. We could also number our tools.

Garden Worker Hiring

Jolene reports that hiring Garden Workers is proceeding as planned. The target is for the new Garden Workers to start early to mid-March.

Adjourned about 7:25 pm

Submitted by Karen, subject to correction by the Garden Committee