The University Apartments Community Garden

[Registrar]

Dear Gardeners,

The gardens are very productive now. Watch for bees and stinging wasps that are
active in the warm weather. We need them for pollination, but they get short-tempered
when it is hot and humid (just like we do). Many butterflies and moths are around
this week.

Just wanted to make sure you saw that lake weeds have started to appear
over by the lEagle Heights eaf pile. Dane County puts "mowers" out in the lakes to cut
lake plants that grow with the nutrient run-off. There is a pile starting
at the east end of the leaf pile at Eagle Heights, a wet and soon-to-be smelly patch of green.
We can't get in to University Houses yet because of the wet ground,
but you are welcome to bring buckets over to Eagle Heights.
The lake weeds make great compost and can be used as mulch. They are "hot" and
decompose rapidly. Robin sent a sample to the soil testing lab last year and
checked for heavy metals, but did not see any problems. The weeds are probably
quite biologically active from the runoff, so wash yourself thoroughly after
handling and avoid contact with leafy greens to be eaten raw. (I found
a small dead fish in my cartful). Great stuff for the garden!

Please remember to vote for the fruit tree contest. We are really close and looking
forward to the trees. See the website for details.

Garden potluck and meeting tonight at the Eagle Heights arbor at 6:30 pm.



Gretel, Garden Registrar