Opening day and orientations

Hello all -

This is a reminder that Opening Day at EHCG is this Saturday, March 28. Plot assignments will be posted that day on both the website and the bulletin boards at Eagle Heights and University Houses gardens. While checking your plot assignment and taking the trip to your plot, be sure to pay attention to detail. If you have a half plot (example: 627A), please be absolutely sure that you end up in 627A and not 627B. If you are uncertain at all, please email Gretel (ehgardens@rso.wisc.edu), the registrar, for more information. You can also ask any of your new neighbors, many of whom (about 2/3) are returning gardeners and familiar with the system.

Speaking of your neighbors, it is a great idea to get to know them right away. One's "neighborhood" is an important resource in the community garden. Whether you are interested in learning more about gardening structures, uncertain about the best time to plant tomatoes, or even confused about plot boundaries, your neighbors are likely to be able to steer you in the right direction. This sense of community can also be helpful in resolving minor disputes or confusion that can arise in any group setting. We highly value neighborliness at EHCG.

Another important resource for beginning the 2015 gardening season on the right foot is Orientation. We will hold 8 Orientation sessions this year, 5 at Eagle Heights and 3 at University Houses. We highly encourage new gardeners to attend an Orientation session, but feel free to stop by if you are a returning gardener as well. Orientation will begin at the sheds at both EHCG sites.

Orientation Sessions: Gardening Season 2015

Opening Day: Saturday, March 28

                    Noon at Eagle Heights and also at University Houses

                   5:30 pm at Eagle Heights with Mandarin translation

Sunday, March 29

                     Noon at Eagle Heights

Tuesday, April 1

                    5:15 pm at Eagle Heights

Seed Fair Day, April 11

                   Noon at Eagle Heights and University Houses

                  1 pm at University Houses with Mandarin translation

Gardens Maps (to help you find the sheds)


Next week, expect a post about what to plant in your garden this year, with expert advice by EHCG Field Staff Will Waller. The Seed Fair is coming up quickly, so get your plans in order for April 11.

Happy gardening!

6 days until Opening Day at EHCG

Hello all - 

Well, the weather has taken an interesting turn. Snow blankets the ground close to Opening Day for us this year, at Eagle Heights Community Garden. Today we may have lost the battle against the creep of winter into early spring, but by the end of the week will feel with confidence that we have won the war.

Keep an eye out for an upcoming post about choosing what to plant in your garden. This post will be geared at beginners who may feel uncertain about the feasibility of growing the various foods they like to eat, and will offer some advice excerpted from a recent exchange between myself and Will Waller, one of our Field Staff at EHCG.

Happy gardening!

Spring has come to Madison!

Hello all -

This is a quick update spurred by the wonderful weather we experienced all weekend, and is getting better every day. I am keeping an eye on the melting snow, water rushing toward storm drains on every road, and flora waking up in the sunshine.

This photo is the view from my office, just south of EHCG. Phenomenal.

While Madison is not quite gardening-ready yet, the day is close at hand. Take some time to take a walk outside this week, dust off your gardening gloves, and set a date for your first spring planting. I'm trying for favas next weekend.

Happy gardening!

Planning your plot: a reminder

Hello all -

The EHCG gardening committee was busy this week preparing for the Seed Fair, which we will host April 11. Seed Fair preparations put me in the mood for reflection on last season and planning what I will grow in 2015. Don't let the snow on the ground and cold temperatures fool you - spring is around the corner! I find that meditating on the coming season and the joys it will bring warms these final winter weeks.

Whether you are a new gardener or have grown your own food for years, this is a reminder that the time for planning for the spring planting is upon us. The internet is full of handy spring planting calendar tools; an example can be found in this link. Whatever method you decide to use, be sure to plan around all of your spring favorites, and allocate space in the plot for these early crops.

If you like, re-visit my post from last year about planning the plot out, month by month. While you may not plant the same crops as me or use the same schema, generating a monthly garden plan of your own can help you to allocate space for your spring, summer, and fall crops as necessary.

Finally, you can identify the sources of your seeds and/or transplants for the coming year. EHCG hosts the Seed Fair in April as well as two transplant sales in April and May. In addition to these events, you can buy seeds in stores and online from myriad vendors, and buy transplants around town including the Dane County Farmer's Market. You will benefit from having a plan handy in March to carry you through the season.

Think warm thoughts, and happy garden planning!

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.