Pasta Potluck and Annual General Meeting; Tuesday, 2014 October 28 @ 6pm; UofL SU240 (Galileo's Lounge)

All Campus Roots Garden Members and Gardeners are invited to the Annual General Meeting ... to be preceded by a Pasta Potluck!  We look forward to seeing everyone there!

When:  Tuesday, 2014 October 28; Pasta Potluck @ 6pm with AGM starting @ 7pm

Place:  Galileo's Lounge (North end, Food Court, Students' Union Building)

The Potluck is a Pasta Potluck; spaghetti and sauce will be provided; you bring whatever you feel is an appropriate side dish.  Please bring your own plates, utensils, and napkins

Parking is available in Lots F, FS, and G.  

Follow this LINK to a map of University Campus with key landmarks and parking lots identifed.

The Annual General Meeting will follow.  In addition to various reports, there are two key items of business to be conducted:

1.  Elections to the Board of Directors:  All positions are open for nominations including:

-President

-Vice-President
-Secretary
-Treasurer
-Membership Coordinator
-Directors (5)

Descriptions of the duties and responsibilities for these positions may be found in the CRCGA Bylaws (Article 5).

2.  Proposed changes to the CRCGA Bylaws.  The current wording and proposed amendments are as follows.

Article 2 – Membership

Current:
       1. Any person living in Lethbridge may become a member by paying an annual membership fee of five dollars ($5).

        Amendment:
               1. Any person, family, or group living in the Lethbridge Community may apply to become a member by paying the current annual membership fee. All Applications are subject to approval by the Board.

Current:

       2. Members may apply to rent garden plots by submitting an application to the Board of Directors, signing the gardener agreement form, and paying their plot rental fees and plot maintenance deposit.

        Amendment:
               2. Members may apply to rent garden plots by submitting an application to the Board of Directors, signing the gardener agreement form, applicable waivers, and paying their plot rental fees and plot maintenance deposit.

Current:

       5. Plot rental fees are determined by the square footage of the garden plot(s) rented and are payable by all members at a general meeting. The fee per square foot is set annually by the Board of Directors.

        Amendment:

               5. Plot rental fees are determined by the square footage of the garden plot(s) rented and are payable by all members at or before the orientation meeting. The fee per square foot is set annually by the Board of Directors. Gardening members who withdraw after paying their fees, have 2 weeks after the orientation date to do so and receive a refund, after which time, all fees are forfeited.

Article 3 – Meetings

Current:

        2. The Association shall hold an orientation meeting on or before May 15 of each year. All members are required to attend the orientation meeting meeting. If a member is unable to attend this meeting, they must arrange with the Membership Coordinator for an alternate orientation session.

        Amendment:

                2. The Association shall hold an orientation meeting on or before May 15 of each year. All members are required to attend an orientation meeting. If a member is unable to attend a scheduled orientation meeting, they must make arrangements with the Membership Coordinator prior to the meeting. Plots are not guaranteed until payment is received.

Article 5 – Executive Officers and Directors

5. Membership Coordinator

Current:

        c. The Membership Coordinator is also responsible for distributing and collecting keys to the Garden and for maintaining records of such activities.

        Amendment:

                Removed 

Some advice for storing your vegetable harvest ...

The latest issue (v.9, no.9 Sept, 2014) of the Lee Valley Newsletter (Gardening Edition) has a good article on storing vegetables by Karen Bertelsen, "Storing your Vegetable Harvest."  A timely piece!

The Community of Community Garden is growing!

A new community garden is going into the London Road Area.  If you didn't get enough exercise working on the CampusRoots expansion this spring and summer, here is another chance!

Please Join us for The Grand Re-Opening of the Campus Roots Community Garden! RSVP by Sep.3.

