Danni Lang Workshops & Educational Events

Spring Plant Sales!

Starting seeds is a gardener’s favorite way to save some money and grow only the very best varieties. This whole process can seem overwhelming for new gardeners. You can still have your tomatoes and peppers without starting seeds yourself. All you need to do is buy some starts! The Farmer’s Market on the square is a Crowley Station favorite since you only have to carry plants a couple of blocks before planting them. However, you might be surprised by the selection and savings by heading out to the annual plants sales that happen April to May. Here is our round-up of plant sales that happen around Madison in the Spring. In the comment section, please let us  know if we missed any!

Troy Community Farm Plant Sale
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This annual plant sale has a fabulous selection of hardy vegetable starts that are perfect for your food gardens. Prices range from $1.50 – $8.00. These plants are also certified organic!

 

 

Plant Sale with the Pros – Olbrich Botanical Gardens

Friday, May 6, 2016 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. & Saturday, May 7, 2016 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Get great plants and expert advice from area professionals this year at Plant Sale with the Pros. The sale features everything from annuals and perennials to ornamental grasses and shrubs. Olbrich’s staff carefully chooses unique plants that do best in this climate. Find the newest, hardiest, disease-resistant cultivars on the market. Local plant pros, master gardeners, and Olbrich’s horticulturists will be available to answer questions.

Proceeds from the plant sale benefit Olbrich Botanical Gardens. Shop early since quantities are limited. Shoppers are encouraged to bring cartons, wagons, or boxes for carrying plants. Cash, checks, MasterCard, Visa, and Discover are accepted. Maximize your support of the Gardens by using cash or check.

Master Gardener Plant Sale

Sunday, May 22, 11AM-3PM (May 29th Rain Date)

Hundreds of perennials for shade or sun, vegetable & herb starts, annuals and more will be available!   Master Gardeners will be around to answer your gardening questions.  Proceeds will help purchase seeds & supplies for community gardening programs.  Plants are reasonably priced.  Cash or check only.

Dane County/UW Extension Office parking lot at 5201 Fen Oak Drive, Madison 53718

UW Arboretum Native Plant Sale

For a completely different type of plant sale check out the Arboretum on May 7, 2016, 9AM-2PM. There will be large tents near the Visitor Center where more than 100 species of native grasses; woodland, prairie, and savanna plants, and trees and shrubs will be available to purchase. I’d suggest coming early. This is a popular sale in Madison!

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Closing Day at CSCG

As we approach our first Winter storm this year, I was reminded of the perfect Autumn day we had for Closing Crowley Station Community Garden. November 7, 2015 was chilly, a little windy, but super sunny. The garden was filled with happy chatter and busy hands.

To put our garden beds to rest (did you see Danna’s post last week about the workshop?), we tried something a little new this year. There is limited space for composting materials at the garden. Our raised beds also need a fair amount of compost each year. Why not make our own compost directly in our beds? To do this we dug a deep trench into every bed along the railing side whenever possible. Into this trench we put all the organic matter that wasn’t being kept for Spring (IE garlic, carrots, some herbs). We also added some partial compost to these trenches. Then we buried the organic matter. Finally, we planted a cover crop of Red Clover to protect the soil during the Winter and early Spring. It’s an experiment that we are hopeful will work smoothly.

We also held elections for next year’s leadership team. Congrats to our new leaders, and thank you to those who served in 2015! The results are in:

  • Co-Chair: TBA
  • Maintenance Director: Grayson Smith
  • Membership Director: Krista Farrell
  • Tresurer: Brad Lang
  • Communications Director: Emma Sams
  • Educational Director: Danna Olsen

Closing Day was also a great time to enjoy a small potluck and chat with friends about our successes and failures of the garden season. Many mourned the losses due to theft this year. Others were impressed with how much they grew for their first year gardening. We also pooled our last veggies together that weren’t going to be used personally to do a big donation to the Food Pantry (picture seen above). It was mostly carrots, swiss chard, green tomatoes, kale, and other cold hardy plants.

