Committee Minutes for 2015

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

January 14, 2015

Eagle Heights Community Center

Good food and conversation with Angus,  Jenn, Eleanor, Niels, Stephanie, Andrea, Sandra, Diana, Will, Malcolm, Adam, Ann, Gretel, Karen and Melita.

Diana welcomed everyone.

Minutes

Motion by Ann and seconded Jenn to approve the minutes of the December 2014 meeting. Passed unanimously.

Registrar’s report

Gretel reports that the applications are coming in at a fast pace, over 200 already. Some of the reason for this maybe the fate of the Hill Farms garden near the Department of Transportation. These gardeners could be moving over.

Tomorrow there will be an email change over to Office 365 so Gretel’s email will not be working for a while.Gretel passed out a copy of the annual report and asked for corrections and additions. She will be sharing it with the GOC on Friday. 

Yesterday there was a seed repackaging that went well. Nine people work for 3 hours and finished the majority of seeds we need to repackage for this year. We have lots of peas and tomatoes this year and the seeds are better organized because of the new closet.

The seed sort will be February 24th at 6:30pm, if Gretel can get a room.

Opening day is March 28th and Gretel will present the script at the next meeting for additions and corrections. Orientations will be at 10am on March 28th at Eagle Heights and University Houses. Weekday orientations will be at 5:15 at Eagle Heights on April 1st (Wednesday) and April 7th (Tuesday). On Seed Fair day, April 11, there will be orientations at noon at both gardens. There will also be two orientations in Mandarin at a time to be determined. 

Seed Fair will be April 11. Sandra and Adam will do the workshop. 

We will sell row cover at the seed fair.
Plots need to be marked before opening day. Volunteers are needed. 

We will sell row cover and store it in Ann’s basement until the Seed Fair.

Field Staff Report

Will asked if we were going to buy tools. Jenn and Adam read the list of tolls that was proposed on the email discussion. Discussion ensued.Motion by Karen and seconded by Ann to approve the purchase of the tools on the list and the row cover. The cost will be $2348 plus shipping. Passed unanimously.

Tool list

snath (sythe handle) 1 $105 $105 onescytherevolution.com/

bush blade 1 $75 $75 onescytherevolution.com/

rogue field chopping hoes 40F 5 $30 $150 http://www.earthtoolsbcs.com/html/other_hoes.html

rogue field chopping hoes 55F 5 $30 $150 http://www.earthtoolsbcs.com/html/other_hoes.html

rogue field chopping hoes 70F 5 $30 $150 http://www.earthtoolsbcs.com/html/other_hoes.html

4” skuffle 40s hoe 4 $29 $116 http://www.earthtoolsbcs.com/html/other_hoes.html

4045 hula 5” 4 $39 $156 http://www.earthtoolsbcs.com/html/other_hoes.html

54530 shw 4 tine cultivator 2 $35 $70 http://www.earthtoolsbcs.com/html/shw_rakes.html

53862 shw compost fork 2 $44 $88

a10 dewit pointed spade 2 $69 $138 http://www.earthtoolsbcs.com/html/dw_spades.html

a40 transplant shovel* 2 $79 $158 http://earthtoolsbcs.com/html/dw_spades.html

edging shovel 2 $80 $160 http://www.homedepot.com/p/Fiskars-47-in-Garden-Spade-Shovel-96676933J/202681793

12” two pack broad fork 1 $340 $340 https://meadowcreature.com/broadforks

fruit sprayer 1 $260 $260 http://www.birchmeierbackpacks.com/Birchmeier-Backpacks.html

pg242 digging fork 10 $39 $390 http://www.leevalley.com/US/Garden/page.aspx?p=45712&cat=2,64944&ap=1

total $2348 (plus shipping) Total does not include the cost of the row cover. Will will order the row cover and tools.

Treasurer’s Report

Angus reported that we are on budget. The garden worker hours are consistent with last year. There are 300 fewer garden worker hours than last year. Gretel’s hours are budgeted a little high because she may not be in the job forever, Cash on hand is about $1000 less than last year. Angus does not have the total for no workday fees yet. Gretel will get the total after the February 15th deadline. There are five different charges totaling about $300 that are being discussed with Housing.

Field Staff Hiring

Jenn reported that the position description has been approved by Human Resources. Gretel will distribute the description to Botany, CALS and to last years email list. Diana wil put it on the Facebook page. There will be a two week advertising period. About February 1st will be the deadline.

Demographic Survey

Discussion ensued. The survey will be online and at the seed fair with Ipads. Ann said it will be hard to get only one response per plot. Gretel said we probably can’t worry about it. Jenn said we should have the survey ready to the discussion list on the Friday before the February meeting.

Looking Ahead

This list is from the November meeting with things finished removed..

General

December 2014- new garden worker

Discuss the demographic survey

Plot marking

January 2015- set plant sale dates

Discuss food pantry issues (bins disappearing and unreliable pickups)

February 2015- seed sort

April 11, 2015- Seed Fair

May 2015- rodent solutions

Cleaning the common areas

Chopping off comfrey tops is good for controlling it in paths

Mowing

Eagle Heights specific issues

November 2014- New cart area needs to be mowed and planting daylilies along path (later)

December 2014- Map update

February 2015- replacement for grapes at arbor

May 2015- Blueberry row

University Houses specific issues

December 2014- Weed pile has not been moved- GOC says we can use the old ice rink Contact Shorewood. Landscaping will be needed and the contractor will pay for some of the project.

Map update (small changes)

Sink installation Adam said we need a welder. Ulrike asked if a sink was a good idea.

February 2015- need new kiosk

2015 Calendar

Applications DUE- February 15, 2015

Opening day- March 28

Seed Fair- April 11

Adjourned by7:38pm by Jenn.

Submitted by Karen
Subject to correction by the Garden Committee

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

February 11, 2015

Eagle Heights Community Center

Good food and conversation with Gretel, Jenn, Melita, Sandra, Malcolm, Tianxing, Mark, Ric, Will, Adam, Ulrike, and AnnJenn welcomed everyone. 

Minutes
Motion by Gretel and seconded Adam to approve the minutes of the January 2015 meeting. Passed unanimously.

Registrar’s report
Gretel reports that the applications are due Sunday – about on target with 433 already in. There are lots of new gardeners applying. There are also some last minute gardeners re-applying that are missing their 2014 work day requirement. Looks like there will be enough plots for everyone.

The seed sort, beginning with a pot luck, has been RESCHEDULED to Monday February 23th at 6:00 – 8:00pm. This was the only time a room was open. This year we’ll focus on keeping seeds separated by age as well as type.

Orientation: Gretel passed out the revised script: spring tilling was removed and a demonstration of tool during the seed fair workshop was added. More volunteers are needed for orientation. Gretel estimates about a third of the gardeners will be new to the gardens.

On Sunday, March 22 at noon we will check plot markers at Eagle Heights. We will need volunteers for this work.

Opening Day March 28.
Seed Fair will be April 11. We need Mandarin interpreters for orientation.

First garden email will go out 3/10-3/15 with the Survey attached.

The Dane County Community Gardens (UW Extension) conference for garden leaders will be held on February 28.

www.Danecountycommunitygardens.org/connect/summit2015

Treasurer’s Report -Gretel reported for Angus. Budget right about on target: We spent about $2500 on tools and row cover. There is a new finance coordinator at Housing.

Co-chair report- The cool weather plant sale will be on 4/19 and the warm weather sale on 5/17. The preliminary plant list is coming in about 2 weeks. Ulrike suggested having a whiteboard for plants – then we can cross off plants as they sell out. The Gardens have an easel and paper that we can use.

Discussion ensued over location and use of more fruit bushes, project priorities and over University Houses weed pile problems.

Field Staff Report 

The tools were ordered, have arrived, and are in the shed.

2000’ of row cover has been ordered and should arrive about 2/20. We need volunteers to cut it up right before the seed fair – too bulky to store otherwise. (Will and Louisa have volunteered their time for this for the last 6 years… thanks!)Lake Shore Preserve is offering $1000 research project scholarships. Will would like the gardens to apply for one for a cutting box to be placed near the shed or near the FH King shed. A power source is needed for misting irrigation. A cutting box would be used to produce more fruit bushes. 

A large sink has been found and is ready for University Houses as soon as ground will permit truck delivery. The other sinks will be removed at the same time.

Field Staff Hiring
The position listing runs through 2/13. Human Resources first screens the applicants, then passes to committee co-chairs. Diane and Jenn will report back when applications arrive.

Demographic Survey
Several tried the draft survey. Some had difficulty deciding how to answer “How many in your family/household will eat from your garden”. Please use your best judgment.

We are adding a question about donating to food pantry.

General
The discuss about food pantry issues (bins disappearing and unreliable pickups) will be saved for March meeting.Sandra is offering pop-up gardening education lessons at the gardens:

plot prep at Eagle Heights and University Houses garden

good bug / bad bug

planting for fall harvest

Adding tool usage was suggested. Dates will be added to the seed fair flyer.

2015 Calendar
Applications DUE- February 15, 2015
February 23 Seed sort

March 10-15 First garden email – including link to survey

March 22 check garden plot markers

Opening day- March 28
Seed Fair- April 11

April 19 Cool weather plant sale

May 17 Warm weather plant saleAdjourned 8:02 pm by Jenn. 
Submitted by Ann
Subject to correction by the Garden Committee

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes
March 11, 2015, 6:30 PM
Eagle Heights Community Center

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Jenn, Sandra, Diana, Will, Malcolm, Gretel, Karen, Ulrike, Alice, Ric, Angus, Tianxing, Niels and Melita.
Jenn welcomed everyone.

Minutes - Motion by Ulrike and seconded by Gretel to approve the minutes of the February 2014 meeting with the correction that the Seed Fair workshop will include tool usage. Passed unanimously.

Registrar’s report
Gretel reports that the applications are still coming in and we have 528 gardeners in plots. She am trying to get gardeners into their old plots. We still have some plots left. The Sheboygan Garden will be closing sometime this summer.

Volunteers are needed for Orientation and plot remarking on March 22. Jenn and Niels volunteered for plot marking. Row cover needs to be cut before the Seed Fair, April 11. Gretel will try to get a Korean translator for the Seed Fair.

Gretel will try to send the first email to all gardeners next week. Cool weather plant sales will be on April 17 and warm weather plants on May 19 .

Will said he contacted the potato research people to see if they have any new potatoes. Good timing for the potatoes would be at the cool weather plant sale.

Treasurer’s Report

Angus said we are on budget, but down some revenue. He thinks more people might have worked their workday and not paid the fee. Housing made a $1000 mistake that is being corrected.

Co-chair update

Jenn reported that there are three final candidates for the field staff position. There were telephone interviews with 15 candidates. Final interviews will be next Wednesday from 7 to 8pm. All questions have been vetted by Human Resources and interviewers are not allowed to go off script. Gretel, Ann and Karen said they would attend.

Field Staff Report

Will reported on the weed pile at University Houses. Shorewood wants a cold spell so they can get their equipment to the site. Shorewood said there tis too much soil remaining on the weeds in the weed pile. Melita said it was too late for this season, but we should say this information should be in the application. Will said he has had three conversations about the weed pile with Shorewood. We need to have something done be the 3rd week of March. Gretel said maybe it will be dry enough to do the work.

Diana brought up the topic of water hose reels. Will described a hose reel that is 18 inches high and rotates. It is in the mid price range He proposes 12 evenly spaced hose reels and the last 3 faucets will not have reels because they serve only a few gardeners. The first stations by the shed serve many gardeners. There are stations that will require 100 feet of hose and some that only need 50 feet. Ulrike said she liked the idea but wanted to know if they were fixable. Will said that everything that moved is stainless steel. He is impressed by the quality. The reel removes for storage. Karen suggested we padlock the reel to the post for the season. Discussion ensued about the number of hose reels needed. Malcolm asked if we would get new hoses? Ulrike asked if we would be able to reel 100’ of hose. Karen asked if there was a garden nearby where we could try them. Will said he would ask the builder. Gretel said maybe we could do hoses next year.

Will asked if he could have a budget. The committee said they could have an email discussion. Jenn thought the ballpark number for the reels was about $4000. Here are the steps to the project.

1. Will said that UW Staff has a small powered auger that they will use to drill the posts.

2. Then we could use workday labor to set the posts for reels in concrete.

3. Install the reels (The water stays on during these steps.)

4. New risers for the faucets. This is difficult because if is the only line. The risers will take longer than the 100’s line, which was Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The new risers could be done in phases because the water must be off.

Melita asked when University Houses will be opening. Gretel said it will open in July.

Will gave a recap of the hose proposal. He will try to find a local example. He will asked the builder about the cost for 8 reels. Sandra asked if there are any moving parts and if any were installed in community gardens. We agreed that we were running out of time and can discuss it at the next meeting and finalize the budget.

Jenn asked if the fruit mister cold frame would speed up the process of creating stock? Will said he wrote a grant proposal for $300 for a battery powered cutting box to be placed in the CALS buffer. Karen asked what the plan was for this material? Will said we have no more room for trees. The cutting box would be for small fruit. He said we have a 16’ by 250’ at University Houses that could be planted. At Eagle Heights we could continue the blueberry line to the weedpile. The CALS buffer has already been approved for small fruit and the nursery could be there. No fruit would be going in during the next several years.

Jenn asked what our monthly maintenance commitment is? Will said we spend half of our volunteer labor on fruit. Ulrike said that the weedpile and paths are a priority for her. It would be wonderful to have a schedule for maintenance of paths, the weedpille and other things we have daily issues with. The berries for her are extraneous, it is an enhancement. If we are spending half the time on berries and fruit that is a lot.

Will said when he looks at the gardens, he sees permaculture.

Karen suggested a spring clean-up at both gardens with workday labor. She also asked about the path in the 1300’s. Will said that path was chipped as a test. Jenn said there was time to talk about this in April. Someone asked if we could get compost? Gretel said it was too wet last year. Will asked if he could get more horse manure? Yes!

Calendar 2015

Seed Fair- April 11
Cool weather plant sale- April 17
Warm weather plant sale- May 19

Adjourned by 8:05pm by Jenn.

Submitted by Karen
Subject to correction by the Garden Committee

Looking Ahead (This was from November 2014)

General

December 2014- new garden worker
Discuss the demographic survey
Plot marking

January 2015- set plant sale dates
Discuss food pantry issues (bins disappearing and unreliable pickups)

February 2015- seed sort

April 11, 2015- Seed Fair

May 2015- rodent solutions

Cleaning the common areas
Chopping off comfrey tops is good for controlling it in paths 

Mowing

Eagle Heights specific issues

November 2014- New cart area needs to be mowed and planting daylilies along path (later)

December 2014- Map update

February 2015- replacement for grapes at arbor

May 2015- Blueberry row

University Houses specific issues

December 2014- Weed pile has not been moved- GOC says we can use the old ice rink Contact Shorewood. Landscaping will be needed and the contractor will pay for some of the project.

