President’s Fall Letter

This has been a very good year for the Crows Woods Gardeners. We had the largest number of new people ever and they have certainly proven to be good gardeners. There were very few abandoned and neglected plots. It is important to continue to maintain your plot until the end of the season which is November. If you need to borrow the weed-whacker or roto-tiller, please contact your Row Captain to unlock the shed, but you must clean up your plot before Saturday, November 13. On that morning, the plots will be checked. They must be cleaned up which means that all cages, tools, tall crops, and weeds must be gone. You may keep your fence and any support structures. Our rules state that is most be done or you forfeit your plot to someone on the waiting list. Even if you have decided not to continue gardening, remember you promised on your application to follow the rules which include cleaning up. We have no paid workers. It is best to start bringing things home early. Thanks in advantage for your cooperation in this matter.

End-of-the-Year Picnic

We will hold our annual End-of-the-Year on Sunday, September 12 at 5 PM picnic at the picnic table . Family and friends are invited. Each gardener brings one dish to share and somehow the most wonderful assortment of food and desserts appear. The organization will provide the paper goods and the drinks. It is a nice relaxing delicious way to spend some time on Sunday evening. Please bring a chair just in case we need it.

My Greenhouse Year

[ Kathi ]This season had a new twist for me. It was my greenhouse year. After years of wanting a greenhouse which included gravitating towards displays at Home Shows, buying related periodicals, and searching the web, I finally decided to take the plunge. I found the appropriate size and price online through Home Depot. The last hurdle was to convince my husband, Bob, that two educated, intelligent people could follow directions well enough to put together a greenhouse kit

It took a brave hand to click the buy button on the computer, but I did, and we were off. When two small flat boxes arrived, I got cold feet and asked my engineer brother to help us put it together. We set a day, read the directions, bought the equipment for the base and got started. It took a day and a half to put together, but we would have had serious trouble without the expert engineer help. It was so exciting to see it standing. Bob cut wood and we used the old crates from our boys’ college years to make the shelves. I had already started seeds on radiators around the house, and they were sitting under a grow light. I carried everything to the greenhouse and placed the plants on the shelves. Wow! It looked great. During the spring when it was 60 degrees outside the greenhouse was a cozy 80 degrees. I watered every day after work and the plants grew. The greenhouse was filled with several kinds of tomatoes, peppers, and squash. I still have a lot to learn about greenhouse growing. I am wondering how long I will be able to keep plants growing as the days get shorter and the temperature get lower. As all gardeners, I am already making plans for next season. Hopefully, I can start earlier and grow twice as much.

Kathi Stokes