Thank you to everyone who was a part of our community this year. We loved gardening with you!

Next garden meeting: December 3, 2015 7PM at Barriques ALL ARE WELCOME!

Danni Lang Social Events, Work Party

Closing Day & Elections

Closing day is scheduled for Saturday, November 7th at 12:00pm. This is a mandatory event for all garden members. Failure to attend will result in bad standing* and removal of all plants in your plot.

The purpose of closing day is getting the garden ready for winter by wrapping up any maintenance projects, cleaning out plots and planting cover crops to protect the soil, holding elections for the garden leadership team next year and celebrating the end of a successful season together with a potluck.

  • You are required to compost your weeds/plant debris within your plot boundaries or remove the material from the property. Diseased plants should be bagged and removed from the property.
  • Between old plant refuse and cover crops, mulch shouldn’t be needed, however if you wish to add something else, it must be approved. Mulch such as leaves and marsh hay are encouraged, but materials such as wood chips etc. may cause damage to the soil or issues in your plot next season.
  • Volunteer hours will be awarded to those that attend.

If you are able, please bring a snack or beverage to share. After our hard work, we will celebrate the season with a potluck.

*Good Standing:

To end the season in good standing, you must have paid all dues and completed 4 volunteer hours per plot. Being in good standing allows you to be refunded your security deposit AND gives you the opportunity to apply for a plot next season.

Elections for 2015 Garden Leadership Team:

We will also hold elections for next year’s garden leadership team during closing day. Descriptions of the positions can be found below or on the CSCG website: https://crowleystationgarden.org/handbook/leadership-organization/

The success of Crowley Station Community Garden relies on dedication and hard work from the leadership team. It is a very important role that isn’t difficult! The leadership team meets once a month at the garden meetings (open to all members) and discusses the status of projects, events and issues within the garden. If there are projects that pertain to their role, leaders put in some time to complete those tasks throughout the month. They are encouraged to enlist the help of other garden members to complete these tasks and keep the garden running smoothly. This is a great way to fulfill volunteer hours and make a difference in the success of the garden.

Please let us know if you have any questions about any of the leadership roles!

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Canning Workshop

You’ve grown all the vegetables in your garden or just been to the farmer’s market, but there is too much to eat all at once. What do you do? Well, you put it away for the Winter, of course. Join our Educational Director, Danni Niles, as she shows you the basics of Water Bath Canning. Topics will include safety, easy recipes, ways to use products, and resources.

Date: 9/20/15

Time: 2PM

Location: Danni’s Apartment by the Vila’s Zoo (those who sign up on the Eventbrite page will receive directions the morning of)

Suggested Donation: $10 Non-Garden Members, $5 Garden Members

Danni Lang Workshops & Educational Events

Water Workshop Review

Last night as the storm clouds rolled across the north of Madison, I attended the Water Conservation and Inter-Personal Conflict Resolution Workshop at Brittingham Community Garden in Madison, WI. This workshop was a part of the workshop series being put on by the Dane County Community Garden Network, Coalition, & Dane County Extension. We luckily only got a few sprinkles on us during the workshop and gained a lot of fabulous ideas on how to conserve water at a community garden.

There was a lot of talk in the workshop about watering your garden plants the right way and at the right time. Morning is the best time to water plants, followed by evening. This allows the soil to retain moisture longer and gives your plants more time to use the water before it evaporates. Watering at the base of the plants is also very important. This can help prevent disease and puts the water where plants need it, the roots, right away! Plants need about 1-2 inches of water per week. You can check this by using a tool called a Soil Moisture Meter or you can stick a trowel in the soil and dig straight down to see where the water has penetrated to. Another technique is to water as long as it would take to fill a normal soup tin with water.

Improving the soil is also critical to conserving water. The more like rich loam your soil is, the more efficiently you’ll be able to use water. You can achieve this by adding compost and organic matter. You can even, occasionally, “water” with compost tea, liquid kelp or fish emulsion to improve the soil at the same time. Mulch can also work wonders at covering the soil so there are fewer weeds (stealing water!), keeping the soil temperature down, and retain water in the soil longer.