Map update (small changes)

Sink installation Adam said we need a welder. Ulrike asked if a sink was a good idea.

February 2015- need new kiosk

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

April 8, 2015, 6:30 PM

Eagle Heights Community Center

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Jenn, Diana, Will, Gretel, Karen, Ann, Mark, Andrew, David, Jim, Bill, Adam, Eleanor and Melita.

Jenn welcomed everyone.

Minutes Motion by Gretel and seconded by Jenn to approve the minutes of the March 2015 meeting. Passed unanimously.

Co-chair report

Diana introduced Dave, jour new garden worker.

Registrar’s report

Gretel said that it is an unusual year for people applying late. There are a few plots open. One large organic plot near the weedpile at University Houses will not be assigned until the weedpile issue has been solved. Seven large plots at University Houses and 9 large plots at Eagle Heights are available.

Next week the porta potty will be delivered. The price is up from last year, from $180 to $220 a month for two units. Gretel will turn in a work order to turn on the water, but the plumber will not turn it on until it is warmer. There have been 129 responses to the survey so far.

We need a whiteboard for the plant sale, which will cost about $40. The committee thought this was a good idea. Melita, Jenn and Ulrike volunteered to work at the cool weather plant sale. Sandra will do a soil preparation workshop during the plant sale. Will said we will probably not be able to sell compost at the sale because it will be too wet.


Gretel said that the seed fair has already been advertised for 9am, which is a half hour earlier than usual. Some committee members will come at 7:30 to prepare for the seed fair early. The workshop needs to start at 10am and Adam agreed. Ann asked if we have a separate time for residents? Gretel said no.

Gretel said Sandra has offered to do several workshops and passed out a handout explaining them.

Field Staff Report

Will said workdays will start on April 18 with mostly tidying things up at both gardens. Gretel asked about a tool rack on the back (north side) of the Eagle Heights shed. Discussion ensued and it was agreed that this is a good idea. Gretel said we will plant daylilies and iris north of the shed to protect the 100’s path. Sandra will use the planting area for the soil preparation workshop. Will said he would put up a temporary fence to protect the new plantings. Will said fishermen are already digging for worms in the area. Will said that all the new tools are out of the boxes and two gardeners are going to paint them this weekend.

Jenn, Diana, Gretel and Will decided to buy one of the hose reels that we discussed at the last meeting so we could decide if we liked it. Will and Adam gave us a hose reel demonstration. The support pipe will be sunk 18” into the ground with concrete. Pallet shipping would be cheaper. Will will find out if it is possible. The reel is $290 each plus shipping. Karen asked if it would be possible to have the pipe risers come at the junctions of the north-south paths? Will said yes. Diana asked if the maker would give us a discount for multiple units. Will said he already gave us a very good price for the sample.


It was decided that there would be hose reels from C1 to C11 and one on the end at C21 for a total of eight reels. We would need three bags of concrete per reel and four pier tubes. The reels would be $350 times 8= $2800 with shipping. Discussion ensued about the 6 water stations without reels. These stations only serve a few gardens and the committee decided reels were not necessary. Karen said that she would like new hose holders at these stations, C13-C19. Perhaps we could use tire rims. Will said we could upgrade the whole line in one year. Ann asked if we could rent an auger to dig the holes. Will said augers were not safe to rent and hard to use. The University will do the augering. We don’t need to turn off the water to upgrade the hose supports. Jim asked if we could use a post hole digger. Will said a 12” auger is a bigger and better support for the hose reels. Will will come up with a plan for the 6 stations without reels. All holes could be augered at once.

Motion by Karen, seconded by Adam to approve buying 8 reels, six posts for stations without reels and concrete and tubes for posts for $3500. Passed unanimously.

Will said the weed pile at University Houses is too wet to be moved. The leaf pile is in standing water. Will will ask Evan if we can use the parking lot at University Houses for leaves. Will said that water is flowing from parking lot into our new weed pile location. Will said we need to have Rhonda, the Landscape Architect look at the problem. We probably also need to take it to the GOC. Gretel said we need a temporary solution. She said she did not assign the plots next to the weedpile.

Gretel reported that Evan said there will be no new residents of University Houses until October. Evan will also remove the old sink at University Houses and bring a new sink.

Diana said that Ulrike requested a garbage can at the shed at University Houses. Roma is also tired of picking up garbage. Adam said a garbage can at the shed is extra work for the garden worker. Will agreed.

Jenn reminded us that we were to talk about rodent solutions. Gretel said she thought it was a hard winter for the rodents. There will be workdays to clean up the common areas. We need to decide in May about replacing the grapes at the arbor. Gretel said the grapes and hops were pulled out due to disease. We need something viney. Will suggested kiwi or ivy. Gretel suggested clematis. Ann said rabbits like clematis.

Will said we have 50’ of row ready for blueberries. A gardener is growing the blueberries for us. Jenn reported that a gardener will make a new kiosk for University Houses for workday credit. Will said we have the wood from old kiosks to use for material. Gretel said we need to buy a blackboard.

Will said we have the steel in the shed to build a rail along the grate path at the Eagle Heights weedpile. Gretel said she needs the handicapped parking space cleared.

Calendar 2015

Warm weather plant sale- May 19

Adjourned by 7:58pm by Jenn.

Submitted by KarenSubject to correction by the Garden Committee

Looking Ahead (This was from November 2014)

General

January 2015-

Discuss food pantry issues (bins disappearing and unreliable pickups)

May 2015- rodent solutions

Cleaning the common areas

Chopping off comfrey tops is good for controlling it in paths

Mowing

Eagle Heights specific issues

November 2014- New cart area needs to be mowed and planting daylilies along path (later)

February 2015- replacement for grapes at arbor

May 2015- Blueberry row

University Houses specific issues

December 2014- Weed pile has not been moved- GOC says we can use the old ice rink Contact Shorewood. Landscaping will be needed and the contractor will pay for some of the project.

Sink installation Adam said we need a welder. Ulrike asked if a sink was a good idea.

February 2015- need new kiosk

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

May 13, 2015, 6:30 PM

Eagle Heights Community Center

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Jennifer, Alison, Niels, Barb, Jenn, Will, Gretel, Karen, Ann, Mark, Dave, Rita, Jeff, Malcolm, Sandra, Angus, Tianxing, Adam and Eleanor.

Jenn welcomed everyone and since there were new people present we all introduced ourselves.

Minutes  

Motion by Sandra and seconded by Jenn to approve the minutes of the April 2015 meeting. Passed unanimously.

Registrar’s report

Gretel said that there are still some open plots. Two large organic plots (A5 and B1) near the weedpile at University Houses will not be assigned until the weedpile issue has been solved. Four large plots at University Houses (2 are spoken for) and 6 large plots at Eagle Heights are available.

Dave and Gretel will do a walk thru on Sunday to check to see if gardeners have started gardening yet. Gretel will send out emails to see if the people who have not started yet are still interested in gardening.

The garden juries will start later, probably at the end of May. Gretel presented the instructions for juries for review by the committee. Karen suggested that the jury also comment on the conditions of the common areas. The committee agreed. Jennifer asked what a jury is. Gretel explained that we send a couple of volunteer gardeners to check all the plots for excessive weeds and to try to find abandoned plots. If we can identify abandoned plots we can turn them over to new gardeners. Gretel also asked for corrections and suggestions for the procedures on garden rule violations. There were no changes.

Alison and Jennifer will be coordinating the St Vincent de Paul food pickups together this year. The bins will be picked up at 8am on Wednesday and 10am on Saturday starting in June and going thru the 3rd week of September. Alison said that most pickup slots are filled, but there are a few slots open. Gretel will send another email to get volunteers to fill the slots. Some of the bins disappeared last year, so we will need new bins. There was discussion about perhaps locking the bins to keep them from disappearing.

Treasurer’s report

Angus said we are on budget. The garden is completely self funded. All the income is from plot fees. Expenses include payroll, supplies tools and portapotty rent. Every year there is a very similar pattern of expenses. Gretel said we sold out of row cover and broke even financially.

Field Staff Report

Will said that mowing has started. Jenn asked about the broadfork checkout procedure. Dave said that people are interested and we need a way to check it out. Adam said he is usually at University Houses from 4 to 5pm everyday and he could help. Karen suggested that we have the borrower lock up the broadfork after they are done with a lock and chain outside the sheds.

Jenn said that compost is not available this year. Mark asked how much compost we got last year. Will said 15 to 30 yards. Last year’s compost was problematic and wet. We also got 3 loads of manure from Hoofers. Will said we can probably get more manure. Gretel suggested we try ordering compost in advance. We might also be able to get lake weed in August.

Jenn asked if the hose reel we bought has been installed yet. Will said he did not want to install it yet until he was sure that it had been paid for. There was some discussion about when the bill would be paid.

Gretel said that the GOC wants the lumber in the pines moved. Will said last year UW took down a building and we got the lumber. We intended to use it to shore up the path in the 100’s , but the work did not get done last year. The work on the 100’s path cannot be done until fall because it is too disruptive to gardeners. Discussion ensued. The 700’s path is eroded past the tree island along our border with FH King. We could use it there for a retaining wall about 3 boards high. Gretel said we would have to talk to FH King and the GOC. Gretel said the wood needs to be moved. Will said we should talk to Laura about it. Gretel said the GOC will do a walk thru in August at Eagle Heights. Will said that Rhonda will have to approve the wall on the 700’s path.

Motion by Adam and seconded by Karen to build a retaining wall along the 700”s path with the wood. Passed unanimously.

Jenn asked if there would be any seed potatoes this year. Will said they were not available.

The arbor at Eagle Heights needs shade. The grapes have died. Niels suggested that we buy some shade cloth and put it up until replacement vines can grow. Niels found some shade cloth that is charcoal gray with grommets and is about 5’ x12’ and costs about $25. The committee agreed he should buy two shade cloths, and hardware to put it up for a total of $75.

The arbor garden responsibility is divided between Niels, Barb Sandra and Cathie. It is very large. Niels is controlling the thistles and the rest is divided between the gardeners. Will and Adam hooked up a drip line for watering, but watering is still a problem. Barb is going to put in some drought resistant plantsmand plants from her home garden that is getting too shady. Barb says there are big areas where nothing is happening. She suggests Nanking cherries. Gretel said there are hazelnuts. Some aggresive cup plants have been partially removed during a workday.

What are we going to grow on the arbor? Niels said the Allen Centennial Garden has some good arbor plants. Adam suggested kiwi. Karen said she had a hardy, vigorous clematis she could donate. There was a suggestion of a climbing rose that was rejected on the grounds that it is attractive to Japanese Beetles. The Japanese Beetle infestation helped kill the grapes. Gretel suggested that we let Barb, Niels and Sandra experiment with the arbor and the committee agreed.

Jenn reported that the University Houses weedpile has been consolidated.

Jenn passed out a summary of the workday of 2014. Will compiled the data for his calendar and Jenn tabulated the data. It is for discussion at the next meeting because Jenn said we were out of time.

Calendar 2015

Warm weather plant sale- May 19

Adjourned by 8:00pm by Jenn.

Submitted by KarenSubject to correction by the Garden Committee

Looking Ahead (This was from November 2014)
General

May 2015- rodent solutions

Cleaning the common areas

Chopping off comfrey tops is good for controlling it in paths

Mowing

Eagle Heights specific issuesNovember 2014- New cart area needs to be mowed and planting daylilies along path (later)
May 2015- Blueberry row

University Houses specific issues

December 2014-

Sink installation Adam said we need a welder.
February 2015- need new kiosk

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

June 10, 2015, 6:30 PM

Eagle Heights Community Garden

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Barb, Will, Gretel, Karen, Ann, Diana, Melita, Dave, Rita, Jeff and Tianxing.

Diana welcomed everyone.

Minutes

Motion by Ann and seconded by Barb to approve the minutes of the May 2015 meeting. Passed unanimously.

Registrar’s report

Gretel said that all plots are assigned at Eagle Heights and there are still seven open plots at University Houses. The open plots at University Houses are clustered in the non-organic section.

From information from the applications, there are fewer residents gardening this year. This is probably due to the University Houses renovation. From the survey, there are 2,2 gardeners per plot. 67% plan to donate to the food pantry, 98% grow vegetables, 74% grow herbs and 57% grow flowers. Tomatoes are the favorite vegetable of 77% of the gardeners. The age group from 18-22 makes up only 3% of the gardeners. We also have more Hispanic names this year. 8% of the gardeners speak Spanish and 11% speak Chinese. 18% are completely new to gardening. Rita asked if the survey was only in English and Gretel said yes. Gretel said she got 7 Mandarin applications. Usually the primary gardener is an English speaker.

The Garden Organizing Committee (GOC), our oversight body, will make a site visit to University Houses on July 17 and visit Eagle Heights on August 16.

There will be a tour on June 27 by the Master Gardeners and Gretel might need some help if there are more than 15 people.

Gretel went on a tour with the Campus police officer to both garden sites. She told him about our thefts and he was also interested in where people are camping and/or drinking in the Preserve. Melita said that cars are driving thru the Preserve.

The first jury is done at Eagle Heights and Will will ask Adam if he would do one at University Houses with Diana.

There was discussion about the 7 unassigned plots at University Houses. Will said he would mow them and suggested we grow squash as a weed control measure. The pumpkins could be donated to the food pantry. Diana said that there were no leaves at University Houses. Will said he would ask about getting leaves. Diana said that B3 has wonderful strawberries and is unassigned. She will pick the strawberries and donate them to the food pantry.

Field Staff Report

Will said that the trial hose reel has been installed at University Houses. Adam has tried it and likes it. Diana will use it tomorrow. Gretel will ask Sandra what she thinks of it.

Will said the next project is the retaining wall along our 700’s border path with FH King. Rhonda, the Landscape Architect, will check out the plan. Physical plant will mow the raspberries. The retaining wall system will be planks and wood chips and will take two weekend workdays. Gretel will email for setting up the workdays.

Discussion ensued about the University Houses hose reel project. We need to decide whether to buy more reels. When the project is in progress, the water will need to be off for only a half a day. Mowing continues on the paths.

Gretel said there is a new tool rack on the back of the Eagle Heights shed. Gretel asked the color of the new kiosk at University Houses should be. Gretel suggested we not paint it white because the St. Vinney’s kiosk is white. Diana suggested brown and we agreed. We will also need a bulletin board. Will will ask physical plant if they have one.

