2015 Gardening Season: Closer and Closer, Every Day

Hello all -

There is snow on the ground and below freezing temperatures in the air, so why on Earth would I choose today to update the EHCG blog?

Well, while the world outside is not yet ready for the beginning of the garden season, the EHCG committee is already working to organize Opening Day 2015, the Seed Fair, and the plant sales. We have gardening on the brain, and honestly this is a great time of year to start paying a little more attention to our personal horticultural plans for the coming year.

I've said before that it pays off to start planning the plot out early, and I usually start around late January or early February. An early start means that you have time to find seeds, buy or build structures, map out companion planting, read up on permaculture, get re-acquainted with the seasonality of the crops you wish to plant, and even build a weekly calendar to help keep you on top of weeding, watering, and the maintenance of your crops come May.

But don't take it from me, take it from Robin Mittenthal, a previous chair of EHCG and expert gardener. He wrote a fabulous introductory manual to organic gardening, oriented geographically to south-central Wisconsin, specifically Madison. This manual provides an overview of organic gardening, and has guidelines for plot preparation, planting, maintenance, weeding, pests, and more. This is a great resource for starting gardeners and a nice refresher for those of us with some experience as well.

Take some time to get into an EHCG state of mind, and keep an eye on these upcoming dates:

Opening Day

March 28

Official start of the 2015 EHCG Season

Plot assignments will be posted

Orientations will be given at both EH and UH gardens

Seed Fair

April 11

Free seeds for registered gardeners

Workshops for seed-starting

Orientations will be given at both EH and UH gardens

Cool Weather Plant Sale

April 19

Cool weather plants will be sold at the EH site

Plant list TBA

Warm Weather Plant Sale

May 17

Warm weather plants will be sold at the EH site

Plant list TBA

Think warm, sunny thoughts!

Baby crane update

Hello all -

You may recall that a baby crane was injured right outside of EHCG a few weeks ago. We have received an update on his welfare from Patrick Comfert with Public Health-Madison and Dane County! Patrick's message and photos are below.

"He is doing very well and both his wing and his leg have gotten much better.  His leg is 100% better.

His wing still hangs a little but he is able to hold it up and this week even started flapping and practice flying.

We are calling him “Watashi” (male in Japanese) not sure he is a boy but very adventuresome and into everything so it was a reasonable guess. He is VERY attached to the foster crane “BG” and they are together 24 hours a day.  The eat, forage, bathe, and sleep together.   BG still feeds the Watashi about half the time even though the younger bird is more than able to feed himself. They talk back and forth to one another constantly. And when Watashi needed to be caught or handled for a bandage change BG would come running to his distress noises and peck us trying to save his young charge.

 Nothing was broken in the accident but he had suffered trauma to his left leg and wing.   At first he couldn’t bear weight on his  leg limped quite badly but it healed quickly within a week or two he was walking strong.

His wing was a different matter. One of the joints was slightly dislocated and there was quite a bit of nerve and/or muscle trauma. He was unable to hold it up in a normal position and it would hang limply at his side. Also 90 percent of his flight feathers were pulled out of that wing in the accident and we were not sure if they would grow back in or not. 

His wing was x rayed to make sure nothing was broken and was then wrapped in a figure 8 bandage to keep it from hanging and was wrapped in such a way as it was next to his body in a natural way. He did not like this one bit and worked day and night with his beak to get the wraps off his wing. Many nights he was successful and I would find an hours worth of fancy wing wrapping in a tangled pile on the floor the next morning and a droopy wing crane standing there saying.. HAH  You thought that was going to stay on ME? No way buster!

In the end I used my bigger brain and found a way to keep his wing bandaged where it needed to be.

Slowly muscle control returned to the injured wing and he was able to hold it up in an almost natural position but with some droop.  (which remains)

As of the first of October he started flapping both wings, (formerly only flapped the right one)   and has even tried running and flying short distances. J     Because of the wing droop he tends to go sideways a little bit when he flys so at this point he would still not be able to survive in the wild.   But keeping our fingers crossed.

Enjoy the photos."

 We at EHCG are very happy to hear that the baby crane Watashi is doing better!

Cranes in the gardens

With the summer solstice more than a month behind us and the days growing noticeably shorter week after week, now is a great time to check in mentally with the fact that it is indeed still summer and that there are experiences left to savor.

A member of our community recently took the time to snap a few photos of Sand-Hill cranes at EHCG. I appreciate the opportunity to share these little reminders of the life and beauty around us.

 We have been collecting donation produce for Saint Vincent de Paul for several weeks now on Wednesday mornings (8 AM pickup) and Saturday mornings (10 AM pickup), and I hope that you have a chance to donate those few extra zucchini or tomatoes or leafy greens that you find yourself unable to consume or preserve. Please keep in mind that donations made Wednesday afternoon through Friday morning and Saturday afternoon through Tuesday morning will be exposed to the sun and heat and not keep in time for the actual pickups. If you find yourself overburdened by produce at the gardens and no pickup time is close, please feel free to leave items at the Share Shelf so that other gardeners can put them to good use.