Amy Robb from the Madison Water Utility was also at the workshop to talk about how Community Gardens can take advantage of the online tools and Water Utility resources to manage water usage better. Most gardens in Madison should be working to install their own meter and access point for water. While this is an expensive project, it allows the garden to be better stewards of their water and is a much better long term solution to water access than some current practices like using a fire hydrant.

A typical community garden in Dane County can pay anywhere from $20 – $100 for half of the year. To reduce this cost, gardens should make sure their tools and water access points aren’t leaking. O-rings are cheap but amazing investments to ensure that hoses and spigots aren’t leaking. Of course, also remember that hand watering (like with a watering can) will waste the least amount of water!

Community Gardens can also go online to use some of the Madison Water Utility resources to see when and how much water is being used. The meter collects data all the time giving gardens a great sense of whether they are watering at the correct time or maybe have leaks or other problems on site. This data can then be presented to gardeners when discussions about garden plot fees or new rules come up.

Of course, at Crowley Station Community Garden we also use a rain barrel and water saucer. This tool allows us to collect and use water for free! We are so in love with our rain barrel and saucer. If you are interested in getting one of your own, check out the Rainbarrel Man. He was great to work with. Our Rain Barrel sits on a wood stand that our Maintenance Director, Grayson Smith, built this year. It has two spigots that allow us to put the watering cans underneath to fill or attach a hose. This is the second year we’ve had it and it has held up well.

Hope this inspires you to work a bit more on ways you can conserve water. See you around the garden!

Danni Lang Social Events

Memorial for Becky Selleck

Last year Crowley Station Community Garden was created through the work of many dedicated community members. One of those members was Becky Selleck. Becky volunteered to be the first Educational Director and had a vision of the community garden serving everyone in the neighborhood. She worked to establish a relationship with the Episcopal Grace Food Pantry and started the first Educational Plot to teach members how to get the most our of their gardening experience. She was always willing to jump into a project with a smile or a sympathetic ear if a member was struggling. It was amazing to have her energy involved in the project.

Sadly, Becky Selleck passed away this Summer in an accident. Her Madison friends wanted a way to honor her gifts and life. They reached out to Crowley Station Community Garden in hopes they could find a partner for a memorial that would align well with everything that Becky worked for.

Together we have decided to rename the Educational Plot to Becky Selleck. We also hope to work on some expansion projects for the garden as well.

Please join us on Friday, August 28th, 5:30-8PM at the Crowley Station Community Garden for a potluck, stories, and an opportunity to donate to the memorial project!

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Sounds of Summer in the Garden

Last Sunday was the Summer Solstice. It was a bright, sunny day with temperatures in the high 80s. Nothing could have felt more Summery. The community garden celebrated by inviting local artists to play in the garden as a part of the city wide event Make Music Madison. Neighbors, gardeners, and friends came out to the garden to enjoy lovely music and their own picnics. It was a grand way to usher in the Summer!

We started with the folk/rock sounds of John Kostle. He was a champ on the guitar and in the intense sunshine that covers the whole garden at 4PM. He started the event off in a great way. There were songs that everyone knew and could sing along with and other fitting songs for a Summer day at the garden.

The Strays came next bringing instruments (including a large double bass!), jazzy vocals, and their own possy. This young group had a fabulous sound. A mix of jazz and pop had everyone popping into the garden off the street to hear what was going on. For a group of “stray” musicians, they have the beginnings of a really excellent group.

The following artist, Mackenzie Benish, slowed thing down just a notch with her original songs on the guitar. The lyrics were excellent, each song telling a story, almost like old folk songs but with a more modern sound. She was another trooper in the sun. Her performance was right in the middle of the sunshine as the audience all moved into the little bit of shade offered at the garden.

As the sun began to set, Richard from the Big Swell came by to sing some rock anthems. Sadly, as it was dinner time, much of our audience went home for the night. Richard still sang his heart out and those that stayed had a great time.

