Lots going on October 4 at the Farm

Build a Scarecrow

Nothing says fall like a scarecrow standing guard over a field of corn or garden vegetables.  Build a scarecrow to decorate the front yard or entryway as fall starts making its presence known. Bring some old clothes and Wagner Farm will supply the straw and helpful tips on building a decorative scarecrow. The fee is $5 for a Pumpkinhead and straw. 

Eagle Scout project

One of our own gardeners, Maxwell McWilliams will be bringing volunteers, rocks, sand, and perennials to the WFCG between 9am-3pm as he completes his Eagle Scout project by improving drainage at the water spigots.

Clearing out your plot

Found in two 'cleared out' plots today

As we wind down the season and you begin to clear out your plots, please pay particular attention to small trash -- especially plant labels and ties. Plant ties get caught in the tiller, and plant labels break easily, adding unwanted plastic to our soil.

Thanks!

Weather Extremes

Minimum temperature ranks for January-July 2014 within the historical record (1895-2014), from record coldest (darkest blue) to record warmest (darkest red). Courtesy of www.climate.gov.

What a weird summer this was -- not just for us in Chicago, but all over the country. Our state climatologist recently posted the above map to illustrate how unusual the weather has been, with extremes in both directions. According to the climatologist, our country usually experiences one or the other -- higher than normal temps in some areas with average in the others, or cooler than normal temps in some areas with average in the others -- but not extreme heat in one area and unusual cold just a few states down.

Sundays are now open in the garden - mowing schedule change

As we move into fall, the farm schedule shifts in preparation for winter. Sundays will now be open for gardeners, and mowing will be moved to a weekday. I'll send out an email when I have the new mowing time.

Irrigation System closed down for the season

The irrigation system is being closed down for winter as I type. We try to shut down the system before we get frost -- and this year, that could happen a lot sooner than mid October, which is more typical.

No trash left behind

With the cooler (brrrr) weather, gardeners are starting to close down their plots after a wet and weird gardening season. This is fine -- in an email last week, I detailed how to handle this process. I left out, however, one detail:

NO TRASH IN WAGNER FARM BINS

Gardeners bring a lot of synthetic items to the WFCG, and all of them need to be removed. However, we don't have the capacity to handle everyone's tomato cages (which can be used over many seasons, actually). So here are the rules:

1. Nothing bigger than a breadbox may be put in any Wagner Farm trash bins. Nothing. No tomato cages, no large pieces of wood, nothing. Please take those items home with you and dispose of them there.
2. If you put something small in a Wagner Farm trash bin, make sure the bin will close. I know we all at home leave our bins out with the tops partially open, but I've been told that the garbage collector may not empty bins at Wagner Farm if they are over-stuffed.
3. If you have ALREADY put large items in the bin in the garden, please remove them ASAP and dispose of it at home. The bin in the garden has several tomato cages and other large items in it. These need to be removed and disposed of at home.

Thank you!

Help an Eagle Scout with his garden project

I'd like to introduce everyone to Maxwell McWilliams, whose family gardens plot NE12. Maxwell is a local 8th grader and Boy Scout who has chosen the Wagner Farm Community Garden as the beneficiary for his Eagle Scout project.

Maxwell's project has two components:

1. First, Maxwell is going to improve drainage at the six spigots by creating drainage wells with rocks and sand. By improving the drainage under the spigots, Maxwell will be helping to return water to the aquaphor and reducing muddy conditions.
2. Second, Maxwell is going to plant native perennials along the fence next to the spigots. These plants will help with the drainage issue while attracing pollinators to the garden.

Maxwell is currently raising the money needed for this worthwile project. If you'd like to know more or donate, click here to see his gofundme page. Donating is optional, of course, but it's all to help the Wagner Farm Community Garden!

Thanks, Maxwell!

MOWING CHANGE and other news

Everyone,

MOWING: The time for Sunday mowing is changing to 10:15-11:30. Please stay out of the garden during that time. 

WEATHER: Wow, that was some storm last night. Hope you are all enjoying electricity! The garden is pretty wet today, but you may want to check on tomatoes or other vertically-growing veg to ensure their safety.

GREEK FEST: Greek Fest is this weekend each day from 1pm-10pm. Check out more info here: http://ssppglenview.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/2014-Greekfest-flyer.png.

MUM SALES: Celebrate autumn at the farm!  Fall mum sales begin Saturday, September 5. Hours of operation for fall sales are Mon-Fri 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sat-Sun 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Plan to shop early for the best selection! Choose from a lovely array of colors to add some outdoor beauty to your home. Pumpkins, gourds, corn stalks, Indian corn and straw bales will be available starting September 20th. All proceeds benefit Wagner Farm programs and operations.

END OF SEASON: Folks, I have no way of explaining this weird growing season! From our late start to 8" of rain in June to barely a summer, it's been... unpredictable. Our state climatologist is even predicting our first frost may happen in the next two weeks! I try to keep you all in the garden past the first frost, which is usually mid to late October. I will be keeping you updated about our closing date!

CLOSING UP YOUR PLOT: Folks, if you'd like to close out your plot before the actual closing day, you need to do the following:

1. Let me know.

2. Remove ALL NON-ORGANIC MATERIALS, including plant ties, plant labels, plastic, styrofoam, metal, string (even if organic), garden staples, popsicle sticks, and anything else you brought into your plot that isn't soil, plants, mulch, newspaper/landscape paper, or compost.

3. Pull up all plants and pile them along the center of your plot -- ONLY AFTER you have finished step #2. 

4. DO NOT PUT PLANTS IN COMPOST BINS, which are already full. 

5. Let me know when you are finished, so I can check over your plot.

Note: I may be putting the remaining plants from closed plots in a different compost area, leaving those plots looking bare. THIS IS NOT HOW YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO CLOSE YOUR PLOT. Again, don't put plants in compost bins, leave neatly on your plot.

Thanks!