EVENT: Field Trip to Calgary (coordinated by LDHS)

Lethbridge and District Horticultural Society (LDHS)

 Presents

Road Trip to Tour Calgary Gardens

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Costs:      $40.00 for LDHS members

                      $45.00 for non-members

Inquiries and tickets contact: 

Penny Dodd @

• Phone:  403-380-3809    
• Cell: 403-308-1217   
• Email:  p.dodd@telus.net

Deadline for ticket purchase:  June 3

Seats are limited to 56

Logistics:

         

Our assembly point is the Lethbridge Public Library.  (It is Sunday, so free ample street parking is available.  Please do not use library parking lot.)  Arrive between 7:30 and 7:45 as participants will be asked to sign a Waiver and Release Form before we depart.  We will leave at 8:00 a.m.

There will be a cooler available for any water/drink bottles you bring.  We recommend that you bring a bag lunch as the restaurants in the vicinity of the gardens are small and always very busy.  You should also have sun screen, insect repellent, walking shoes, and clothing to deal with our changeable weather.

Tour Agenda:

Garden One:  Reader Rock Garden at 25 Ave & McLeod Trail SW.  This garden is ranked by Tripadvisor as #71 of 205 attractions in Calgary. An historic garden established on a slope, with stone stairs—not very steep—leading through it, there are benches, a stream and many heritage plants. The restaurant is often closed on summer weekends as it is usually booked for a wedding.

Website:  http://readerrock.com  

Garden Two:  Centennial Memorial Park at 12 Ave & 4 St SW.  The site of Calgary’s Memorial Park Library and a memorial statue.  There are a number of tables and chairs in this garden.  It is a good place to enjoy our lunch.  The park is two blocks long, and there are no stairs in it.  There is a small restaurant in the park, but it will probably be very busy.

Website for Memorial Park:

http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Locations/Downtown-parks/Central-Memorial-Park.aspx

Garden Three:  Lougheed House at 13 Ave & 6 St SW.  This 2.8 acre terraced property was named “Beaulieu” (meaning Beautiful Place) when it was established in 1891.  It was originally a formal Edwardian garden, and today is a more informal mixture of perennials with annual beds created with a different theme every year.  There is also a small vegetable and cutting garden with plants used in the house and restaurant.  The house is open for tours (at a cost of $8.50 for adults, and $6.50 for seniors.)

Website:  www.lougheedhouse.com/

Garden Four:  Rundle Wood Garden at 46Ave &16 St SW.    This garden and nursery is in the large lot (about ¼ acre) of a private home.  The gardeners trial many varieties and new species every year.  You will see plants no other nurseries carry.  There are plants for sale (cash or cheque, only.)  We will have some boxes in the luggage department of the coach for any plant purchases we can’t resist.

Website:  www.rundlewoodgardens.ab.ca

Leave Calgary for Lethbridge at 4:00 p.m. at the latest.

Late Blight - Current advice on destroying infected plants

The Potato Growers of Alberta (who obviously have very real concerns about Late Blight!) have a very good (in this author's opinion) handout (PDF) on identification and handling of plants infected with Late Blight, including picture of diseased plant parts.  Of particular note is their advice on removing infected plants reproduced below for even easier reference (emphasis added).

The advice to bake infected plant parts using black plastic and the heat of the sun is reported to be very effective.  Key, though, is to dispose of the baked plant parts in the garbage to be buried in the landfill; DO NOT COMPOST them or put them in the City's Green Waste system.

As for protecting yourself against Late Blight, there is advice in our posting on the topic from a couple of years ago.

*****************************************************************
How to properly destroy infected plants

Potato and tomato plants with Late Blight on them should be promptly, carefully, and completely destroyed to avoid sending the disease on to other gardens or farms! 

DO NOT pull affected plant because this process can dislodge spores into the air where they can be wind-borne to neighboring plantings. 

To destroy individual plants 
* Pull a large dark plastic bag over the plant first. 
* Cut the plant off at ground level and tie the bag. 
* Put the bag in full sunlight so that the contents  will be killed by the heat from the sun. 
* Once the plant is dead, the fungus is also destroyed and the bag can be discarded with regular garbage. 