Twilight at the garden brought out a shimmery crescent moon and a bold, pink sunset. Robert Trader took advantage of this magical setting to perform his folk/rock songs. His voice carried over the whole garden and even to the apartment balconies across the street from the garden. It was a great performance that really finished the concert off in the best way. Many peopled were wooed from the street into listening to the urban lyrics and heartfelt melodies.

We want to thank all the performers who donated their time to performing at Crowley Station Community Garden. You made sunday the fabulous event that it was! Thanks also to everyone who came out to enjoy the garden with us. We really have one of the best communities around!

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Concert at the Garden!!

Enjoy FREE MUSIC in the garden on Sunday, June 21, 2015 as a part of Make Music Madison event. Bring some snacks , seating (blanket or camp chairs) and enjoy the sounds of Summer! We picked out some excellent performers this year. Most of them have some folk or jazz elements to them. Check out the music at the links below. Come for part or all of the show.

SCHEDULE
4-4:45PM John Kostle
5-6PM The Strays
6:15-7PM Mackenzie Benish
7:15-8PM The Big Swell
8:15-9PM Robert Trader

Danni Lang Workshops & Educational Events

Herb Workshop: Saturday, June 13, 2015

Herbs are some of the best plants for container gardens, beginner gardeners, and those who like to cook. Whether you are new to gardening or an herb expert, there will be something special for you to learn in this workshop. Join us at the garden this Saturday, June 13, 2015 at 4PM. This event has a $5 suggested donation. We’ll cover the following:

∗ How to Plant Herbs
∗ Companion Plantings
∗ Benefits of Herbs
∗ How to Harvest
∗ The Many Uses Beyond Cooking

Workshop run by Pat Niles: 
After obtaining a degree in Horticulture – Crop Production from the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign, Pat has spent the last four decades working in flower shops, green houses, the extension service and on organic farms. She has used her extensive experience to run her own CSA farm in southern Wisconsin. Her customers have grown to love her veggies, fruits, culinary flowers, herbs, and her vast gardening knowledge. Along the way Pat has shared her enthusiasm and knowledge in classrooms, workshops, and online. It’s rare to find someone who is as comfortable and engaged in the field as in the classroom!

Danni Lang Workshops & Educational Events

Gardening: Where to start?

It was so lovely to get to meet all the new members to Crowley Station Community Garden last Saturday! I met a lot of members who were new to gardening, and they all had such wonderful questions. I thought I’d take the opportunity to write out a few of the most basic questions in case others were wondering how to get started.

What do I do first? 

Ah, such a broad question! It can be intimidating to start a new project, especially when the subject matter can be as expansive as gardening. Your first garden, though, is a chance for you to take chances and really dive into the exciting world of gardening. Don’t worry so much about doing things right. Just dig in! Your bed at Crowley Station is pretty small; that means it’s easy to fix if a “mistake” happens. “Mistakes” are really just experiments where the results don’t match your expectations. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been gardening, you will still experience surprises every year.

Generally, the first thing you want to do is prepare the soil. Adding some compost is a great first step. There are also probably some small weeds in your bed. You can pull those or just work them into your new compost. Second, pick ONE plant that you want to try this year. Feel free to plant more than just one thing, but maybe you do extra research online, reading books, or asking fellow gardeners about that one plant that you love.

What can I plant in the Spring? 

Good things to start in the spring include short day, cold hardy plants. Most seed packets will mention these traits. Try herbs, greens like lettuce and spinach, and root crops like carrots and beets. Save your tomatoes and peppers for warmer temperatures. As evident today, we could still get snow even though our last frost date was April 15!

How do I plant seeds?

First, read the back of the seed package. This will tell you how close together you can plant your seeds and how deep your seeds should be. Some seeds are really tiny. Remember that you can always thin, pull unwanted plants, later when things are bigger. Water your seeds after planting. You can then cover your plants with something like straw or leaf mulch. Olbrich Gardens has a leaf mulch sale until the end of May. Don’t forget to check your bed at least weekly for weeds and watering.