Will said the weed piles need to be moved offsite. In the future, we need to move the weed piles before a snowfall in November. Karen suggested we put snow fencing around the raspberries so gardeners do not put weeds in the raspberries. Will said he thought that was a good idea. Discussion ensued about the weedpile and its management.

Diana said the pitchforks have gone missing. Will said we could get some more, perhaps 3. The purchase will be discussed in email.

Gretel said that Sandra did a pest workshop that was attended by 12 to 14 people. Discussion ensued about how to get more people to come to the meetings.

Adjourned by 7:58pm by Diana.

Submitted by Karen
Subject to correction by the Garden Committee

Looking Ahead (This was from November 2014)

General

May 2015- rodent solutions

Cleaning the common areas

Chopping off comfrey tops is good for controlling it in paths

Mowing

Eagle Heights specific issues

November 2014- New cart area needs to be mowed and planting daylilies along path (later)

May 2015- Blueberry row

University Houses specific issues

December 2014-

Sink installation Adam said we need a welder.

February 2015- need new kiosk

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

July 10, 2015, 6:30 PM

University Houses Community Garden

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Jenn, Barb, Will, Sandra, Malcolm, Angus, Barb L., Niels, Gretel, Karen, Ann, Melita, Dave and Tianxing.

Jenn welcomed everyone.

Minutes

Motion by Gretel and seconded by Ann to approve the minutes of the June 2015 meeting. Passed unanimously.

Registrar’s report

Gretel reports that more people are moving into University Houses and more people are inquiring about garden plots. There are 4 large plots open at University Houses. A5 and B1 are being used to grow pumpkins for the food pantry. Ulrike is taking care of them. There are 2 small plots open at Eagle Heights and one large one open.

There have been some reports of Mexican bean beetles, but Gretel has not seen them yet. In 2012 we bought parasitic wasps that feed on them. Discussion ensued.

Motion by Karen, seconded by Ann to authorize the purchase of $117 if we need to buy the wasps. Passed unanimously.

The Garden Oversight Committee (GOC) Tour of University Houses will be July 17 at 8:30 and all are welcome. The Eagle Heights tour will be August 21 at 8:30.

There have been difficulties with the Food Pantry. The bins are not being put out in a timely fashion and there have been thefts from the bins. The bins get stolen if they are not put away between pickups. Alison thought we could use a milk crate and lock it to the shelf.

Motion by Karen and seconded by Ann to buy locks and cables to lock the bins to the shelf. Passed unanimously.

Treasurers report

Angus reported that we have the money to buy the locks and we are on budget! Field staff hours are down this year. There is an issue with the hose reel. It was paid for twice, once with a check and once with the charge card and he is working on it. There are also some other accounting issues that Angus is working on. Refunds are being charged to the wrong account.

Field Staff Report

Will said that Shorewood maintains the weed piles and there have been issues with the quality of the weedpile. There is too much dirt on the weeds for Shorewood to deal with with the equipment they use. We need to solve the problem with the dirt. Shorewood is aware that we need leaves at University Houses. It has been too wet for them to use their equipment. A much larger pile of leaves is needed at University Houses.

Discussion ensued over the condition of the Eagle Heights weedpile. The site becomes waterlogged and perhaps we should move it. Niels said over the years equipment has scooped out the site. Barb said perhaps we should put it in winter rye and rotate the place. Gretel said big slabs of limestone and clay are the base of the pile. Will said he has asked Physical Plant if we can have a culvert.

Will said the new hose reel is in at University Houses and asks if we can buy the rest. Sandra asked how to avoid the kink in the hose. Will said he would fix it. Sandra said she liked the reel. Will said we would buy the rest.

Will said the retaining wall is finished in the 700’s. The wall took 2 workdays. Barb L. asked if the path would settle. Will said yes, but they would add more chips.

Karen asked if we could put a path to the middle of the pile where there is room for weeds. Dave said he made such a path and someone blocked it with a load of weeds!!!! Gretel suggested that we use every workday to clean up the weedpile for 20 minutes. Dave said they spent an hour at the pile last time. Niels said he keeps his weeds in his garden. Gretel said it is a problem to have raspberry canes in the garden. Karen asked if we could use a chipper on the canes. Will said they use a chipper on workdays. Dave asked if there was a map to tell gardeners where to put the weeds.

Barb L asked about the lack of mowing. Will said they had been using only the scythes. Barb L. said it was hard to walk on the paths and she would like to see the path better maintained. Dave said there was too much litter on the paths and that made it hard to mow everything. Karen said the population of toads had greatly increased since the paths were being scythed. Gretel asked if there was a mixture of mowing and scything that would work? Barb L asked why the hoses were communal at University Houses? Gretel said it is because they always had communal hoses and have only a simple water line. Niels said the weeds are too high. Barb said she was mowing around the arbor with a push mower. Barb L asked if we could put down wood chips? Will said when we mow with a power mower the wire grass roots go into the plots and the gardeners fight them. We need a solution to edge the paths. Will suggests that a longer term solution is to wood chip the paths. Niels asked if there were enough wood chips. Will said the university can supply enough. Gretel said she is not a fan of wood chips. Wood chips change the pH of the soil and encourages bindweed. Sandra said that path C4-C5 in University Houses has a really strong crop of bindweed. Jenn said we will discuss wood chips at the next meeting.

Adjourned by 7:59pm by Jenn.

Submitted by Karen
Subject to correction by the Garden Committee

Looking Ahead (This was from November 2014)

General

May 2015- rodent solutions

Cleaning the common areas

Chopping off comfrey tops is good for controlling it in paths

Mowing

Eagle Heights specific issues

May 2015- Blueberry row

University Houses specific issues

December 2014-

Sink installation Adam said we need a welder.

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

August 12, 2015, 6:30 P.M.

Eagle Heights Community Garden

6:30 – Delicious food and great conversation by Jenn, Diana, Gretel, Adam, Melita, Dave, Barb L., Will, Barb A., Hank and Andrea.

Minutes  Gretel said the GOC is listed as the Garden Organizing Committee, but it should be the Garden Oversight Committee. Motion by Gretel and seconded by Barb to approve the amended minutes of the July 2015 meeting passed unanimously.

Registrar's Report
Gretel said she is working on a new budget and a new application form. For the application form, she would like to add a provision to keep glass out of the gardens and ask gardeners to use plexiglass or plastic instead. Melita raised the problem with people using knives in the gardens. Gretel would also like to add a provision to manage unstable structures, requiring gardeners to remove or make them safe. She will circulate a draft for the September GOC meeting for approval in October. She won’t be able to make the usual October meeting, but will be here for the November meeting.

Gretel said there is a slight raise in the budget that staff will notice in their paychecks.

Plot assignments are going well, with several plots open at both Eagle Heights and University Housing.
The Garden Oversight Committee will tour the Eagle Heights Gardens on August 21, 2015. They have already toured the University Housing Gardens.

Gretel reported that 4 gardeners have reported Mexican bean beetles, but there is only light infestation and thus we are not getting predator wasps.

There have been further thefts with the Food Pantry System. First some of the bins were stolen and then bike locks used to secure the bins were also stolen. Food was stolen from a bin within a few minutes of being placed there. Thus Gretel proposed that we limit the Food Pantry collections to Saturday when someone can sit there as donations are made and drive them straight over to St. Vincent’s. Motion to implement this new system was passed unanimously.

Treasurer's Report
Gretel reported that we have $55 income from plot fees and expenses for the bike locks. Two reels have come in and more are on the way.

Field Staff Report
Adam has agreed to serve as a Co-Chair, but so far no one else has stepped up to serve as the second Co-Chair. Diana, Jenn, and Gretel strongly felt that we should try to get a second Co-Chair because the job is bigger than one person can handle. Will strongly felt that one Chair was enough. He said that historically one Chair had been effective and that lack of continuity between Co-Chairs is a problem. Discussion ensued and the committee voted whether to pursue appointing a second Co-Chair. The motion passed 3 to 2, with some members abstaining. Thus the chairs will continue to look for a second Co-Chair.

Will reported that the hose reels are coming in, with 4 on order. The vendor will give the check back for the double payment. Shorewood is taking care of the leaves and weeds. Will walked around with the hydrologist from the DNR to get advice on the drainage problem. The hydrologist suggested that there is no need for massive construction, but rather advised creating some berms to contain and direct the drainage. Will is also in contact with Laura Wyatt from the Lakeshore Nature Preserve to work on this problem.

Will reported that Lynn Hummel gave all of the cinder blocks away and thus this year will take a break from creating retaining walls that slow erosion. We have exhausted the supply of native rock in the fields and creating these walls only works if we get free materials. Will has roughly scheduled creating walls for 5 plots every year, but is okay with taking a break this year.

Finally, Will reported that people like the new hose reels and they will have the rest of them installed by the September meeting.

Adjourned by Diana.

Submitted by Barb A.
Subject to correction by the Garden Committee

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

September 9, 2015, 6:30 P.M.

Eagle Heights Community Garden

6:30 – Delicious food and great conversation by Gretel, Ric, Karen, Sandra, Malcolm, Melita, Tom, Adam, Barb L., Dave, Ron, Cathy, Barb A., Jan, Angus, and Will.
Karen welcomed everyone.

Minutes Motion by Gretel and seconded by Angus to approve the minutes of the August 2015 meeting. Passed unanimously.

Registrar's Report

Gretel reported that there is a short time to finish all necessary steps to get the application through the Garden Oversight Committee (GOC) so that it is ready for dissemination in December. There are 2 proposed rule changes. The first specifies that tall structures must be sturdy, unlikely to fall on neighbors' plantings, and be well within plot boundaries. The second specifies that no glass can be used in the gardens for safety reasons. There was a discussion about perimeter fences and the 6-inch boundary rule. This discussion included the actual meaning and enforcement implications of the existing rule as well as the fact that 40% of our gardeners are new and on a steep learning curve. There was a general consensus that gardeners need step up to help keep the paths clear both for the mowers and for gardeners. Karen suggested that we appoint path monitors who can patrol the paths, leave violation notes on errant hoses and other obstructions, and notify Gretel about problems. Many members liked this idea. They decided to tentatively accept the new application after more discussion about these issues. Will moved to make the rules say that the fences and plantings needed to be six inches from all sides, including the front. Dave seconded. The vote was 6 people for the change and 7 people against, so the motion didn't pass and the rule stays the same.

Budget

Gretel walked us through the 2015 budget and said we are on target to projections. She has adjusted the budget to include minimum wage increases in Madison. Gretel said that at the GOC tour, Rhonda James said that MG&E is planning to bury the power line along Lake Mendota Drive side of the garden. We will have costs to relocate the PortaPotty and the share shelf and we should think where we want to put them. Gretel reported that Niels can buy 2 more of the arbor shade cloths at a discount. Vote to buy the shade cloths was postponed to later in the meeting.

Treasurers Report

Angus reported that we are in good shape with the 2015 budget. In 2015, we will have about 250 fewer hours in labor costs than in 2014. This difference is because we did not build a wall this year.

Field Staff Report

Will reported that his team had installed all of the irrigation poles at University Housing and that the drop reels will be installed and the plumbing completed within the next week. Will noted that in addition to installing the 8 poles we agreed upon, he anticipates that gardeners will eventually want 2 or 3 more. He noted that installation of the irrigation poles has been easy and fast. Will reported that he has closed the loop with Robert on the check to reimburse overpayment.

Currently the water line in the 1300 row at Eagle Heights has a leak. Will and team will have to let it dry and then will replace the nylon fittings with bronze fittings. University Housing has given us the former ice skating rink at University Houses and is raising it 10 – 12 inches in height. Will described leaf management issues at University Housing. We will have to clear the old weed pile and turn it into a new leaf pile. We will also create a new leaf pile at the southwestern corner of the gardens. The university will be able to supply enough leaves early in the spring to last until late June and this process will work well for all concerned.

Barb A. reported that Brian Hudelson from the University Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic had identified the disease on the arbor grapes as downy mildew and recommended treating the grapes with fungicide. She is in favor of trying to nurture the existing grape vines as they are drought-resistant and provide just the right amount of shade. Will moved that we buy the 2 new shade cloths for the arbor. Barb L. seconded and the motion passed unanimously. There was agreement that we would have further discussion if we were to put up more than one shade cloth. Barb A. noted that Sheboygan Community Gardens, which is being razed for new development, contributed 8 perennials to the Arbor Garden.

Adam Farrell-Wortman and Tom Pearce have applied to be garden co-chairs. Each described their qualifications and interest in serving as co-chair. Will moved to appoint them co-chairs and Gretel seconded. The motion passed unanimously and they were congratulated on accepting the job.

Adjourned at 7:53 P.M. by Karen.

Post Meeting Discussion

Will reported that University engineering students will study water flow at the Eagle Heights Gardens from the weed and leaf piles through the woods and down to the lake as part of a capstone course. They may be able to recommend a system of berms and swales that will resolve water issues that particularly affect our weed and leaf piles. If their proposal is doable, they may be able to implement it by next year and the Friends of Preserve may assist with funding. This would solve a longstanding and especially difficult problem for the gardens.

Submitted by Barb A.
Subject to correction by the Garden Committee​

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

October 14, 2015, 6:30 PM

Eagle Heights Community Center

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Will, Sandra, Malcolm, Angus, Barb L., Adam, Eleanor, Cathie, Karen, Ann, Melita, Jan, Dave and Tom.

Adam welcomed everyone.

Adam started the meeting by reading our purpose statement, which he said was rather long. He said perhaps we could make it more concise.

Minutes - Sandra suggested a correction to the September minutes. She said the minutes stated the shed would need to be moved with the upcoming MGE project. Discussion ensued. It was agreed that the minutes should state the Share Shelf would need to be moved. Moved by Ann and seconded by Sandra to approve the minutes of the August 2015 meeting. Passed unanimously.

Co- Chair report

Adam discussed expanding gardeners participation in the decision making of the gardens. He thanked everyone for coming, but Adam would like to expand participation. The people who come to the meeting are not representative of the gardens as a whole. Discussion ensued about the differing ethnic composition of work groups, garden survey respondents, and garden committee members, all of which are quite different.

Adam said that as co-chair, I was elected by this group, but I represent all gardeners, 1000 people. Karen said that maybe if we tried the path moniter idea, we might be able to get more input. Adam said he would publish the meeting time and agenda on our Facebook page. Jan said that the question of participation is not unique to the gardens. It might be a good idea to ask a community organizer. They have good ideas. Ann said that was a good idea. Tom said it might be a good idea to make a push in the spring. Will asked if we could put the committee minutes to the list serve to all gardeners. Cathie asked how we would follow up. Jan said she would provide Adam with the email of the new Resident Manager that has a lot of experience in community organizing.

