Garden Club News

19 April 2005
Topics:
New Club President
Garden Swap
West Campus Garden Orientation and Equipment Training 
Blackberry Patch on plots 1-4  
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New Club President
As of April 15, 2005 the new president for the Garden Club is 
Anne-Marie Novo-Gradac.  Many thanks to Nick Gray as he steps down!  

Garden Swap
Thursday,  April 21,  12:00 noon,  Building 19,  Room N021.
I want to propose a new activity within the garden club.  It seems to me 
that each of us has a bit too much of one thing and too little of another.  
Let's trade!  Early in the season we can trade seeds and seedling starts.  
Later on we can trade produce.  For example:  Last year my plot produced 
over 200 lbs of summer squash, whereas other members lost all their squash 
plants to vine borers.  I would gladly have traded them my squash for their 
overproduction items.  Right now I have approximately 2 dozen (already 
sprouted) purple potato tubers, a similar amount of sprouted white potato 
tubers, sprouted red potato tubers, and about 1 dozen sprouted russian 
fingerling potato tubers that I want to unload.  I also have a variety of 
seed packets for items I have decided to not plant.  They include several 
varieties of sunflower, bush peas, cucumbers, ornamental corn, and 
"birdhouse" gourds.  Please join me this Thursday for our first garden swap!


West Campus Garden Orientation and Equipment Training 
Friday, April 22, 12:00 noon, Tool shed of west campus garden
Nick Gray will be on hand to train folks on the tiller and big mower.  
Operation and maintenance of the electric fence will be explained by 
John Burris.  Anyone interested in sharing a pizza must RSVP to me by 
Thursday, 5pm. 


Blackberry Patch on plots 1-4  
As some of you may know, the blackberry bushes planted on plots 1-4 
(extreme south end of garden plots on west campus) have become overgrown and 
impassable.  We have been asked by GEWA to get them under control.  I myself 
picked enough berries last year to make several yummy pies, so I do not want 
to see the blackberries eliminated.  Instead, I would like for them to become 
more productive.  In their overgrown state, one can only pick berries along 
the perimeter.  In addition, the thicket provides cover to rabbits and other 
varmints.  Last week John Burris, Elena Georgieva and I spent a few hours 
mowing most of the brambles on plots 3 & 4.  We cut the perimeter of 1 & 2 
back some, but left most of the brambles standing.  The plan is to leave 
1 & 2 standing this year for berry production.  Plots 3 & 4 will be allowed 
to grow back in a controlled fashion leaving picking paths.  Once the 
brambles on 3 & 4 have recovered sufficiently to produce berries (presumably 
next year), we will mow/restore plots 1 & 2.  All four plots will be kept 
as a club resource so that any of us can pick berries from it.

Happy Gardening!



Anne-Marie Novo-Gradac, Ph.D.