If you have any further questions feel free to contact me, the Educational Director, or leave comments below. Happy Gardening!

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Winter Garden Dreamings

It’s reached single digit temperatures outside. While the sun is shining this afternoon, it’s a rare pleasure for this time of year. So, what’s a gardener to do? Why, dream up next year’s garden of course!

January and February are prime seed catalog months. Many seed catalogs will send you free copy. Seed company websites also offer excellent website shopping, as well. Flipping through your seed options now gives you the chance to dream, plan, and research your options for the next year. It also allows you to evaluate how much time you’ll have for gardening.

Let’s say you set aside two hours each week in January for garden planning and seed ordering. As the month goes by you realize you only have time for one hour each week to devote to garden planing. This might be a sign that you will only have one hour a week for gardening and should only plant three types of tomatoes not six. The time spent planning a garden does not completely equate to the time needed to care for a garden, of course. It’s just a good way to check in with yourself about the time you have available. Crowley Station Community Garden has small plots that even the busiest people will have time to garden!

When you are planning your garden and going through seed catalogs/website be sure that you think about the following things for next year:

  • Seasonal Rotations (planting cabbage after your Spring spinach is done for example)
  • Growing days needed
  • Appropriate zones (you might really want a lemon tree, but Wisconsin just isn’t warm enough for an outside planting)
  • Drought and Disease tolerance (experiment now because you never know what the season will bring)
  • Take a look at companion plantings

You will also want to balance the foods that you love to grow and eat year after year with new experiments. For example, last year I found the perfect green bean (I had over 10lbs in my 2′ x 8′ bed). I’m certainly going to order more of those. I’m also going to try experimenting with Chinese Red Noodle Bean. Since I’m a fan of beans I know that I’ll have a hardy type that I’ll love but might also find a new favorite. If the weather is unusual this year, one variety might do better than another. Diversity does wonderful things for a garden and your table!

Here are some of my favorite seed catalogs. In the comments, I’d love to hear about your favorite garden planning resources!

Danni Lang Uncategorized

2015 Executive Team

Crowley Station Community garden is run by a team of members. We have five positions: Communications Director, Treasurer, Volunteer Coordinator, Maintenance Director, and Educational Director. Two of those positions also served as Co-Chairs this year. This group of leaders makes all decisions for the garden. Meetings are open to all members, though. On October 1 members in good standing were encouraged to submit candidate statements for any positions they’d like to run for to serve in 2015. We were supposed to then have an electronic survey for election ballots. Only five members submitted  statements and thus our five positions were filled for next year.

The members of the 2015 Executive Team have been wonderful to work with. All of them put in many volunteer hours above the required four. Many of them worked on special projects or even served on the planning group this Spring. Their passion for the project and enthusiasm to serve has been evident throughout the growing season. Please join me in congratulating them on becoming the next Crowley Station Executive Team!

Maintenance Director: Grayson Smith
I feel that I have the knowledge necessary to solve material choices, construction, and aesthetic as a graduate of industrial design working in the furniture industry. Problem solving is in my nature. I’ve been involved in this garden since last winter and have grown to understand the community, politics, and capabilities of the people involved. I look at taking on this position as not only a personal challenge, but also a lot of fun! I hope to be qualified enough to satisfy the hard working team of CSCG. Thank you!

Volunteer Coordinator: Krista Farrell
I would like to run for the Volunteer Coordinator position again next year. I feel really fortunate to be involved with such an amazing project and would love to continue to be involved with a leadership role. I feel like I only dipped my toe into the possibilities for the Volunteer Coordinator position this year and am excited about all of the potential for next year. I have a lot of great ideas for how to establish more community at the garden and am eager to see them through! I have been able to form an organized system to carrying out the responsibilities of this role this year and have ideas how to improve things for next season, if given the opportunity. Mostly, I am excited about the opportunity to serve along with and learn from the other amazing members of this community. Thank you for your consideration!