Treasurer's report

Angus reported that we are on budget! Field staff hours are down this year by 250 hours. The lower garden worker hours probably account for the high balance we have this year relative to last year. We have just received the end of the year statement from Housing. There are some difficulties. There are two charges that are not ours and a credit that is not ours. The differences between the debits and credits are only $50.

Field Staff Report

Will said that Andy, the UW Plumber will turn off the water by the end of this week. Discussion ensued. There was general agreement that it is a good idea to turn off the water and drain the lines.

Gretel requested that we have enough plot poles to remark plots. Will said he and Dave have 120 yellow corner markers and 20 plot poles ready for number stamping. Will said that all of the poles come from conduit that FPM has removed from building and is recycled and free.

Will said that we need more tree tubes. The tubes protect the trees from rodents and winter sunscald. The tubes need to be replaced because the trees are larger now. We also need an orchard ladder to take care of the larger trees. The third item needed are two snathes (scythe handles) and 2 brush blade. Karen asked if one was purchased in January of 2015, when we approved its purchase. Will said it was out of stock when he tried to purchase it. Discussion ensued.

Motion by Karen, seconded by Barb L. to authorize the purchase of 100 tree tubes at a cost of $150-200; One orchard ladder at $180-220; and two snathes and two bush blades at a cost of $360. Passed unanimously. It was agreed to order the snathes and blades should be ordered right away due to lower availability in the spring.

We have a generator to use now if we need to use electricity. We can stored it in the shed.

Will said he met with the Shorewood folks and they agreed to clean up the University Houses weed pile. They will mix the weeds with leaves. We have asked Shorewood to fill the two leaf pile locations at University Houses first and they take leaves to Eagle Heights. Last year Shorewood delivered 260 loads of leaves to the gardens.

FPM has given the gardens 80 to 100 feet of modular chain link fence. Will said this fencing will make it possible to implement Dave’s idea about having three sections to the weed pile at Eagle Heights.

Evan and Will met and discussed storage of supplies. Will said we will have the use of a 20 by 15 foot space in Lot Z for bricks, metal and other supplies for the garden. Will said they supplies will not need to be stored outside the shed anymore and it will be easier to keep the shed area neat. Will said that due to construction, this storage location will be temporary.

Dave said they will be remarking plots into November.

Will said that the path is narrow in the 100’s line. When the plumbing line was replaced, sometimes the line was running uncovered thru plots. Cathie asked if the line needed to be covered so it would be protected from temperature. Adam said it needed to be covered to be protected from shovels. Will said the plot line might need to be move a foot in some places. Discussion ensued. Karen said that the group moving the line needs to be three or four people. She suggests marking the new line first and waiting a week or two to allow people to move perennials. Adam said that would be done.

Will asked if the new hose reels were working out. Sandra said they were good. Will said we need 4 more to do the rest of the garden. Tom said that Gretel had raised the question of the expense of the reels relative to the very few gardeners they would serve. Will said we didn’t have to decide now. Will asked if we could purchase new hose for the reel at a cost of $250.

Motion by Barb L. Seconded by Ann to authorize $250 for new hoses. Passed unanimously.

Mowing and Path Maintenance

Barb L. said she wants a path she can walk on easily. Weeds have fallen over and she catches her foot. Chunky weed are bad. They are big and nasty and she is unhappy about it. She does not want to trip. If this were her house, she would just mow it with her lawn mower. Adam asked what the problem was. Will said that once we quit mowing there were fewer grasses so weeds dominated.

Jan said that she was speaking as the bureaucrat and the gardens are being put on notice by this request. An accommodation needs to be made. Adam said it was a difficult year with all the rain. The university had to hire extra people to help with the mowing. Adam said we needed to change. Will said we need to change. The bindweed grows over the wood chips. Sandra said the bindweed needs to be snipped off in order to discourage it. Digging bindweed only spreads it.

Adjourned by 8:03pm by Adam.

Submitted by Karen
Subject to correction by the Garden Committee

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

November 11, 2015, 6:30 PM

Eagle Heights Community Center

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Sandra, Malcolm, Adam, Tom,, Karen, Ann, Melita, Gretel, Tianxing, Niels, Jan, Dave and Will.

Tom welcomed everyone.

Minutes Moved by Ann and seconded by Gretel to approve the minutes of the October 2015 meeting. Passed unanimously.

Co- Chair report

Tom started the meeting by reading our purpose statement, which is rather long. He said perhaps we could make it more concise. Will felt the mission statement should be 10 to 12 words, with supporting documents. Gretel said she thought it was wordy, but that we didn’t want to lose the concepts. The committee agreed with the concepts. Ann asked if we could prune the statement just with the people at the meeting before sending it to the 60 member discussion list. Gretel said we need to check if the discussion list people are all still gardeners and want to be on the list. Discussion ensued. Gretel asked if Tom and Adam would come up with a draft short statement and then send it to the discussion list. The committee agreed.

Tom asked if we have control of the website. Gretel said we do and that Dave is the webmaster. Tom pointed out that the website is out of date. Sandra said that all the rules on the website do not match the application.

The survey of 8 or 9 questions was sent to a small number of people to test it. Adam suggests we ask, “Are you finding the tools you need? and Is there anything missing?” Gretel asked if we could put in a list of tools. Another question could be, “Do you want to be part of the committee (meets the second Wednesday at 6:30 pm)?” Gretel said we did a survey at the seed fair last year and got about 200 responses. The garden is ending for the season, we need to do it soon. Sandra said the introduction needs to change. Gretel asked if we could send it out on Friday. Ann thought she could do it.

Registrar’s report

Gretel said that the Eagle Heights garden no parking signs are now up along the road. There is no parking M-F 7:30-5:30. The Frautschi Point lot is open. Also the entrance apron has new signs that say no parking. There are no bikes allowed in the Preserve, but bikes are okay in the plots and garden.

Dave, Gretel and a few volunteers have been doing plot marking. The 500 to 1100 rows have been done. The 500 and 600 rows are difficult because the lines curve and there are problems with the back posts. The boundaries need to be rationalized. We have run out of yellow conduit marker posts. Gretel needs $100 for new posts.

Motion by Karen and seconded by Ann for $100 to buy new conduit for posts. Passed unanimously.

Gretel also asked for more help marking plots. Karen, Ann and Niels volunteered to help.

The shed cleaning will be Sunday, November 29 at noon, starting with Eagle Heights and finishing at University Houses. Bring food to share and there is no workday credit for this quick job.

Opening Day 2016

Gretel proposed March 19, 2016 for opening day and April 2 for the seed fair. The committee agreed. Gretel said we will need to check the number posts before opening day. She will request the rooms for the Seed Fair.

Treasurer's report

Adam reported that Angus just received the numbers from Housing today and did not have time to prepare a report.

Field Staff Report

Will said there will be two workdays for the 100’s line path work, one on Saturday and on on Sunday. Two groups of 8-10 people would be great. Will said they can’t have more than 16 people. Gretel said she has more signed up for Saturday than Sunday. Will said that the 100’s line will be done before the snow.

Will said that after the October meeting, he contacted Shorewood about University Houses getting leaves first. Mostly Shorewood has been delivering leaves at University Houses first, except when it is too wet.

The new weed area at University Houses was built by the contractor with a gravel base. This is not good for the weedpile because there can’t be any gravel in the weeds when they are processed. Gravel breaks the equipment. UW FPM took out the gravel and put in $200 worth of fine limestone instead. We also need to have a barrier for the weeds and a place to push the weeds against when they are removed with heavy equipment. Will presented a design that includes an L shaped concrete barrier at the northeast edge of the new weed pile. Karen asked if there was enough room to move equipment in the new design without getting too near plots. Will said there is plenty of space. Both Shorewood and UW FPM were on site to discuss the proposal. The concrete blocks needed for the design will cost about $1000 from UW FPM. We will also need a smaller jersey barrier, but we can have one as salvage.

Motion by Karen and seconded by Tom to spend $1000 for the concrete blocks. Passed unanimously.

Will said the work will get done next week and that will give the limestone time to harden off during the winter. The weeds in the University Houses parking lot will be moved.

Will reported that the hose reels and hoses are already in the shed.

Dave asked if we needed to buy new tools. Will suggested that we should buy 4 more hose reels for University Houses. He said the last 4 would be twice as far apart. Gretel pointed out that the hose reels are a big expense and only serve 14 plots. Discussion ensued. Karen suggested that we look at proposal when we clean the University Houses shed in a few weeks and finish the discussion at the December meeting. The committee agreed.

Will said we will need to buy more digging forks.

Will said there is a problem with the pruning workday. The orchard ladder that was ordered has not yet arrived, so the planned workday will have to be delayed. Gretel said the cutoff day for workday completion is December 1st for workday credit for the 2015 garden year. Gardeners who do not do a workday or pay the fee are fined and lowered in their priority to get a garden next year. Will asked the committee’s permission to allow the pruning workday to finish after the deadline. The names of the gardeners and their plot numbers need to be "booked" before the deadline and Will will to send the names to Gretel by the December 1st. If the "pruners" didn't make the workday when it is held, they will pay the late fee as well as the "no workday" fee.

The committee agreed to allow the time extension for the pruning workday. The Co-Chairs Adam and Tom will deal with any complaints.

Mowing and Path Maintenance

Karen asked when we would discuss the issue of mowing and path maintenance brought up by Barb L. at the last meeting. Jan said it had to be addressed. Adam said the topic was set aside until December because Barb L. could not attend this meeting. Adam also said we have some time because the gardens are closing for winter. There are steps in the 700’s path that need rebuilding. Sandra said the website says grass is cut on common paths. She also said that all the rules on the website do not match the application. For example, the website says that 6” border extends all around the plot and the application says the 6” border is on the sides and back.

Tom asked if the minutes were posted on the website. Karen said they are usually posted after the committee approves them.

Adjourned by 8:02pm by Tom.

Submitted by KarenSubject to correction by the Garden Committee

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

December 9, 2015, 6:30 PM

Eagle Heights Community Center

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Sandra, Malcolm, Adam, Tom,, Karen, Ann, Melita, Barb L., Tianxing, Cathie, Barb A., Ric, Jan, Dave and Will.

Adam welcomed everyone.

Minutes Moved by Barb L. and seconded by Barb A. to approve the minutes of the November 2015 meeting. Passed unanimously.

Co- Chair report

Adam said that since Gretel stepped down from the Registrar position she will be extremely missed. She has a huge institutional knowledge and has provided continuity in the position since 2008. Adam asked people to write their thoughts about Gretel in her position so they could be included in the minutes.

“Gretel embodied the spirit of the community garden. It is fortunate that she will still be gardening at EH. Thank you, Gretel.” Malcolm

“Gretel’s professional rapport with all members of the garden community exemplified university best respect standards. Her tireless attention to detail and consistency has raised expectations and standards of Eagle Heights as a community as well as the gardens.“Cathie

“Gretel was exceptional as a garden registrar. She used her expertise to develop such a great community at the Eagle Heights Gardens. She made the gardens into a place we all loved.”  Barb A.

“It was phenomenal to run into Gretel in the gardens. She always had time to identify plants, bugs, what was ripe and what was not, when to plant and so on. This was in addition to all her regular work.” Ann

“Gretel handled the complex, wide ranging and voluminous duties of the Garden Registrar with great competence and balance. It takes a special talent to navigate across all of the required duties that range from the mundane and clerical, to planning, to managing the inevitable conflicts that arise in a large community garden.” Ric

Opening Day

At the last meeting Gretel said that it would be difficult for her to be ready with the opening day on March 19th, but since she has resigned, we should consider moving opening day to give the new person in the position time to complete the plot assignment tasks. The Seed Fair is April 2nd. Discussion ensued. Ann asked if volunteer labor could be used for any of Gretel’s work. Jan said she didn’t know yet, she will be asking. Adam said he will keep the committee informed with the Garden Committee discussion list. Karen asked if we could announce plot assignments on April 1st on the website, the day before Seed Fair, so people could have their plot numbers. Tom asked if gardeners liked to work on their plots early and when the tools went out. Adam said the tools were usually out by opening day unless the ground was frozen.

Adam asked for a motion about moving opening day. Moved by Karen and seconded by Sandra to move opening day to April 1st. Passed unanimously.

Registrar Position Description

As Adam passed out the position description that was used to hire Gretel, he said that Gretel had concerns about how her job had grown since she had been hired. Adam also said that there is a difference between the budgeted hours and the reported hours, so we have more hours available. Ann asked if we could hire additional workers. Will said that not all hours he worked were reported. For example, he does not report hours answering emails. Barb A. said it would be a good idea to have a clear idea of what was actually happening.

Adam said he thought that the position should have duties in the garden and the office. The position could coordinate work groups and help decide what needed to be done. Barb L. asked how gardeners signed up on workdays. Adam said that the Garden Workers came up with the job for the workday, Gretel sent the email to the gardeners advertising the workday, the gardeners replied to Gretel, Gretel turned the list over to the Garden Workers when the required number of workers was reached, and the workers signed in at the workday. Will said we could use scheduling software to lighten this work. The workday responsibilities are complex and require insight. Discussion continued about the various tasks of the Registrar and of the interface with the workdays. Jan said she didn’t think that Gretel charged for a lot of the tasks.

Jan said that one of the most difficult tasks of the Registrar are grievances. They are, by nature, very unpleasant and time consuming. Karen said the conflict resolution is missing from the description. Barb A. said that there are 600 plots and it is a miracle that it works as well as it does. Cathie said that in the past Registrars worked very hard to build up a credible system. The Registrar represents UW.

Jan said that the Registrar is the vested authority to represent UW. In the best case scenario, we would want the chairs, but the chairs are busy. Realistically, it is difficult for the Chairs to have time. Cathie said it is important to remember that the Gardens are a shared community between the 'institutional structure of the University, and the Residents, Students and the Community.

Melita had concerns that we did not require the Registrar to have a Garden plot. Jan said we could state that we prefer the Registrar be a gardener. Barb L. said a huge part of the job is enforcement of the rules and the rest of it is clerical. Jan said that dispute resolution takes a large amount of time and can be very stressful. Sometimes we have to take away a garden plot.

Adam said the way the process works is that the Registrar would tell the gardener what the policy was that the gardener was not following. If the gardener does not correct the problem, the Registrar would inform the co-chairs, who would address the problem with the gardener. The co-chairs have the right to to make an exception, but the Registrar only states the policy. The decision of the co-chairs can be appealed to the Garden Committee.

