September 2014 Meeting: Report on Soldiers Park Gardens

The September Garden Club meeting was held at Stonefield Apartments in Dodgeville.

Program Chair Ryan Fox discusses
possible upcoming programs and trips

Plans for upcoming programs and visits were discussed, and Jenny McNeil shared photos of the improvements that were made to the garden and stream area at Soldiers Park in Mineral Point with grant funds from the Garden Club.

Treasurer Jennifer Sharp reports on club finances

Many thanks to Jenny for her hard work at Soldiers Park. The garden bed is a delight and a new bench provides a place to sit and relax beside the stream. Do stop by and enjoy!

August 2014 Meeting: Tour of Folklore Village Gardens

Folklore Village Farwell Hall entrance

The August Garden Club meeting was held at Folklore Village which is located in a lovely country setting six miles east of Dodgeville.

Folklore Village program director Meghan Dudle explained the many programs offered at Folklore Village and gave us a tour of the gardens and grounds.

Afterwards, the club enjoyed a potluck picnic on the grounds outside Farwell Hall.




Folklore Village offers an ongoing program of cultural, educational and participatory folklife activities, including dances, concerts, family events, cultural events, and exhibits. In the late 1960's Jane Farwell created Folklore Village, "the culmination of her ideas about festivals, folklore, dance, recreation, community, and the land." Jane also created the original gardens and an apple orchard which still exists. More recent additions include an extensive restored prairie with trails through it.

Program Director Meghan Dudle explains the many
programs offered at Folklore Village.

One of several large garden beds at Folklore Village

Jude's pie didn't last long!

Plox in bloom with one of the Folklore buildings in back

July 2014 Meeting: Tour of Oak Savanna and School Garden

For the Uplands July meeting, the club toured the Don Hawkins Community Oak Savanna in Mineral Point where we got a chance to chat with Don. We then visited the Mineral Point Elementary School Garden next door where we were wowed by the vegetable gardens created by Ryan Fox and the staff and students (and where we also got to do a bit of harvesting and sampling).

The Don Hawkins Community Oak Savanna

This past fall, 3rd graders from the Mineral Point Elementary School harvested and threshed seeds from the Oak Savanna with Don Hawkins and Don Hay. In winter, they bundled up and planted the seeds on top of the snow. When the snow melted, the seeds went into the ground and sprouted in spring.

At the end of February, the 3rd graders went to the high school to work with Mr. Robinson's students to plant seeds which were then transplanted into the Oak Savanna in May. This has been a great community/all school project that has been a part of the curriculum for years. It is a work in progress and someday will be spectacular.

Our thanks to all who are connected to the project!

Visit the Friends of the Oak Savanna Facebook page. 

Mineral Point Elementary School Garden

Uplands Garden Club members Ryan Fox and John Sharp and the grade schoolers have to be commended for the beautifully terraced, elevated planters full of vegetables! The peas were blooming and ready to harvest and we’ve never seen radishes that big! For anyone who has never seen soybeans up close, they are a sight to see too, especially when they bloom---in August.

The garden is located behind the Mineral Point Elementary School, off of Cothern Street.

Visit the School Garden on Facebook.

June 2014 Meeting: Tour of Orchard Lawn Gardens and Gundry House

Orchard Lawn gardens

Our June meeting was held at Orchard Lawn, a historic site maintained by the Mineral Point Historical Society. It features the restored Gundry House mansion and 9 acres of carefully manicured gardens and grounds.



We toured the lovely horseshoe-shaped gardens that ring the lawn in front of the Gundry House. The baptisia were especially impressive as was the fringe tree that was in full bloom.

The gardens were tidy as could be thanks to the volunteer efforts of Garden Club member Jenny McNeil. Kudos to Jenny!

Roger beside the Fringe Tree

Berty explains the history of the Gundry House

Afterwards, garden club member Berty Miller, who is also a volunteer docent at Orchard Lawn, gave us a tour of the Gundry House. Berty pointed out many historical details in the house and talked about the extensive research that has gone into the ongoing restoration of this historic mansion.

Thank you to Berty for an enjoyable and informative tour!

May 2014 Meeting: Spring Cleanup at Centennial Park

A nice edge sure makes the beds look their best

Uplands Garden Club maintains the garden beds at Centennial Park in Dodgeville. 

This May we devoted our monthly meeting to a spring cleanup at Centennials Park, followed by a potluck picnic. The club furnished brats (the guys did the grilling) and everyone brought a dish to share. 

Regular work days at Centennial Park will be the third Wednesday of each month for the duration of the season.

First we worked...

Is it garlic mustard?

Weeding, weeding, weeding

Getting all those pesky maple tree seedlings

Then we ate...

Those strawberries look yummy

A very tasty pizza 

April 2014 Meeting: Biological Farming

Gary Zimmer of Midwestern BioAg in Blue Mounds presented a talk on Biological Farming at our April meeting.

We were very fortunate to have Gary as a speaker. He is an internationally known author, speaker and consultant in biological farming, and one of the founding partners of Midwestern BioAg (MBA) which helps farmers become more productive and profitable through the use of biological farming. Gary is also the author of two books, The Biological Farmer and Advancing Biological Farming, as well as numerous articles on soils and livestock nutrition, and has addressed audiences around the globe.

Raised on a dairy farm in northeastern Wisconsin, Gary's original training was in dairy nutrition, earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and a master’s degree from the University of Hawaii. Gary "actually likes cows" and has a herd of 350 dairy cattle on his 1000 acre farm.

Gary emphasized soil heath, which he defined as "the capacity of the soil to function without intervention", and told us that with healthy soil, plants have the capacity to resist pests and disease without the use of chemicals. Slightly different than organic farming which focuses on what you DON'T do (use chemicals), biological farming concentrates on building up the soil. As Gary pointed out, just because you don't use chemicals doesn't necessarily mean you have healthy soil. 

Although Gary's work since the late 1980's has been helping farmers, his biological farming methods and advice on soil health are equally applicable to home gardeners and made us all aware of the importance of good soil whether we are growing veggies or perennials. 

So do get that soil test and get busy adding the necessary minerals and nutrients to your soil!

Mar 2014 Meeting: Pruning and Care of Fruit Trees

Mike Monague of Tippy Top Organic Orchard
demonstrates pruning techniques

Even the most experienced among us can sometimes be a bit unsure of ourselves when it comes to pruning, right?

So we were all ears to hear about proper pruning of fruit trees from Mike Monague of Tippy Top Organic Orchard outside of Dodgeville (near Clyde).

Over the last 22 years, Mike has planted and nurtured each one of his 400 pear and apple trees, which include numerous varieties you won't typically find at your local grocer, such as D'Anjou and Asian pears and the Mutsu apple.

Mike shared many pointers on pruning objectives and techniques (maintaining a leader, balancing the tree, opening up the center), demonstrating where to make the right cuts on branches he had brought in. He stressed the importance of thinning excess fruit to keep the branches from getting too heavy and to enable the remaining fruit to thrive.

He also talked about care of new seedlings, the type of fertilizer he uses and the type of organic foliar spray he uses, and generously answered many questions from club members.

Thanks to Mike for his lively and helpful presentation.