The idea of a GrandFriends Garden Tea was influenced and recreated from past GrandParents Teas that the school ran decades ago to strengthen community.

Since 2014 GrandFriends Garden Teas have been run during one week of garden classes during the hour of normally scheduled garden classes. Planning begins at the start of the school year by selecting late spring date that doesn't conflict with testing or test prep. The school has crates of tea cups and saucers that help to make the event special.

See the Master Planning Document for planning timeline and steps

View the GrandFriends Garden Tea Planning Folder that includes

• invite templates

• Activity templates

• State of the Garden templates

Photo Albums 2015 2016 2017

Some of the most important elements of running workdays it clear communication of the tasks at hand and keeping a good list of projects to keep volunteers engage. See many more tips and ideas for running successful school garden workdays. https://lifelab.org/garden-workdays/

Hosting garden workdays is a great way to bulid community and help out the garden. Workdays are most often hosted on weekends, but from time to time we have hosted workdays during the school week with special invites/scheduling of class visits throughout the day.

A few times we have tracked our school community volunteer hours as a means to solicit donated Disneyland Tickets that are used for our school auction/fundraiser. Disney equates a certain number of community hours to the number of tickets they will donate to our school. Inquire with Parents Club to see if they are seeking Disney tickets and if tracking volunteer hours is needed.

We have also called upon the services of the California Conservation Corps (CCC). These service members are based in Watsonville and their members often need a certain number of volunteer hours. They come on the weekend with steeltoed boots, hand tools, and strong backs! During the summer / fall they are often tied up fighting fires so think about working with them in winter/spring. Call their office (831) 768-0150 to inquire about scheduling.

FoodWhat Youth program based in Santa Cruz has also been called upon to help on volunteer workdays.

We have often called upon Whale City Bakery to provide coffee, pastries or lunch for volunteer crews.

View past Pacific School workday documents to inform you of future workday resources

Learn about seed saving and making seed envelopes here:

https://lifelab.org/seed-saving/

Popcorn with a raffia tied or corn husk tied plant lable

Collect Garden Seeds

Make Boquets

Lawn Irrigation Piping and Valves Photos

Green House Irrigation Piping Photos

2018 Sign Up For Summer Garden Care - Eat Plums, Pick Peas, Cut Flowers and Care for the Garden and New School Landscape!

The Best Fertilizer is the Gardener's Shadow.

Sign Up Here

​Directions and a Care Video

will be emailed to you.

Summer Care Takers

Summary of What You Can Do to Help

• Cut bouquets and remove dead flowers (deadheading)

• Weed out Borage plants (plenty more will come back)

• Harvest fruit and veg (map coming)

• Water plants with blue flags by hand

• Extra credit weed outside of front gate (leave flowers to set seed)

• Sweep up steps and rake back gravel from stairs

Tips for a great visit:

1. Pack a picnic and stay for a while.

2. Bring vases, jars, buckets, foil, or rubber bands to take flowers home.

3. Bring bags or baskets to more easily harvest food.

   1. If harvesting lettuce consider just removing the larger outside leaves and leaving the plant there for future harvests

   2. don't forget to harvest zuchinni

Summer Care Takers

Summary of What You Can Do to Help

• Cut bouquets and remove dead flowers (deadheading)

• Weed out Borage plants (plenty more will come back)

• Harvest fruit and veg as shown on garden map and key

• Water plants with blue flags by hand

• Extra credit weed outside of front gate (leave flowers to set seed)

• Sweep up steps and rake back gravel from stairs

Tips for a great visit:

1. Pack a picnic and stay for a while.

2. Bring vases, jars, buckets, foil, or rubber bands to easier take flowers home.

3. Bring bags or baskets to more easily harvest food.

   1. If you dig potatoes (in bed 11 only) take note of the irrigation line and dig gently around it, better yet just the the three lines out of the way and then replace when done digging.

   2. If harvesting lettuce consider just removing the larger outside leaves and leaving the plant there for future harvests

   3. don't forget to harvest zuchinni

View Map and Video Below

Sign Up For Summer Garden Care - Eat Plums, Dig Potatoes, Cut Flowers and Care for the Garden and New School Landscape!

The Best Fertilizer is the Gardener's Shadow.

Sign Up Here Directions and a Care Video

will be emailed to you.

2016 Summer Garden Care Instructions

Sign up to help and/or see when you or others have signed up to help on this form

Prepare yourself and kids to help

1. Read the following notes

2. Watch the Summer Care Video before you visit for more details. Also check out these extra credit tasks! Potting Plants and Clearing for Flower Bed

3. Learn how to record the weather in our weather station

The shed is the only area in the garden that is locked. I have sent you the combo. Please lock when you are done.

All our beds are numbered on the end of the bed and you can find a map on this page.

Fun Easy Family Friendly Tasks

Find details on this list in the summer care video below. This list will be updated throughout the summer.

• Deadhead flowers (remove spent flowers) and cut bouquets for your self

• Harvest lemon verbena, chamomile, and lemon balm.

• Weed the vegetable beds

• Pick up and compost fallen plum fruits (gorge yourself on plums)

• Water plants that have a blue flags

• Bring kitchen scraps to feed our worms

Extra Credit Tasks!

• Pulling Kukuya Grass from our fence lines. See details in video

• Taking the Kukuya Grass and other weed barrels and dumping them in the school's green waste bins near front of school

• Taking the Garbage and Recycling from inside the shed and in the covered lath house and dumping them in the school's bins near front of school

• Building Trelises for cucumbers in bed 10, for tomatoes in beds 2-6 and bed 9