Barb A. said if we are hiring someone new, I would like the person to be able to have a reasonable chance to do the job. We should look at what is not working and fix it. Adam said he totally agreed with Barb A.’s statement, but we need to remember that filling the position in a timely fashion is very important. Barb A. suggested we form a sub-committee to revise the Registrar position description. It was agreed and Tom, Ric, Karen, Barb A. and Adam will serve. Malcolm asked what the was expected outcome? The sub-committee will finish the position description before Christmas and maintain contact thru the discussion list. Ric asked if we really wanted to hire someone while we are still discussing the Registrar’s responsibilities? Adam said we have to hire someone.

Sandra asked if Gretel would have an exit interview. Jan said yes. Karen asked again about the idea that the Registrar would manage the workgroups. Barb L. said she thought that was too much work. Barb A. said that Gretel worked with her to find people to work on the Arbor Garden. Will said that we can’t discriminate about work groups. Ric said that something good comes out of personal interactions. Jan asked what can be broken out of the job. The job is too big. Adam said that Gretel walked around and discovered problems in the garden.

Cathie said that before we had an active Registrar enforcing the rules, people were at each other’s throats. Some of the problems went all the way to the chancellor. Tom said maybe Gretel was overburdened by all the problems coming to a single person. Barb A. said maybe it won’t be in the Registrar’s job. Dave said that Gretel had all these extra roles. Maybe we can distribute some of the jobs like a small business does when it grows larger. Sandra said that Gretel’s email to the committee states that back up support was not present. Gretel was basically the enforcer. Gretel’s December 8th email:

“Dear Garden Committee,

I want to put down a few thoughts as you look at the future of the Registrar's position. The position has had increasing demands and responsibilities but has suffered from a lack of support, authority and communication to meet the demands. The Registrar is point person without backup. Our current structure needs change so that gardener priorities and concerns are the guiding principles and accountability is enforced.

It is a good time to revisit the Mission statement, but no session of rewording is going to be worth the effort unless it is followed by decisions and actions that strive to meet those ideals.

Sincerely,
Gretel”

Ric stated that the risk of removing the enforcement form the Registrar’s job would be that the enforcement would not be consistent. Ric said before Gretel came a fellow gardener was using pesticides and there was inconsistent enforcement of the rules. Gretel had a clear boundary and enforced the rules.

Jan said that the idea of the small business idea of distributing the tasks is good. Gretel was very consistent. Jan asked if everyone on this committee had a task that they brought back to the committee each month. Adam said that the idea of the row monitors could help take the load off the Registrar.

Adam also said the hiring process takes a long time. Adam said the sub-committee will send a draft to the discussion list. Adam would like to see less of a divide between office and field staff. Ann said she thought an important role of the Registrar was to be present in the Garden, observe what is happening and talk to gardeners, sometimes solving difficulties before the problems grow larger, and maintaining a presence. Cathie said she thought the idea of a coordinator was good. Jan said that we should write the description the way we want and then it will be checked by Human Resources before it is posted. Adam said it will be posted at UW, but we need to recruit good applicants. Ric asked if there was a community garden list where we could recruit? Jan said the City of Madison website has a list.

Barb L. said the job requires two different skill sets: process the applications and assign the plots, and enforcement. Dave said maybe the job could be divided. Jan said that hiring can take a long time, so it might be good if we had Plan A and Plan B. Adam said that the question is being asked if we can use volunteers as a stop-gap for any of the application process.

Sandra said we are going live with the Garden Applications and we are going to get a lot of garden applications next week. Jan said that all the applications come to the office and are date and time stamped. The Registrar takes the applications, the checks are cashed and the applications are stored until the February 15th deadline. Jan said the rule is that the checks must be cashed. Jan said she had a fear that if anything became a big problem, it would put the gardens at risk.

Barb L. asked if we could pay overtime for a Housing staff member to do the applications part of the job as a short term solution to the problem. Jan said she would find out.

Adam said that Angus was unable to be here, but we are on budget and have money to pay overtime to a qualified, presently employed house staff person.

Field Staff Report

Will asked for $200 more for a screening plan for the University Houses weedpile. Moved by Will and seconded by Barb L. to spend $200 for hedging or an earth berm. Passed.

Adjourned after 8pm by Adam

Submitted by Karen
Subject to correction by the Garden Committee

Eagle Heights Garden Meeting Minutes 2014

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

February 12, 2014, 6:30 PM

Eagle Heights Community Center

6:00 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Jenn, Josh, Tianxing, Ulrike, Sandra, Pat, Ric, Ann, Gretel, Karen, Will, Louisa, Malcom, Ben, Diana, Andrew, Adam, Eleanor and Melita.

Josh welcomed everyone.

Minutes

Motion by Josh and seconded by Louisa to approve the minutes of the January 2014 meeting. Passed unanimously

Registrar’s report

Gretel reported that she has received 461 applications. The deadline is February 15th. We have 581 total plots. There have been a handful of problems with the applications. One applicant wanted a particular plot and they owe a workday fee. A previous gardener must pay their workday fee. Another problem is people applying at the lowered student rate who are not full time UW students. Another problem is that quite a few people paid their workday fee, but it went to their rent instead. Lastly, one applicant asked that the contact email not be used until Valentine’s Day because the garden plot was a present, which is a nice problem.

Gretel reported the finances for Angus. We are at the highest point of our financial year and on budget. We are buying carts, tools and investing in plumbing upgrades.

Ulrike asked when University Houses will get renovated. Gretel said starting July 1st. Ulrike said she is worried that the road will be blocked. Gretel asked to be called if the road is blocked.

Ben asked if there are any problems with Eagle Heights parking. Gretel said she didn’t think so.

Gretel said there is a problem with someone who plot wasn’t tilled last year, but they paid for it. We need a list of plots that didn’t get tilled last year. Adam said they (Will and Adam) will tell Gretel when a plot is not tilled. Will said they have tilling records back to 2009.

Co-Chair report

Jenn reported that we received about $1000 in donations to our UW Foundation account. She is planning to send thank you letters in April, as she did last year. Josh said that he thought this as very good considering that the only solicitation is one email a year.

Jenn suggested that the Garden Opening be pushed back a week to March 22. Discussion ensued. Josh asked if everyone was in agreement. The committee agreed to the change.

Opening day March 22, 2014

Orientations: The orientation sheet will include the new page of rules about theft.

March 22 Noon at Eagle Heights

Noon at University Houses

March 23 Noon at Eagle Heights

March 25 5:30 at Eagle Heights

March 26 5:30 at Eagle Heights

March 29 Noon at Eagle Heights

Noon at University Houses

Orientations with translators for Chinese will also be arranged by Gretel. It is important that we try to explain how the garden works and how to be a good garden neighbor to all gardeners.

Gretel said the seed sort will be a potluck. The seed sort volunteers do not receive workday credit. Some of the seeds are sorted from last year. Karen, Ann, Ulrike and Ben will help Gretel set up on Friday at 4pm.

Volunteers for the seed fair will receive four hour workday credit and will arrive at 8am Saturday, the 29th of March to set up. We have enough seeds to give out 15 packets per plot.

New Sign

Jenn reports that UW Housing is offering us a new sign that would be by the road. Gretel suggests that we move our old sign to the cart area. and take the new sign from Housing. The committee was in agreement.

Discussion ensued about a standard sign for University Houses, which hasn’t been offered yet. Adam suggested that it might be good to get one because University Houses gets forgotten about. It was decided that a good place for one would be where the dirt road hits the parking lot. The committee agreed that it would be good to ask for on that said University Houses Garden.

Co-Chair Graduating

Josh said he would be finishing in May. Discussion ensued about his replacement. Jenn will be staying, which will provide some continuity. It would be good to have another student or resident as Co-Chair. Karen thanked Josh for his good job as Co-Chair and the committee agreed.

Important Dates for 2014

Application for 2014 DUE February 15, 2014

Opening day March 22, 2014

Seed Fair March 29, 2014

Cool weather plant sale April 20

Warm weather plant sale May 18

Adjourned before 7:42 by Josh.

Submitted by Karen
Subject to correction by the Garden Committee

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

March 12, 2014, 6:30 PM

Eagle Heights Community Center

6:00 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Jenn, Josh, Tianxing, Alison, Alice, Sandra, Ann, Gretel, Karen, Will, Louisa, Malcom, Adam and Melita.

Jenn welcomed everyone.

Minutes

Motion by Josh and seconded by Louisa to approve the minutes of the February 2014 meeting with the correction pointed out by Gretel that she does not have Korean translators for orientation. Passed unanimously

Registrar’s report

Gretel reported that she recently sent the first gardener emails and many bounced, which she must fix. There are 900 names on the list! There are 463 plots at Eagle Heights and 101 at University Houses. There are two plots at each garden set aside for fixing problems. One application was postmarked correctly, but came in late and another few have problems with the fee getting applied to the UW Housing rent incorrectly. We have 6 on the waiting list and 3 new applications today.

Gretel reported that the trends this year include more returning gardeners in University Houses small plots. We have more alumni and community members, more small plots gardeners staying with the small plot and fewer tilling applications.

Gretel proposes that F8 at University Houses be returned to community space. F8 has a big tree stump and a nearby black walnut, making it a difficult plot. Will suggests that it would be good for currants. The committee agrees to return F8 to community space.

Gretel said we also need to walk around the plots and check the numbers. Adam, Sandra and Malcom will check the numbers at University Houses and Gretel, Melita, Will, Adam and Jenn will check Eagle Heights’ numbers at noon on Sunday.

Orientations

Gretel said the notes for the orientation include the new section on rules. Will and Adam will demonstrate the use of the new broadfork toll during their orientations. Will said we need to stress no weeds in the dumpster! Gretel said we need a sign “No weeds in the dumpster”.

March 22 Noon at Eagle Heights, Noon at University Houses; March 23 Noon at Eagle Heights; March 25 5:30 at Eagle Heights; March 26 5:30 at Eagle Heights; March 29 Noon at Eagle Heights, Noon at University Houses

Seed Fair

The seed sort will be on Friday, March 28th. The seeds will be removed from the attic at 1pm and the seed sort will start at 6:30 with a potluck. No workday credit is given for the seed sort.

Seed Fair volunteers will arrive at 8am Saturday, March 29th. There will be tables for the Friends of the Preserve, St. Vincent de Paul food donation program, the UW horticulture department and row cover sales, along with the usual seed give away. Adam said we have the list of varieties for the plant sale. Gretel will make a plant sale poster for the fair.

Gretel said that at a meeting of the Madison Community Gardens their plot fees are graduated and depend on the income of the gardener. Their plots come with just the water and the plot. Our fee seems reasonable considering that we also have tools, leaves and other things available.

Garden Worker Report

Will said we have a pallet of 12 carts waiting to be assembled along with a number of maintenance free wheels.We will have a much better cart fleet. The wheel without the tube cannot get flat but it can still bend! We can’t get delivery yet because UW Physical Plant still has the salters on the trucks.

Will said he wrote a grant to a tool company and is receiving a free broadfork ($185) with a lifetime guarantee. There are videos of people using it and he thinks it would work well on wire grass. Gretel said it should be checked out and returned to the shed.

Will said he went to the Lakeshore Nature group meeting that occurs once a month. The Biocore Prairie, which is north and east of the garden is having trouble getting prairie established. The weeds are growing too fast and they think the soil is too fertile. One of the proposals for the Biocore prairie was to remove 12 inches of topsoil off the top of the field. They decided not to do this as they don’t have money or budget for it. Will said another idea they had was to push the western half to the eastern half with a bulldozer.

Will suggested to them that they continue to plant oats. Adam said that last year they thought they would grow GMO corn and spray, but they changed their minds. Gretel reported that some years back they planted GMO soybeans and sprayed, but it didn’t work to control the weeds. Will asked Josh if they would have to plow if they use a seed drill. Josh said there are no till seed drills. Will said they plowed the area for 4 years. Josh said that the plowing would denutrify the soil. Gretel said that the prairie that the Biocore wants to establish at the top of the hill is a wet mesic prairie. Gretel reports that some of the gardeners in the 1300’s have trouble with weeds.

Ann asked how this committee, the Lakeshore Nature group is formed. Will said it is an appointed committee.

Ann suggested that we need to talk about plumbing projects next meeting.

Co-Chair report

Jenn will advertise at the seed fair for another co-chair. It would be good to have another student or resident as Co-Chair.

Important Dates for 2014

Cool weather plant sale April 20

Warm weather plant sale May 18

Adjourned before 7:46 by Josh. Submitted by Karen
Subject to correction by the Garden Committee

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

April 9, 2014, 6:30 PM

Eagle Heights Community Center

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Jenn, Josh, Kris, Evan, Mark, Diana, Andrew, Jan, Tianxing, Ann, Gretel, Karen, Will, Louisa, Adam and Melita.

Jenn welcomed everyone. Josh announced the arrival of Micah Joshua April 5, 2014.

Minutes

Motion by Josh and seconded by Louisa to approve the minutes of the March 2014 meeting. Passed unanimously

Registrar’s report

At the Seed Fair 316 plots checked in, which is about 10-12 more than last year and is around 700 people. The workshop by Sandra was full. Will and Louisa sold 190 pieces of row cover. The $575 covers most of our costs, but the people at the workshop didn’t get any. The line was cleared by 9:30. We spread out the tables this year, which gave more room for choosing seed.

Ten orientation sessions were held. Two of the sessions had Mandarin translators. About 150 people attended.

All plots are full with the exception of two plots at Eagle Heights that need to be rehabilitated. The waiting list stands at 14. Gardeners must pay the fee to get on the waiting list. After June 1st the fee is half price. The fee is returned if the gardener does not get a plot.

Plant sales

April 20- cool weather plants with Ann, Melita and Jenn helping

May 18- warm weather plants with Mark and others helping

Will suggested a cash box for change might be a good contingency. It was agreed that it might be a good idea for the warm weather sale. Gretel said if we were to do compost or row cover sales we would need volunteers. Louisa volunteered for the cash box. Gretel will write a note next week about the plant sale. Jenn said she thought we needed to buy row cover. Gretel said we couldn’t get it in ten days. Discussion ensued. Storage is a problem with unsold row cover. We cannot store it in the shed because mice get into it. Josh said we provide a lot of services and it is just not going to work out this year to buy more row cover. There was general agreement with this and buying row cover will be discussed in the fall.

Gretel suggested selling compost at the first plant sale. Will thought the road will be too wet for delivery to the usual place. Compost can’t be delivered to the weed pile because we sell it at cost.

Gretel expressed concern that the manure that is delivered for free is only available to a few gardeners. Discussion ensued about metering the manure so all gardeners get it. Perhaps we should charge 50 cents a cartload. Josh said we should charge if we are paying a delivery fee. Will suggested we pick three delivery days so all gardeners get a chance.