The weather is warm and we have some rain expected in the next week. Take advantage of these beautiful days in the time we have left.

Happy gardening.

Planning for Autumn

Although the days are still warm and even heating up over the next week, it is never too early to start thinking about Fall planting. There are many print and online guidelines for late season planting; the above is an example from the Old Farmer's Almanac.

Personally, I still have Fall sowings of carrots, chard, lettuce, peas, and even fava beans ahead of me. Autumn will also be the time for harvesting very long-season crops like winter squash.

What do YOU plan to plant now, for the Fall?

Summer in the garden: a photo update

There are so few days of Summer here in Madison, Wisconsin, that I think we really ought to go the extra mile to enjoy every single one. In that spirit, I make a point of actually walking the (4) extra mile(s) from my apartment in east Madison to EHCG as frequently as I can. One of the bright spots of this trip is the Howard Temin Lakeshore path, with gorgeous views of the Mendota Lake.

Boats on the lake in July. 

More boats.

When I arrive at the garden, there are always wonderful surprises waiting for me.

Even a community gardener can grow fruit in Wisconsin, if the fruits are appropriate varieties for the growing season, like strawberries and ground cherries (perennial and annual, respectively).

Strawberries harvested in late June.

Ground cherries, not yet ripe.

Cabbages planted in the Spring have grown large - the cabbage below yielded several cups of cole slaw on the 4th of July.

Red cabbage, grown from a Garden to Be cabbage start.

Fava beans have grown large and buttery through cool Spring days and the warmth of the early Summer sun.

Fava beans, a late Spring treat in Wisconsin.

Peppers, tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplants, and more are beginning to put out flowers, signaling the advent of the height of Summer produce.

Poblano pepper.

Squashes burst into expansive green foliage, hiding young yellow blossoms.

Pattypan squash.

Forrest of carrot tops. 

The plot as a whole - a little messy but full of life.

The life cycle of the garden demands a lot of energy and time from the gardener between April and June, but from July to September, Mother Nature does most of the work. Over June and July, I have spent my time in the garden weeding, although the new weed germination is greatly slowed, and harvesting. The use of leaf cover as mulch (see above) reduces the need to water and to weed, letting me spend more of my time in the garden enjoying the view.

Be sure to make some time this Summer to really enjoy the sunshine and blue skies abundant at this time, yet so fleeting. It can be difficult to find time for relaxation and reflection while balancing our over-committed schedules, so we ought to treasure the time we do have to put on old jeans, strap on gardening shoes, and hit the soil.

The arbor, covered in grapevines.

Happy gardening.

Share the Bounty

Hello all -

I hope that you have been keeping pace with the lettuces and carrots growing quickly in your plots, and are having luck with warm-season crops either directly sown or transplanted over the past few weeks. In this time of burgeoning abundance, it can be easy to take for granted having enough - or even too much - fresh produce.

For several years, EHCG has maintained a donation program, Share the Bounty, for the St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) food pantry here in Madison, WI. During the productive months of summer and early fall, we collect vegetables on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, which are driven to SVdP by EHCG volunteers. If you would like to donate to the Share the Bounty, please place produce in the plastic bins that will be located on the white stands at both EH and UH gardens starting July 2.

If you choose to donate, we ask that you arrange to place donation produce in the collection bins close to the collection time to avoid wilting/spoilage/loss. For instance, lettuce donated on a Thursday at noon would not be collected and transported to SVdP until Saturday morning, and would wilt far before arrival.

Please do not take produce out of the donation bins, as our gardeners have chosen to donate their fruits and vegetables to those in need. Remember that items meant for sharing with other gardeners at EHCG are placed on the share shelves, not in the SVdP Share the Bounty bins.

I look forward to seeing overstuffed Share the Bounty bins on Saturday mornings over the upcoming weeks. In my experience, any successful attempt at growing produce over-yields, and there are always more zucchini, tomatoes, and green beans that I can easily consume - perfect for donation.

Happy gardening.

EHCG in bloom

I find myself unable to believe that Madison was so frozen and barren just a few months ago. Spring changes the landscape and daily life so much more up here than it does in my native Texas.
Everywhere, the outside world is full of life and green foliage. Blooms from the daffodils and tulips have already come and gone, and now the irises are reminding us that summer is just around the corner. Soon, EHCG will be full of blooms that quickly fold and morph into young fruits, the origami that Summer loves to practice a few months of the year.
This photo, taken by EHCG gardener Melita, reminds me of the fleeting nature of these warm and lively months. If you have other photos you'd like to share with us, please contact me at ehcgarden@gmail.com and I will post them.
Happy gardening.