To destroy several adjacent plants 
* Cut the plant stems near ground level. 
* Promote destruction of the plants by placing a dark plastic cover over them so that heat from the sun will kill the tissue. 

Once affected vines and leaves have been destroyed, the potatoes can be dug and eaten, but better to eat them soon, as they will not store. 

DO NOT put affected potatoes in the compost pile because if they survive the winter, new sprouts from these potatoes could be the source of inoculum next season.

Source:  http://www.albertapotatoes.ca/files/LateBlightBrochureGardeners.pdf (Accessed 2014-05-13)

WARNING: Alberta Agriculture advises that Late Blight continues to be a risk for Tomato and Potato plants

Alberta Agriculture is alerting everyone to the continued risk of Late Blight.  This is a fungal infection that attacks tomatoes and potatoes primarily although it apparently can infect peppers, eggplants, and (surprise!) petunias.  

The disease is carried on live plant materials; we are advised to watch plants raised from potatoes seed and transplants purchased at garden centres, both of which could be carrying the fungus into Alberta from another location.  

A couple of years ago, Leona wrote a posting on the CampusRoots blog about Late Blight that included advice on what to look for as well as tips to practice good plant hygiene if you find it.   If you are further interested, you might want to check out the anxiety level about Late Blight on the Alberta Agriculture website (sorted by most recent postings first).   

On a personal note, a gardening buddy gave me some tomato seedlings last year that were healthy to the end of the season.  However, when she forwarded this alert to me a few days ago, she noted that she lost all her tomatoes last year to Late Blight; it must have come into her garden through some other vector.  

So the advice is to watch your plants and deal with the situation accordingly.

Gardener Orientation: Tuesday, 2014 April 22 @ 7pm in UofL AH116

The new Membership Cards for 2014 are ready for pickup!  Membership cards entitle members to 10% discounts on edible plants and seeds at selected local gardening centres. Come and get yours by attending the Gardeners Orientation for new and returning Campus Roots gardeners!

Orientation will be held on Tuesday, April 22 at 7pm in Anderson Hall, Room AH116.

All gardeners are required to attend this Orientation or make prior arrangements for an alternate orientation with the Membership Coordinator by contacting campusroots@uleth.ca.

Plot deposits and rental fees are due by April 22 (at the Orientation!).  Rentals not paid for by April 22 will be released to the waiting list of gardeners (and there is a waiting list!). Why?  Simply put, we need to have your commitment in order to be able to release available plots to our waiting list before the gardening season actually begins.  In the past, delays meant new gardeners could not take advantage of the full growing season and we think that is kind of unfair.

Requests for Roto-tilling will only be accepted at the Orientation.

SEED EXCHANGE!  We always purchase more seed than we need so bring along the extras and swap them with others.  Check out our Seed Exchange Guidelines for information about preparing your seeds for exchange.

Please note:  We are growing in numbers so to facilitate an orderly process in assigning available plots, no documentation will be accepted until the completion of the orientation.  You can amuse yourselves by exchanging seeds, signing up for work groups, and simply getting to know each other.

It is time to think about your garden!

Okay ... the holidays are over, the tree is down, the snow falls, the wind blows ... but we can escape by thinking about, dreaming about what else?  GARDENING!

Likely you are starting to order your seed catalogues but before you put your order in, perhaps you want to check and see what seeds you have left over from last year and years previous.  If nothing else, you can prepare your stash of seeds for the usual seed exchanges.

Mother Earth News is a good source of advice on gardening (among other things).  Check out the article on Savvy Seed Care for some guidance on sorting seeds, cleaning seeds, and generally getting them ready for the seed swap.  Included is advice on when you might want to skip seeds and buy transplants and how long seeds are usually viable. 

The key word here is "viable."  It would be a bit of a waste to throw out perfectly good seeds based on some general advice so here is a video, Home Germination Testing (~20 minutes) produced by Seed Savers Exchange, to illustrate how you might go about testing that viability and the PDF handout that accompanies the video:  Home Germination Testing (PDF).

Enjoy!