Gretel reported the Olds Seed Company closed their Madison warehouse, but we got 4 boxes of seeds from them anyway. We have a lot of seeds and could give some away at the plant sale. She suggests giving away pumpkins, winter squash and lettuce at the cool weather plant sale. Adam pointed out that Gardens to Be will be selling lettuce and we shouldn’t give away lettuce. Discussion centered on the age of the seeds, especially lettuce and onions. Karen suggested keeping the 2013 lettuce and onions separated from the older seeds. Jenn and Karen volunteered to help reorganize the seeds. It was decided to give away beans, pumpkins and winter squash at the cool weather sale.

Garden Worker Report

Will said there have been workdays at Eagle Heights and University Houses. At Eagle Heights the raspberry patch has been cleared, fenced and seeded with red oats. In June they will plant sunflowers. At University Houses 2 plots have been fixed and leaves have been moved.

Trees have been pruned at Eagle Heights and need to be pruned at University Houses.

Will said that the wall building needs to be finished at Eagle Heights 1000 row. We need to finish the wall so we can move the cement out of the shed. Then we can receive and assemble the new carts. Adam said we have 2 work days every weekend thru May and will start having evening weekday workdays when it gets light enough.

Water is usually turned on around April 25th. The winter was really hard and Will is concerned about the state of the plumbing system. There was further discussion about the water.

Gretel said there are 22 people on the list for tilling. Will said to please tell them that they were on the list. Will and Adam will check the plots for tilling to make sure the plots are ready for tilling.

Karen asked about the 100 plumbing line. Will said they need to finish the wall building and the tilling. Josh asked if we could get a ditchwitch to dig the trench. Will said he will be having a conversation about it. Will said we have the new water risers for University Houses. Kris said water safety is a priority. Will said water doesn’t sit in those lines.

Treasurer’s Report

Gretel report for Angus that we are on budget. We spent a little over $4000 on carts, will spend $1600 on tools and will spend $300 on fruit bushes. Gretel said that Jeff Housing asked if we wanted to do something for Environmental Day concerning recycling in the gardens. Will said he would talk to him.

Important Dates for 2014

Warm weather plant sale May 18

To Do List

Talk about plumbing projects

Talk about row cover sales in Fall

Adjourned before 8 by Josh. Submitted by Karen
Subject to correction by the Garden Committee

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

May 14, 2014, 6:30 PM

Eagle Heights Community Center

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Jenn, John, Sandra, Malcom, Mike, Ulrike, Mark, Diana, Andrew, Angus, Ann, Gretel, Karen, Will, Louisa, Ada, Tianxing and Melita.

Jenn welcomed everyone. Josh is sorry he couldn’t attend tonight.

Minutes

Motion by Adam and seconded by Louisa to approve the minutes of the April 2014 meeting. Passed unanimously

Registrar’s report

Gretel reported 4 years of trends at the gardens. One in three gardeners are new, more people are keeping small plots, and more people are graduating and remaining in the area and keeping their plots.

There are 23 on the waiting list. Most have requested Eagle Heights, some will take either garden and a few want University Houses. Ulrike asked about University Houses building renovation. Gretel said everyone will move out in July.

Gretel said we usually have the meetings outside in the summer, June and August at Eagle Heights and July at University Houses. In bad weather we meet at the Community Center.

Gretel said technical problems with the old Forum on the website have rendered it unusable. The forum is now closed and the software is too old. What are our options? She proposes using Jenn’s Blog and have a separate section for announcements and minutes. We will try to get the older minutes posted to the blog. Adam asked about our facebook page. Gretel said the person doing it moved away. Adam volunteered to take over the facebook page.

Plant sales

May 18, 11am- 1pm- warm weather plants with Mark and Melita are helping

Will ordered compost, which will be sold by the half cart load. Compost will be trucked to University Houses in cart beds loaded in a truck. Gretel and Jenn are going to check for plots that have not be started yet. This is not a jury. An email will be sent asking if the gardener still wants to garden.

Garden Worker Report

Jenn asked how the wall was coming. Adam said it was almost done. There have been 5 workdays with cement mixing and brick laying. It has been a lot of work. Will said the grass has started to grow and mowing will begin soon. Please ask everyone to remove all hoses, rocks and sticks out of the path. Adam said there are new raspberries next to the weedpile.

Jenn asked how we were with buying tools. Will said we have enough shovels, but we probably need hoes. The new carts are all built. Adam said there is a cart at University Houses with a bad wheel, which he will repair. Adam said new wheelbarrows need to be purchased and we need more hoses for University Houses.

Treasurer’s Report

Angus that we are on budget, but we have spent more on supplies this year. Garden worker hours are a little lower this year. The Housing financial statements have been correct, which is good.

Karen asked about the plumbing renovation of the 100’s line and the new risers for University Houses. Jenn said as we get closer to the wall being done, what is the time line for the work? Will said we could dig the line by hand or use a ditch witch, which could damage plots as the line was dug. Discussion ensued. There was a suggestion about asking gardeners not to plant perennials next to the path and this was added to to rule list to talk about in the fall.

New Co-chair

Jenn announced that Diana, who gardens at University Houses, will be our new co-chair as all other candidates have withdrawn. Ulrike expressed support for Diana and the committee welcomed her.

Milwaukee Public Television

The television station has asked to film a show, planting to harvest to home at the gardens. The would film twice, once early in the season and then at harvest in late summer. The are looking for willing volunteers to film in their gardens. Jenn asked for nominations and will pass the nominations to the TV station. Jenn and Adam will appear for the garden committee in August.

Items for the next Meeting

Adam asked to talk about the rototilling policy at the next meeting. He said that University Houses is all done and at Eagle Heights 14 of the 15 plots on the list have wiregrass.

Sandra said that the D and E row at University Houses have bindweed.

Important Dates for 2014

Warm weather plant sale May 18

To Do List

Talk about plumbing projects

Talk about row cover sales in Fall

Adjourned before 8 by Jenn. Submitted by Karen
Subject to correction by the Garden Committee

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

June 11, 2014, 6:30 PM

Eagle Heights Garden

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Sandra, Malcom, Diana, Andrew, Ann, Gretel, Karen, Will, Louisa, Adam, Eleanor, Tingxian and Melita.

Diana welcomed everyone.

Minutes

Motion by Ann and seconded by Malcom to approve the minutes of the April 2014 meeting. Passed unanimously

Registrar’s report

The compost sale made $428 and covered our costs. This time there was no delivery charge. Gretel said it would be great to have compost in the Fall, but it is usually not available in the Fall.

The first jury has occurred and there were 13 weedy plot notices given out, which is more than usual. One plot was surrendered and another will probably be taken over. A second jury will be held this weekend at Eagle Heights.

There are 2 plots at University Houses, 6 at Eagle Heights and 1 plot that has been offered to a gardener. The waiting list is is about 15. Some people will not take the plot if it looks too bad.

The Garden Organizing Committee (GOC), the university committee that is in charge of the gardens, will tour University Houses Garden on Friday, June 20 at 8:30am.

Treasurer’s Report

Gretel reported for Angus that we are on budget. We had $656 in compost income. We spent $346.50 on tool handles, $109 on cement and $300 on compost. The garden worker hours are good. The UW Housing staff has not updated our finances for 2 months as they are short staffed. Angus is trying to keep track of the budget and spending.

Garden Worker Report

Adam said that the first round of mowing has been completed at Eagle Heights. The Housing staff used to mow the perimeter at University Houses, but they have not done so this year. Adam tried to start the mower, but mice had taken up residence in the engine compartment. University Houses will have to be cut by hand.

Adam said the wall is done except for the chips. The wall is actually quite thick (24”) but the cap stone is just ten inches wide.

Will said he was concerned with tool breakage. Some of the new tool handles have broken after they were replaced. There have been several instances of the front wheels falling off wheel barrows. Adam said rakes and new shovels have been broken. The garden workers ask the committee to watch for broken tools and see how they are being broken.

Will said that tilling spreads wire grass and weeds. If we took tilling off the web and application, gardeners might not ask for it automatically. Rototilling is good for adding amendments and to improve the soil. Adam said rototilling can control weeds if it is done more than once and late in the season.

Adam reported that he rototilled four plots in University Houses after the plots were cleaned and amendments added. Adam said he still had one left to do. Will said there were 27 plots in Eagle Heights on the tilling list. Discussion ensued. Gretel said to Will that people were complaining about not having their plots tilled and that Will had not told her that 11 plots needed a refund because they were not tilled.

Will asked to not advertise this program, it should be a special event. Gretel asked about rototilling in the Fall. Adam said that rototilling in the Fall was a good idea. Gretel said if people didn’t get their plots tilled after they paid for it, they would probably feel let down. We agreed to remove the tilling information from the website and reconsider again in the fall when writing the new application. Ann said that sending the minutes out in an email to the committee early was a good idea.

Adam said he was concerned about people using private rototillers in the gardens and potential liability issues. Adam saw a gardener wearing sandals with an older rototiller using it in the gardens.. Is there a rule about private rototillers? Andrew said perhaps we should have a power tool policy for the garden. We agreed that the new application should include the fact that no power tools were allowed in the gardens unless operated by University staff. Will expressed concern that the gardeners on the rototilling list would not answer his emails.

There was a discussion about plot restoration. Gretel said we would not garden for people, but the gardens has an interest in keeping gardeners in the plots. If a plot gets too weedy, it is hard to give out. Ann said she did a plot restoration workday. Adam said there was a problem for June workdays that gardeners had just finished cleaning their own plots and they felt that the new gardener coming just a little late was getting special treatment. Plot restoration workdays are not popular in June with lots of grumbling and complaining.

Gretel said there is a second type of workday where we help people with a weedy plot notice. The gardener with the weedy plot notice must be at the workday. Adam said it helped when the weedy plot gardener was present. Sandra said it would be good if the new gardener was at the workday for their new plot. Will said a cooperation venture is better.

Melita said that some gardeners are more enthusiastic than others. What if you were put to the end of the waiting list if you didn’t take a particular plot?

Gretel said she could ask a new gardener if they are interested in a particular plot, which is messy. We could offer to help in a week. Some gardeners would just clean the plot. Adam said it was important to get rid of wire grass. We should offer to help if the new gardener is present in the garden to help along with the workday crew. Andrew said he thought the educational aspect of having the new gardener there was really important. Gretel agreed to inform new gardeners that they could get help on the next workday IF they were coming to work alongside the volunteers and encourage them to work on the plot themselves first.

Karen asked if there were plots that were particularly weedy and difficult. Adam said that the 1300’s had a lot of difficult plots. Karen suggested that we consider a fall cleanup of difficult plots. Ann said it would be a lot of work to contact the gardeners. If a plot was abandoned, it would be much easier. Will said tilling could be done in the fall.

Will had a concern that there could be a problem with house sparrows using birdhouses in the garden. House sparrows kill bluebirds and swallows. Bird houses need maintenance to keep the house sparrows out of the bluebird houses. Will asked if two people from our group could take the training from the Preserve and see if we have a problem with this. We discussed educating the gardeners and Gretel agreed to find some material to distribute and put on the website. Diana said we should get information so we could comply with the birdhouse policy of the Preserve.

Social Media Topic

Diana said Jenn was discussing how the different social media work for the gardens. We have a website, a blog and Facebook. Gretel said she did not use Facebook, along with many gardeners from other countries. She would like facebook to remain secondary to the sites that do not require a person to join the site. Adam said he saw Facebook as a repeat of the web and the blog. Adam asked if we could use an asian version of Facebook. The committee thought the language translating would be too difficult. Diana said we could encourage Facebook, but all information would remain on the web. Gretel mentioned that the button for Facebook on the web is not working properly. Adam said he was working to delete the old page and Gretel will ask David, the webmaster, to change the link to the new page.

Andrew said that leaf mulch is needed at University Houses. Adam and Will said they would try to get some delivered.


Adjourned before 8 by Diana.


Submitted by Karen

Subject to correction by the Garden Committee

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

July 9, 2014, 6:30 PM

University Houses Garden

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Sandra, Malcom, Diana, Andrew, Angus, Jenn, Ulrike, Ann, Gretel, Karen, Adam, Tianxing and Melita.

Diana welcomed everyone.

Minutes

Motion by Gretel and seconded by Tianxing to approve the minutes of the June 2014 meeting. Passed unanimously.

Registrar’s report

There have been three juries at Eagle Heights and one at University Houses. There were quite a few that were not started gardening yet. One gardener asked for help and paid the fee. There will be a jury at each garden this weekend. After a weedy plot notice, a third of the gardeners reply to the email and clean the plot, a third clean and never reply, and a third never reply and do not clean the plot so the plot is reassigned.

There is a problem when plots are not gardened with flowers, herbs or vegetables. Two plots are not being fully gardened. One plot has only three squash plants and a plot has less than half the plot used and plastic has been put down where they haven’t been gardening. Both are large plots and could be divided to reassign the unused half to a gardener on the waiting list. Discussion ensued. Gretel thought one gardener might give up the unused portion. Karen suggested we recommend they grow a green manure crop. Adam said we had a lot of oats. Jenn was concerned that the language in the application wouldn’t cover this problem. It was agree we would talk about the application language in the fall. Gretel will talk to the gardeners and she if she can reach a resolution.

There are 5 on the waiting list, one with very specific requirements. Gretel said when the list is gone, she will send out an email saying that small plot gardeners can get another small plot. After September 1, plots are free but a workday is required.

Gretel will give away seeds of lettuce, radish, etc on the first Saturday in August.

Treasurer’s Report

Angus said that we are on budget. The garden worker hours are the same as last year at this time. We probably need to spend about $4 to $5,000 to end up in the same place as last year.

The UW Housing staff has not updated our finances for a while. Angus is trying to keep track of the budget and spending.

Share the Bounty

Diana reported for Alison, who couldn’t come to the meeting. There have been some difficulties with the bins being put out on the shelf and being picked up on time. A volunteer took the bins on Saturday when someone forgot. Gretel said she thinks we need more bins. Adam said we have more at University Houses. There has been concern that there hasn’t been much in the bins. It was agreed that we should get some smaller bins some the vegetables don’t get squashed. We are having some confusion between the Share Shelf and the Share the Bounty.

Discussion ensued. It was agreed that we probably need some volunteers to help Alison. Ulrike asked if there was a call list so if a volunteer could get help if they couldn’t pick up the bin.

Gretel said that three pickups count for a workday. Ulrike suggested that the volunteer needs to send an email after the pickup to get workday credit. The committee agreed that this is a good idea.

The Problem of Vegetables Rotting in the Plots
Ulrike asked if there was a way to deal with vegetables left in the plots to rot. Do we have a system? Andrew said this was a very difficult problem. Gretel said when a workday party cleans a plot, the vegetables are given away. Jenn suggested that we put on the website that you can’t waste vegetables. Ulrike said we could talk to Gretel and she could contact the owner. If the owner gave permission, then we could give the harvest to the pantry.

