Fundraising committee meeting 

-to plan fundraising for the coming year-

 Interested in helping raise funds for the garden?  

Have ideas and are willing to help implement them?  

Join us for a fundraising meeting 

Sun Feb 12, at 1pm, 

at the Blue Heron 

(next to The Bookshelf, on 2nd, just west of Johnson).  

STATE OF THE GARDEN

JANUARY, 2012

REMINDER!

Garden registrations for 2012 are due by January 31. Please make every effort to register in a timely fashion. I am beginning to get inquiries from people on the waiting list wanting to know if a plot is available. 

PLANT SALE

On April 14 and May 12 the Board is sponsoring a plant sale. The purpose is two-fold:  to have plant starts available for our own garden plots, as well as raise a little money. We will set up shop on the west side of the garden close to the road. Extras will also be available to the general public.  

If you have a sunny window, and the inclination and time, think about starting some vegetables or flowers that you can donate for this sale. Contact Jan for details about the sale, instructions on starting plants, or supplies to help you out. 

2012 Registration

• Registration forms for 2012 are ready. If you are a current gardener, you will receive an email copy. Please print it out and return it , along with your fees, to Sue Burnett. Her address is on the form. 
• You will also receive a copy of the rules and guidelines for 2012. There are a few changes for next year, so please read it over carefully and save it for your own use. 
• If you want to keep your same plot for 2012, the deadline for registration is January 31. If for some reason you can't register by then, but want to keep the same plot, please contact Jan. 
• There is a long waiting list for next year. If you are not returning, contact me ASAP.

Major Changes

As most of you know, there were a lot of decisions that needed to be made for 2012. Thanks to everyone who took the time to fill out the survey. It was very helpful in guiding the board with these decisions. Major points or changes to note for 2012: 

• Fee changes: $50  for a large plot, $35 for a small plot, plus the $10 deposit.
• New fee: there will be a $10 fee for flower strips next year. If you have both a plot and a flower strip, there is only  one $10 deposit and one 10-hour work requirement.
• Those who responded to the survey voted overwhelmingly to terminate gardeners who did not fulfill their work requirements and did not clean up their plot at the end of the season. So here is the policy that the board adopted at the last meeting: 
• Gardeners are required to contribute 10 hours of volunteer work towards the garden and clean up their plot at the end of the season, or their involvement in the garden will be terminated for the following year. 

Other decisions for 2012 as a result of the survey

•  A list of jobs that need doing will be posted on the outside of the shed. I'd like to put another bulletin board on the other (east) window for this. 
• In order to make it easier to log your hours, I will also post the list of gardeners on this same bulletin board. People can note their hours as they do them.  
• Many people expressed interest in a buddy system. The Board is working on a way to facilitate this. 

Fundraising

• The garden has cleared about $300 with the notecards. Keep encouraging your friends to buy them from these stores: The Book Shelf, Winona Post, Heart's Desire, Minnesota Marine Art Museum, Winona County Historical Society, Yarnology, Bluff Country Coop, Spalon 1161.
• Our new fees will only partially cover the annual budget (estimated $3000). The board is discussing focusing on 2 main fundraisers. Hopefully these will become annual events that people come to expect. First, continue with the notecards, updating them periodically with a new series. Second, hold an annual plant sale at the garden. A couple of us have the space and inclination to grow flats of vegetable plants. Others who have extra starts could donate them to the sale. In the spring we would hold a sale on a Saturday morning along the west edge of the garden

GARDENERS

DON'T FORGET: INCLUDE OUR GARDEN NOTECARDS 

ON YOUR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING LIST.

AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT THEM, TOO.

THEY MAKE GREAT SMALL GIFTS

OR  STOCKING STUFFERS.

THE FOLLOWING LOCAL STORES HAVE THEM FOR SALE 

The Book Shelf

Winona Post

Heart's Desire

Minnesota Marine Art Museum

Winona County Historical Society

Yarnology

Bluff Country Coop

Spalon 1161

Final Work Party

THIS SUNDAY, 

NOVEMBER 27, 1:00

All plots need to be winter-ready by this day. 

Any plots that are not winter-ready, will be cleaned up for you

 and you will forfeit your deposit.

Here is a reminder of what it means to be "winter-ready":

• Remove all trellises, stakes, tomato cages, decorations, buckets, sheets or other ground covers and store away for the winter.
• Harvest or compost all remaining squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, leeks, etc. 
• Pull up all dead plants and compost them or use them for mulch on your plot.
• Many of you have carefully piled your dead plant material in the corner of your plot to use for compost/mulch. (thank you! thank you!).  It's now time to spread it around on your plot so that it is  no more than 6-12" high (1st choice), or put it in the north compost bin. 
• Pull all vines from the fence. 
• Some of you have let broccoli, etc, go to seed. If you are wanting to save seed for next year, harvest it now. If not, pull it and compost it. 
• Onions, garlic, carrots, etc. intended for spring harvest may stay.
• Cut back perennials in the flower strips or plots that are getting rangy. Also, remove and compost large plants like sunflower stalks.  
• If you want to put in a volunteer hour or two, stomp down the south compost bin, When this gets done, there are sheets of metal to cover it with. 

Winter Clean Up

Gardeners,

I got an email from our liaison at Winona Health asking us to please clean out our plots for the winter. 

Different people have different definitions of what this means, but here is what I am asking everyone to do:

      Remove all trellises, stakes, tomato cages, decorations, buckets, sheets or other ground covers and store away for the winter.

      Harvest or compost all remaining squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, leeks, etc. 

      Pull up all dead plants and compost them or use them for mulch on your plot.

      Many of you have carefully piled your dead plant material in the corner of your plot to use for compost/mulch. (thank you! thank you!).  It's now time to spread it around on your plot so that it is no more than 6-12" high (1st choice), or put it in the north compost bin. 

      Pull all vines from the fence. 

      Some of you have let broccoli, etc, go to seed. If you are wanting to save seed for next year, harvest it now. If not, pull it and compost it. 

      Kale can stay until the frost kills it. Also, if you've left onions or carrots in the ground for spring, that's fine, too. 

      Cut back perennials in the flower strips or plots that are getting rangy. Also, remove and compost large plants like sunflower stalks.  

      If you want to put in a volunteer hour or two, stomp down the south compost bin, When this gets done, there are sheets of metal to cover it with. 

In a word:

Anything that is not a plant, remove it from the garden. 

Reduce all plant material to a 6-12" layer on your plot or compost it.

I emailed back that we would have it cleaned out by November 30. Don't let me down. Our continued lease with Winona Health is contingent on a good relationship with them.