Communications Director: Lisa Winkler
The CSCG is an exciting grass roots effort to develop an underused public area into a welcoming gathering space for our community.  With all the hard work and commitment of the volunteers in its first year, it will be essential to the success of this initiative to have effective communication with our stakeholders, neighbors, and the local area providers we want to fully utilize this garden.  I would like to help the CSCG by managing the information on their website and communications between members, the water utilities and the general public.

Treasurer: Courtney Stacy
I was the treasurer and a co-chair for the 2014 growing season at Crowley Station Community Garden. I truly enjoyed being a part of our leadership team, and would like to continue in the treasurer role for the 2015 season. My hope is to finish laying the financial groundwork for the garden, and continue developing projects which will ensure CSCG’s fiscal independence and security for many years to come.

Educational Director: Danni Niles
Next year I would love to serve as your Educational Director. This year I have served as your Communications Director and Co-Chair. It has been amazing to work with everyone and watch the garden and the community grow this year through the long meetings and even longer build projects. After years of growing up on a vegetable and fruit farm and doing my own personal gardens in urban settings throughout college, I feel like I have a great deal of knowledge and enthusiasm to share with the garden. I’d love to focus on the mentoring program, hosting how-to workshops, and expanding our donations to the food pantry. I’d also love to continue working with the Executive Team to bring our goals to life during our second year. Thanks!

Danni Lang Uncategorized

Common Weeds in Wisconsin

If you wonder around the garden this week (if the rain stops!), you see towering tomato plants, blooming flowers, long green beans, and fragrant herbs. It’s a beautiful sight! Hidden among the productive plants are plants that the gardener did not plant and does not want. Those are weeds. Here are the top four plants I’ve seen in the garden as “weeds”. Just remember that weeds are all about perspective. Many of these plants are edible or have other uses, too!

Amaranthus retroflexusPigweed Amaranthus retroflexus
These plants can get huge, sometimes reaching 6 feet. The size of these plants can shade out the plants you want. Be careful to remove these plants from beds completely as they can re-root sometimes if left laying out. The seed heads are sometimes used as food and the young leaves can also be tasty. Check out a recipe here.

PurslanePurslane Portulaca oleracea
This is one of the most frustrating weeds for me! If you don’t get the whole root system pulled out, the runners can keep it alive and thriving for quite some time. It stays close to the surface of the soil but can have stems around 14 inches long.

 

LambsLamb’s Quarter Chenopodium album
This weed can also get fairly tall at 3 feet tall. The leaves enlarge and the stem can be quite woody and hard to pull during dry spells. This is another edible weed. It can be a hard weed to identify when it’s young but look for the slight white hue to the green leaves.

grassCrabgrass Digitaria sanguinalis
While this plant doesn’t do much harm to other seedlings, it can quickly take over a bed. It is important that you pull from the bottom of the plant and get the root system. Just like the grass in your lawn, it won’t die unless the roots are gone.

 

Sources:
Organic Gardening.com
UW Weed Information

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Grand Opening Party!

You are invited to. . .

Birds and Bee BalmCrowley Station Community Garden will be having a Grand Opening Event! Please join us at the garden at 201 S. Hancock St on September 7, 2014. We hope to celebrate our fabulous first year with all the people who have made this garden possible. Please pass this invitation on to your friends and neighbors. We look forward to meeting with everyone! 
 
5:00 Yoga in the Garden presented by Pat Barone from Raw Materials Wellness & Learning Center. Please bring your own mat. This class will be suited for all levels. $3 for members of Community Gardens in Dane County, $5 for public.
 
6:00 Meet & Greet: Gardeners and neighborhood members can get to know each other and take a look at all the wonderful things growing in the garden. 
 
6:15 Potluck! Please bring a dish to share, your own plate and silverware. Drinks and glasses will be provided. Chairs and Picnic blankets are also recommended. The Garden will be presenting a few special Thank-You’s to the people who have supported the project this first year. 
 
You can see the event on our website and G+!