Gretel said she caught someone going through plots and taking the vegetables to the pantry. This is not allowed.

Garden Worker Report

Adam said there were two workdays last week and 20 so far this year. There will be one workday a week for a while. This will leave more time for tasks like mowing. We are on our third mowing cycle. We have not sprayed for Potato Beetles yet, because there have been so few. Toads were seen eating Potato Beetles!! The lawn mower kills toads. Scythe mowing is better for a large toad population.

The are some nice sunflowers at the Eagle Heights shed

Plot F8 at University Houses has been planted and mulched.

Fewer workdays will allow time for building the faucet and pipe for the 100’s plumbing project. Adam said they were hoping the line would be shut off only for one day. Gretel asked if workday labor would be needed for covering the line after the new pipe was laid? Adam said maybe.

Adam said they talked to Kris about help for the drywell for the University Houses sink. A drywell is a large hole filled with rocky debris that holds the water. A perforated pipe will be laid along the tree line to help water the trees. Two loads of leaves came to University Houses and then the machine got stuck at Eagle Heights and had to be pulled out. Adam said we don’t have control over when the leaves get delivered.

Gretel said they were working with housing about the leaf pile. The original plan had the leaf pile by the weeds. Sandra said that leaf mulch helps conserve water.

GOC

There will be a GOC meeting and tour on August 15th.

Gretel said that we probably caused some drainage problems in the 500’s row with with the wood chips in the Fruit Orchard.

The road also needs gravel. Adam said they would talk to CALS about the road, as they use it too.

There was some concern that the road to University houses could be closed when the contractor work on the back of the houses. Gretel said to contact her if the road is closed.

Adjourned 7:55by Diana.

Submitted by Karen

Subject to correction by the Garden Committee

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

August 13, 2014, 6:30 PM

Eagle Heights Garden

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Sandra, Malcom, Diana, Andrew, Jenn, Ann, Gretel, Karen, Adam and Melita.
Diana welcomed everyone.

Minutes

Motion by Ann and seconded by Andrew to approve the minutes of the July 2014 meeting. Passed unanimously.

Registrar’s report

There is no waiting list right now. There are three small plots at Eagle Heights and two large plots at University Houses open.

The Garden Oversight Committee (GOC) will meet at 8:30 am Friday, August 15 at Eagle Heights Garden for a tour. All are welcome to attend. The GOC is the UW committee in charge of the gardens.

Next month we will discuss the first draft of the 2015 budget. Our budget needs to be reviewed by the GOC in October. Other discussions next month include water issues, the need for a reserve and any changes that need to be made to the 2015 application. Some of the issues for the application include produce left in the field and the need to use your plot to grow something.

Gary, a master gardener in the 500’s will give a workshop on growing garlic in the fall.

Treasurer’s Report

Gretel reported for Angus said that we are on budget. He received the preliminary numbers thru June from Housing. There is a problem with missing refunds and a few adjustments need to be made. We will end the year on budget.

The UW Housing staff will be getting a new person in the Community Center next week to work on finances.

Garden Worker Report

Adam said they received some new angle iron that is front of the Eagle Heights sink. Gretel said that the iron was interfering with the handicapped parking spot.  Kris and Will were attacked by hornets as they were unloading it, which is why it wasn’t pushed further back. They will take care of it.

Adam said that Kris made some new fine soil screens from iron. Andrew asked if one could go to University Houses and Adam said yes.

Adam said backflow valves have been replaced. The 100’s plumbing line has been replaced and the bare dirt has been planted in clover. The committee was very pleased. The extra work crew did great work. There has been only one complaint. There are two additional faucets. Adam noted that there has been considerable plot creep in the 100’s, which made the plumbing work more difficult. Gretel said we need to check in boundaries every year. Adam suggested we more the 100 plots to the south because the path is very narrow. Gretel said that would be difficult because of all the perennials. Gretel said that we need boundary stakes. Adam said he would make a note of it.

Adam said they were on the fourth round of mowing, which means they have had a few more garden hours. Also they received a dumpster full of plank wood, some of which they plan to use to fix the path in the 100’s. Gretel said the planks will probably help define the edges of the plots.

Adam said that there is a problem with people digging for worms in the gardens and leaving holes. He said it would be difficult to stop them, because they get up really early. He has been sending people to dig for worms in the wood chip pile. Adam suggested we start a vermiculture bin and maybe that would help. We could use some of the plank for an in ground bed. Andrew asked if the worms would be depleted? Adam thought the worms would not be depleted as we have a food and vegetable source near the sink. Sandra asked what type of worms the fisherpeople want? Gretel and Karen said they would try to find out.

Adam suggested we make a cloning box. A gardener in the 800 has many cuttings, which he is setting out in fruit in another place. Gretel said we don’t have that much space for many more plants. Adam said that they just wanted to start talking about it.

Gretel suggested that the planks would be good to stabilize the bottom of the 700’s and FH King.

Adam said the University Houses sink could be sanded and painted. Gretel had concerns because the sink had been used for pesticides.

Adam said they have the material for the waterline at University Houses, but the hose problem needs to be solved first. The way we are doing it now just ruins the hoses. Adam suggested a hose reel at the 12 stations. Gretel said we had talked of feeder lines off the main line. Adam said that UW Plumbing would have to do that work. Sandra thought that cranking a hose reel would be more difficult than winding a hose. Andrew asked if we have everything for the plumbing work. Adam said we just needed to buy risers, which are only about $5-10 apiece. Sandra said the water pressure is not good at University Houses. Discussion ensued.

Diana said they need more carts at University Houses. Andrew asked if there were any pitchforks. Adam said they had all been broken. Adam said he would swap a cart for a wheelbarrow at University Houses. Gretel said people use the carts to harvest and take them home and don’t return them. Jenn asked if we could discuss free seeds. Gretel said she had already given away lettuce radishes and beets on Saturday.

Share the Bounty

Jenn said the deliveries have been happening. Sometimes the bins disappear and then things go to waste, which is difficult.

To Do List

Ann asked if it would be good to have a to do list. It was agreed that this was a good idea. Discussion ensued. The priorities would sometimes have to shift. Jenn suggested having time frames.

Adam said the things we have been talking about so far are not very expensive. We want the sink at University Houses to go in this year. Gretel said we have a welder who has volunteered. The discussion returned to the hose problem at University Houses. Diana and Adam agreed to look at the problem and get back to the committee. Planks at University Houses could help stabilize the paths. Sandra said the path C4-C5 had not been chipped for 2 years.

Adjourned 8:08 by Diana.

Submitted by Karen
Subject to correction by the Garden Committee

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

September 10, 2014, 6:30 PM

Eagle Heights Garden

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Sandra, Malcom, Mike, Ulrike, Alice, Diana, Andrew, Ann, Gretel, Karen, Adam and Melita.

Diana welcomed everyone.

Garden Worker Report

Adam reported that the workdays were going well. As an experiment, the path along the 1300’s at Eagle Heights is being chipped to see if it helps avoid extra mowing. Irrigation drips are being used on perennial plantings at University Houses and Eagle Heights.

Adam passed out a schematic and explanation of permaculture guild to be used in the CALS buffer areas around the fruit trees. Maybe more Wisconsin natives could be used around the trees along with some tree other friendly plants. The trial would first be tried in the CALS buffer area but might be extended to other tree plantings. Gretel said that maintenance could be a problem. Varieties should be selected that require little maintenance. Adam said that comfrey would not be a good idea, but black eyed susans could be good.

Registrar’s report

There is no waiting list right now. Five or 6 new gardeners got plots in the last week. There are three large and one small plot at Eagle Heights and three large and two small plots at University Houses open.

So far 250 plots at Eagle Heights have completed a workday, which is 44% and the same as last year. At University Houses 50 plots out of 105 have completed a workday, which is 48%.

There have been 7 juries at Eagle Heights and 3 at University Houses. There are still many more weedy plots. Gretel asked if we should have another jury. Discussion ensued. Ulrike suggested that we have a jury at both gardens. It was agreed that another jury is necessary.

Treasurer’s Report

Gretel reported for Angus said that we are on budget. In August we paid for the ditch digger for the 100’s waterline.

2015 Application Draft

Gretel presented the draft of the 2015 application. She suggested that we change the due date to February 16th because the 15th is a Sunday. Ulrike thought we should keep the deadline the 15th to avoid confusion. The committee agreed.

Other changes included not offering spring tilling for a fee. Ulrike asked about the pros and cons of tilling. Adam said the cons were tilling can cause more problems with weeds, especially wiregrass. Adam said fall tilling can be useful. Andrew asked if we could have tilling on a case by case basis? Adam said he suggested it. Gretel said we needed to keep an even playing field. Gretel brought up the issue of power tools in the garden, suggesting that the rule be that power tools be used by staff only. Discussion ensued. It was decided that all gardeners could use small, hand held battery operated tools in the gardens. Karen suggested that we offer fall tilling when gardeners could add amendments to the soil. Payment could be by check at time of service.

Gretel said that the changes so far to a application were 1. Tilling out for spring, 2. No power tools except for small hand held tools, and 3. Tilling will be offered in the fall by announcement in August. The committee voted on these changes and all agreed.

Another issue is gardeners only planting a small portion of their plots. Gretel offered the following rule change. Unplanted plots or plots using less than 50% of the plot may be divided. Ulrike asked if ground cover would be okay? Gretel said yes. Melita asked about if there was a time of crisis, if the gardener could get help. Gretel said gardeners can ask for help and pay for an extra workday.

Trenching along the paths is also an issue. Gretel asked for the language to remain the same and be more vigilant about enforcement. The committee agreed.

The late fee for no workday is very low at $10 for a large plot and $5 for a small plot. Gretel asked if we should raise this penalty? Mike said he did not think raising it would work. Gretel said she would like to see a late fee. Mike said he would like to see the committee follow the rules. Karen said that the committee consisted of all gardeners and was open membership. Gretel said that 8% of gardeners paid the late fee. Andrew asked if we could not accept their application if they had not paid. Gretel said we already do that. It was suggested that along with a late fee and a deadline of December 1, the priority of the gardener was changed to a new nonresident. Some people seem to be willing to pay a large fee, but a big drop in their placement on the priority list might change their behavior. The late fees were also changed to $10 and $20. The committee agreed to the change in priority and the raising of the late fee. All other fees will stay the same.

2015 Budget Draft

Gretel presented the 2015 budget draft, which is very similar to this year. In October the GOC will review our budget and send it back to us to finalize in November. Tilling has been removed for 2015 and the number of garden worker hours has been increased for May, June and July. Plumbing costs are up for the last quarter and the portapotty costs are up also. All garden staff received a 1% raise. Thw $14 per hour covers all costs including workman’s compensation. There is also a potential $10,000 plumbing investment. Gretel said the is a $5000 line for new tools. Compost and row cover are budget neutral. The committee agreed to the budget.

Discussion

Adam said he would like us to think of ways to encourage better attendance at the garden committee meetings. Gretel said she sent out an email and got one response. The committee agreed this is an important issue.

To Do List

Adjourned by 8:00 by Diana.

Submitted by Karen
Subject to correction by the Garden Committee

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

October 8, 2014, 6:30 PM

Eagle Heights Garden

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Sandra, Malcolm, Angus, Mark, Diana, Andrew, Ann, Gretel, Karen and Melita.

Diana welcomed everyone. Minutes

Motion by Ann and seconded by Mark to approve the minutes of the September 2014 meeting. Passed unanimously.

Registrar’s report

Gretel reports that the gardens have had more turnover this year than in previous years with 60-70 new gardeners during the season. Presently there are 4 large and 2 small plots open at Eagle Heights. At University Houses there are 5 large and 2 small plots open. Some gardeners are moving from small to large plots. There are many gardeners who have not completed their workday requirements. Gretel will put out a note about workdays. 

It is not possible to have workdays in the evenings now because it gets dark too early. One daytime task is remarking of plots. Gretel reported that there are no more plot marking posts. There will be two workdays on the weekend. 

Treasurer’s Report

Angus reported that we are on budget. The garden worker hours are consistent with last year. We need to make our budgeted expenditures by December. Angus reported that his accounting of our finances is fairly good. Housing is behind in their accounting. The gardens uses a housing account number. It would be easier to keep track of if we had our own account. The porta potty company forget to send a bil since June, so we will be paying a large bill when it comes. 

2015 Application Draft

Gretel presented the final draft of the 2015 application. As we discussed, she changed the dates to 2015, dropped the tilling, added a section on no power tools, changed the late fee, added a section that the gardener must use the plot and change the priority of a gardener if they did not meet their workday obligation.

Moved by Karen and seconded by Angus to approve the 2015 application. Passed unanimously.l

2015 Budget Draft

Gretel presented the 2015 budget final draft, which is very similar to this year. In October the GOC will review our budget and send it back to us to finalize in November. Tilling has been removed for 2015 and the number of garden worker hours has been increased for May, June and July. Plumbing costs are up for the last quarter and the porta potty costs are up also. All garden staff received a 1% raise. Thw $14 per hour covers all costs including workman’s compensation. There is also a potential $10,000 plumbing investment. Gretel said there is a $5000 line for new tools. Compost and row cover are budget neutral. Discussion ensued over the problem of finding mouse free storage for the row cover that we would like to purchase in December. Ann asked if it would fit thru a small house door, as she has a dry basement. Andrew said we need to decide about the hose hangers for University Houses. Gretel said the other things on the list included the University Houses sink, replacing more of the plumbing lines at Eagle Heights, the road at Eagle Heights, compost area problems and the roof on the shed a University houses has a large hole (not on our side).

Motion by Angus and seconded by Ann to approve the budget. Passed unanimously.Garden Worker Report

Diana announced that there would be no garden worker report because neither Will or Adam was in attendance. 

Discussion

Diana suggested we wait until next meeting to discuss garden committee attendance because Adam was unable to be here tonight.

Diana said she thought the Garden Demographic survey was good to have online and on paper. She suggested we try to get more responses by having people fill out the survey while they were waiting in line at the seed fair. Gretel said when it was last included in the 2012 application we received 200-250 responses. The 2012 survey asked the number of gardeners per plot, the principal language spoken, age, origin and the number of people being fed from the plot. Gretel asked if we should change anything we asked. Jenn has a draft of a survey ready for online use. Gretel said we still collect age range, new gardener, student and returning gardener information with the application. Angus said we could probably do a survey with survey monkey. Andrew said a paper copy would be good while waiting in line at the seed fair. Gretel asked what we wanted on the survey. Andrew asked if the survey was required by the GOC. Gretel said it wasn’t required, but they were interested. Gretel said we were not getting a very good response rate.

2015 Calendar

Applications available for 2015 - December 15, 2014

Applications DUE- February 15, 2015

Opening day- March 28

Seed Fair- April 11

Ann suggested that we give away cool weather crop seeds at the orientations on opening day. The committee agreed that this was a good idea.

Gretel said since the seeds are now stored in the closet, we can easily sort and repackage earlier.

Garden Tasks

The shed cleaning and tool inventory will be November 30. We need 7 to 8 people and we can do both sheds. The porta potty will be removed and the water turned off around October 20th. Workday credit is not given for shed cleaning

Ann suggested that we start a list of routine maintenance jobs. Ann said we need more juries. Gretel said we had more weedy plots than previous years. Karen said maybe there were more weedy plots because we had more rain. Gretel said we did not get feedback about the garlic workshop yet.

To Do List

Adjourned by 7:42 by Diana.

Submitted by Karen

Subject to correction by the Garden Committee

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

November 12, 2014, 6:30 PM

Eagle Heights Garden

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Sandra, Malcolm, Angus, Ulrike, Jenn, Adam, Tianxing, Mark, Ann, Gretel, Karen and Melita.

Jenn welcomed everyone.

Minutes

Motion by Gretel and seconded by Ann to approve the minutes of the October 2014 meeting. Passed unanimously.

Registrar’s report

Gretel reported that all plots have been marked at the corners. ( And remarked after some children moved the markers.) November 30th, a Sunday, will be the shed cleaning and tool inventory. We will start at noon at Eagle Heights and move to University Houses second.

Some students were soil testing in the garden for lead and other soil parameters as part of a class project. We will be informed of the results when they are finished.

There was a survey about dogs in the garden with fairly good response (129). Gretel said the results are consistent with preserve policy. One question was how do you feel about dogs on a leash in the gardens? 56% of the respondents approved, 33% were neutral, 9% didn’t like dogs in the garden and a few % did not answer. Another question asked how people felt about dogs off leash in the garden. 67% opposed, 21% were neutral, 10% approved and a few% did not answer. Discussion ensued. We need better signage about the leash requirement for dogs at the gardens. Some incoming paths do not have signs.

Thefts have not been as much of a problem this year, but lately the problem has increased. There has also been a problem lately of children running thru the gardens and harassing voles and cranes. Jan in Housing has been able to figure out the children responsible and will be dealing with the issue.

The conversation reverted back to the dog issue. Ulrike said she has confronted dog owners with dogs off leash and she reports that they have been quite rude. Gretel agreed that the owners response can be rude. The dogs were chasing cranes. Gretel asked us all to keep trying to ask owners to put their dogs on leash.

Treasurer’s Report

Angus reported that we are on budget. The garden worker hours are consistent with last year. We need to make our budgeted expenditures by December. We have received Housing accounting numbers for July, August, and half of September. Gretel caught a mistake, which is been corrected. After the previous talk about problems in the garden, he also reported that nice things happen in the gardens too. A gardener gave him some beautiful garlic to plant!

Garden Worker Report

Adam reported that he has a new job with UW grounds and will no longer be able to work for the Gardens because it would be considered overtime. Melita said thanks for everything and the committee agreed.

The mulch along the CALS buffer and the blueberry line was not spread properly and will have to be fixed. Adam said we have a gardener who grew blueberries, gooseberries and currants for us for next year and will get workday credit for his work.

Meeting Attendance

Adam brought up the issue of committee meeting attendance. He said if he wasn’t attending, the committee would not have a resident on the committee. Gretel said this has been a problem for a long time. The committee email list has 60 names on it. Adam said maybe we should survey the gardeners to see if a different day would work better. Discussion included having a workshop at the meeting. Sandra said it would be difficult to do a 10 minute workshop. Gretel said maybe we could survey gardeners at the seed fair. A question could be- ”Would you come to a committee meeting if…..” It was agreed to continue this discussion at the next meeting.

Looking Ahead

A discussion of tasks and issues for the coming season was started on the chalkboard and prioritized.

General

November 2014- Clean shed and do tool inventory

December 2014- new garden worker

Tools inventory discussion and tool purchase

Row cover purchase and storage (Ann agreed to store the row cover in her basement.)

Discuss the demographic survey

Plot marking

January 2015- set plant sale dates

Discuss food pantry issues (bins disappearing and unreliable pickups)

February 2015- seed repackaging and sort

April 2015- Seed Fair

May 2015- rodent solutions

Cleaning the common areas

Chopping off comfrey tops is good for controlling it in paths

Mowing

Eagle Heights specific issues

November 2015- New cart area needs to be mowed and planting daylilies along path (later)

December 2014- Map updateFebruary 2015- replacement for grapes at arbor
May 2015- Blueberry row

University Houses specific issues

December 2014- Weed pile has not been moved- GOC says we can use the old ice rink Contact Shorewood. Landscaping will be needed and the contractor will pay for some of the project.

Map update (small changes)Sink installation Adam said we need a welder. Ulrike asked if a sink was a good idea.
February 2015- need new kiosk
2015 Calendar

Applications available for 2015 - December 15, 2014

Applications DUE- February 15, 2015

Opening day- March 28

Seed Fair- April 11Karen said that she thought Will needed to attend the garden meetings.
Adjourned by 8pm by Jenn. 
Submitted by Karen
Subject to correction by the Garden Committee

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes
December 10, 2014, 6:30 PM
Eagle Heights Garden

6:30 – Delicious Food and great conversation by Sandra, Diana, Will, Malcolm, Ulrike, Adam, Tianxing, Ann, Gretel, Karen and Melita.
Diana welcomed everyone.

Minutes

Motion by Ulrike and seconded by Gretel to approve the minutes of the October 2014 meeting. Passed unanimously.

Registrar’s report

Gretel reported that the last day to pay the no workday fee was December 1st. Only 13% have not paid yet which is a little better than last year. Probably another 5 to 6% will pay the fee and the late fee.

Gretel said that a class tested the soil at Eagle Heights garden. They were mostly concerned with test for elevated lead levels. The eagle heights plots and common areas tested were well below the EPA recommended levels for gardening of 400 ppm lead. The levels in the gardens were from 15 to 25 ppm, which is quite low. The results will be presented as part of a class next Wednesday in Science Hall, Room 15 at about 10:40. Gretel hopes we will receive more complete results later.

The 2015 applications are set to become live online on December15th in Mandarin and English.

Treasurer’s Report

Gretel reported for Angus that we are on budget. The garden worker hours are consistent with last year.

Tool Inventory

Adam said he fixed shovels last year. Ulrike asked why there was only one cart at University Houses. Adam said they will just move one over from Eagle Heights. Gretel said we have the money budgeted to buy more tools. Everything did fit in the shed.

Demographic survey

There was discussion of doing the demographic survey online as much as possible at the seed fair with Ipads. Telling the people at the beginning that the survey will take 5 minutes was suggested. There was a discussion of the survey we have done in the past. It was decided the question about what state you are from is probably not relevant. We don’t ask the sex of the person and maybe that is a good idea. A new question was suggested, “How long have you been gardening?” Malcolm suggested the following choices: New, 1-5 years and over 5 years. The language question is good for knowing when we need translators.

Gretel said we should think about adding something about committee meeting attendance like “What day is good?” or “What would bring you to a meeting?” Ulrike said we could ask about their five favorite crops. Gretel said we need a mockup by February. Ann said she would help Gretel work on the survey.

Garden Worker Report

Will said the plumbing bills came for the water shutoff, $126 for Eagle Heights and $168 for University Houses. It is more expensive at University Houses because of an expensive backflow valve at University Houses. Eagle Heights system has the valve too, but not within our area of responsibility.

Will presented a list of larger projects completed last year.

The GOC co-chairs asked Adam and I to run the Committee through this material (which we presented during the exit meeting). They felt it was useful for several reasons:

A) to resolve early Spring confusion on project timelines.

B) to indicate complexity and management challenges for consideration when hiring garden workers.

C) to share 2014 project completions

D) to indicate overall garden worker responsibilities

Will and Adam
Garden Worker and Garden Worker Emeritus

What’s below is the original presentation to the GOC co-chairs: Kelly Ignatowski and Kris Ackerbauer

Top of mind 2014 projects…

1) wall segment in 1000s path
2) relocated raspberry plantation from shed to rock berm at EH
3) new irrigation line in 100s
4) prepped extension of EH blueberry hedge
5) prepped future bush fruit area in CALS buffer
6) repaired the steel soil and leaf screens, adding 3 additional units to service.
7) expanded cart fleet: 12 carts
8) refurbished existing wheel barrows with flat free wheels
9) refurbished all broken tools, including 25 shovels by replacing handles
10) New common planting in old UH plot
11) Chipped EH border
12) 5 rounds of mowing

What do garden workers do?

1) Manage 40-45 workdays per season. This is demanding work because the work crews are never predictable, so flexibility and significant project planning is required. Sat and Sun availability is necessary from early April to mid-November.

2) Manage community resources: water system; tools, carts, and equipment; leaf, compost, wood chip, and weed areas

3) Manage community permaculture resources: ~100 fruit trees, 2 extensive blueberry plantations, raspberry and blackberry plantations

4) Coordinate with UW and Shorewood services: mostly waste stream deliveries, but also equipment use for projects.

5) Hand mow the paths and common areas

6) Responsible for about 90-95% of all garden purchasing

7) Maintain/provide extensive records of all work and all expenses/purchases

We also presented a chronology of our 2 most extensive projects for 2014.

Plumbing:

October 21, 2013...open branch lines at the ends, drain field ahead of frost conditions this evening
October 27, 2013...clear paths from utility road to irrigation gate valves
November 22, 2013…move plumbing order for 100s from Rundell-Spence to EH shed
July 31, 2014…dig out 100s irrigation line and leave on surface for replacement
Aug 1, 2014…walk 100s line with Gretel to discuss installation, replacement of water spigots.
Aug 1, 2014…get lift gate truck, go to Ace for supplies, go to A to Z rental for ditch witch, deliver witch to shed.
Aug 2, 2014…ditch witch 360 feet of trench for 100s irrigation line, assemble entire water line for 100s
Aug 3, 2014…dig spur trench from 100s line to blueberry plantation, complete sink run and blueberry spur plumbing, clear trench debris, drop new water line in place, install t-poles, bind risers to poles, backfill trench, plant clover mix, add thin mulch layer chips to protect from rain (in forecast), disassemble old line. Remove all debris from 100s path

Wall Building Project:

September 12, 2013... Drive tilt-bed to Physical Sciences Lab in Stoughton. load, deliver, unload cast stone block for wall building in 1000s row at EHCG.
October 14, 2013...meet Lyle for cement delivery to shed (~5000 pounds)
November 1, 2013...Home Depot for wall building supplies
November 2, 2013...EH Workday dig foundation for path wall mid-field
November 3, 2013...EH workday: lay foundation for retaining wall in 900s
November 10, 2013...workday at Eagle Heights, pour 25 bags (96ibs/bag) of cement, plus aggregrate, into wall foundation in 900s.
November 17, 2013...no workday at EH. We cancelled b/c of rain and tornado watch
March 31, 2014...tarp bricks at EHCG, reset fence (by bricks) at EHCG
April 19, 2014...wall work in EHCG
April 20, 2014...workday on wall in EH
April 21, 2014...get pallets of brick moved from pines to stage point in 900s path
April 25, 2014...get 2000 pounds of cement, unload cement
April 26, 2014...workday build wall
May 3, 2014...workday build wall
May 4, 2014...workday at EH: wall building

Will said he was sorry that the middle page of his presentation had not been copied, which he said was the information that this was part of the seasonal exit interview and Adam’s formal exit interview. (The entire packet is presented in the minutes after it was sent to the committee via email after the meeting.) Will said that the GOC co-chairs wanted us to see how different the projects are. Melita said the scythe is difficult on a woman. Adam said there was a learning curve. Gretel said Emma used the scythe. Discussion ensued. Adam said he never built a wall with volunteers before.

Adam said they were concerned with a section of trees at Eagle Heights. The problem was tested and turned out to be a smut fungus and NOT fire blight. The sooty trees at Eagle Heights are the result of aphid excretion on the bark and probably can be controlled with sulfur. Laura Wyatt form the Lakeshore Preserve is helping advise us on the fruit trees.

Adam asked about garden worker hiring. Why did the email Diana sent have two positions? Diana said we could advertise for one, but two might be nice. Discussion ensued. Gretel said a possible option would be to hire an extra worker just for the summer. Adam said a third worker adds a new level of logistics. Diana said adding a third worker could be done. Adam said an announcement made like that with no discussion rubbed him the wrong way. Ann asked what the garden workers thought about having a third worker.

Will said it depends on who the person is. We are asking the person to give up weekends in the summer and get up early. He said he thought we couldn’t replace Emma and then we hired Adam.

Ann noted that the time was slipping away and we needed to talk about tool buying. Will said a list of general tools we need will cost about $3000. Ann mentioned we need hoses for University Houses. Will said the heavy duty hose reels will cost about $5000. It was agreed to formalize the tool buying list by email. We need field hoes, 2 broadforks, a couple of real hay forks for leaves, a good tree sprayer for about $250, one scythe and small wheelbarrows. It might be a good idea to have an instructional class about use of tools.

Will noted that we spent $2737 on the Fruit program, which is 1.8% over the time of the program.

Looking Ahead

This list is from the November meeting.

General

December 2014- new garden worker
Tools inventory discussion and tool purchase
Row cover purchase and storage (Ann agreed to store the row cover in her basement.)
Discuss the demographic survey
Plot marking
January 2015- set plant sale dates
Discuss food pantry issues (bins disappearing and unreliable pickups)
February 2015- seed repackaging and sort
April 2015- Seed Fair
May 2015- rodent solutions
Cleaning the common areas
Chopping off comfrey tops is good for controlling it in paths
Mowing

Eagle Heights specific issues

November 2015- New cart area needs to be mowed and planting daylilies along path (later)

December 2014- Map update
February 2015- replacement for grapes at arbor
May 2015- Blueberry row

University Houses specific issues

December 2014- Weed pile has not been moved- GOC says we can use the old ice rink Contact Shorewood. Landscaping will be needed and the contractor will pay for some of the project.
Map update (small changes)
Sink installation Adam said we need a welder. Ulrike asked if a sink was a good idea.
February 2015- need new kiosk

2015 Calendar

Applications available for 2015 - December 15, 2014

Applications DUE- February 15, 2015

Opening day- March 28

Seed Fair- April 11

Adjourned by 8pm by Diana.
Submitted by Karen

Subject to correction by the Garden Committee