SUMMER GARDENS i
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Summer Gardens
HOW TO MAINTAIN A SCHOOL GARDEN IN THE SUMMER In many areas of the country, much of the growing season occurs outside of the regular school session. Maintaining a school food garden during the summer is a common challenge for many school garden programs. Here are some tips to help you keep your garden thriving over the summer months, ready for more learning and fun when kids return to the classroom in late summer.
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Summer Gardens
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ENLIST VOLUNTEERS
Recruit summer volunteers to care for and harvest from the garden. In addition to students, parents, and teachers, approach community members and service organizations like Scouts, 4-H, or church youth groups about donating time to care for the garden. Some volunteers may be willing to adopt a bed for the whole summer; others will be interested in helping on a more limited basis. If possible, have one volunteer serve as overall garden coordinator for the summer. Create and distribute a written schedule so that someone is checking on the garden on a regular basis. Email or phone call reminders will likely be needed. Also, make sure to provide adequate instructions and guidance if the volunteers are not familiar with the garden procedures.
You might hold a work day one Saturday per month to knock down weeds and or complete other tasks such as making mid to late summer plantings for fall harvest. Reward volunteers by letting them harvest and take home any ripe produce on the day of their service. You might also consider organizing volunteers to donate garden produce to a local food pantry or other community organization. Be sure to check with the organization first to make sure it is able to handle donations of fresh produce. 2
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USE MULCH
A layer of organic mulch reduces weed growth and maintains soil moisture, while adding organic matter to the soil as it breaks down with time. In vegetable beds use inexpensive organic mulch such as sheets of newspaper topped with straw. If you also have flower gardens on your school grounds, use a 2- to 3-inch deep layer of more durable organic mulch, such as shredded bark in these beds.
TAP INTO SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAMS
If your school runs a summer session or hosts a summer camp program on school grounds, get in touch with teachers or summer camp counselors to see if they are interested in taking advantage of your outdoor garden classroom during the summer months in exchange for upkeep. Or you might consider pairing up with a nearby local organization that runs a summer youth program, such as a library, parks and recreation department, or day camp for periodic summer garden care and learning.
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Summer Gardens
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HARVEST IN THE SPRING
Another approach is to focus on crops that can be planted and reach harvestable size by late spring while school is still in session. The warmer your climate and the earlier your spring frost date, the easier this option will be. Cool season crops that mature quickly, like spinach, lettuce, beets, and radishes are all good choices for spring and early summer harvest in many parts of the country. Once your plants have been harvested, cover the bare soil with a thick layer of mulch to discourage weeds and prevent soil erosion. The mulch will gradually break down over the summer and winter, adding organic matter to enrich the soil for the following year’s crops.
PLANT IN LATE SUMMER FOR FALL HARVEST
It’s also possible in many parts of the country to plant fast-maturing crops in late summer, as soon as students arrive back for the start of a new school year, for harvest in the fall. Or summer volunteers can start crops that need more growing time in mid to late summer; then returning students can take over the care and harvesting. The longer the growing season in your area and the later your fall frost date, the more options you’ll have in terms of suitable crops. You can also extend your fall growing season with cold frames, row covers, or hoop houses to protect crops from the cold.
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Summer Gardens
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BUILD SOIL DURING THE SUMMER
If you are not growing plants in your garden over the summer, plant a summer cover crop to suppress weeds and add organic matter to your soil. Fast growing buckwheat is a good summer cover crop in most areas and is great for keeping weeds down. Cut the plants down about a week after they begin flowering so they don’t set seeds. On a small scale, plants can be cut down with hedge shears. Cut the shoots down in layers from top to bottom so they are chopped into relatively small pieces as they’re cut. You can then leave the chopped shoots on top of the soil as mulch. If you plan to plant vegetables for fall harvest, just pull the chopped shoots aside and dig holes for transplants. To prepare a seedbed for planting, turn the chopped shoots into the soil with a shovel; then let them decompose for a few weeks before planting seeds. Check with your local Extension Service to for more information on other summer cover crops that are well suited to your area.
INSTALL IRRIGATION
Drip irrigation equipment is available at most home improvement stores for a reasonable price, and you can set it up to run on inexpensive timers. It might be worth your while to search for someone to donate an automatic irrigation system.
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Summer Gardens
DEVELOP YOUR SUMMER MAINTENANCE PLAN FOR SCHOOL GARDENS
School gardens are a popular tool used by many schools to promote healthful eating, teach nutrition lessons, and promote physical fitness by getting kids outside and active. Summer can be a challenging time for some schools that have school gardens. With schools closed for the summer, the question remains: who will maintain the garden? Who will harvest the vegetables? Without the watchful eyes of parents, students, and school staff on a daily basis, will vandalism occur?
These are all important considerations. With careful planning before school lets out, many of these questions can be addressed.
A critical first step to ensure your school garden is maintained and remains healthy and vibrant for when students return in the fall is to develop a partnership with students, families, and community members. A shared effort will ensure ownership and longevity of the program. Second, developing a summer maintenance plan will help ensure the success of your project, help deter vandalism, and provide opportunities for teaching about foods, nutrition and healthy eating.
Typical summer tasks include: –– Watering, pruning, weeding, planting –– Plant and wildlife monitoring –– Mowing around garden area –– Making repairs, repaint, or stain supplementary structures as needed such as benches, garden signage, etc. –– Conducting safety inspections of site and equipment –– If appropriate, maintaining greenhouse or supply area –– Maintaining and taking inventory of tools and equipment –– Coordinating projects/events in garden area
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Summer Gardens
STEPS FOR SUMMER GARDENS:
1. Coordinate a volunteer work party before the end of the year to assign volunteers for the summer schedule 2. Designate a “Head Gardener� or two to led/co-lead summer garden maintenance
3. At least two people on the garden team should coordinate the plan but one should be the lead
4. If your site is very large, consider dividing it up and assigning smaller sections so maintenance is not overwhelming
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5. Design a detailed schedule of duties and assignments that list what tasks need to be done, when, and by whom. Everyone involved should get a copy
6. Make and distribute a contact list
7. Recruit alternates for each week and include contact information in case of schedule changes 8. Solicit help from teachers, students, maintenance staff, and volunteers
9. Include the head of maintenance staff in the planning meetings. Develop a list of people that can be used as consultants for garden questions (Extension Master Gardeners, local nursery, local experts, etc.)
10. Hold work days, natures nights, or special events that are fun functions for students and families 11. Keep a camera handy to take pictures to document changes in the garden, the harvest, or vandalism that needs to be reported 12. Report trouble spots, disease, or damage (contact Master Gardener to review) 13. Keep hose, garden tools, and other equipment in a safe place
14. Create a map of the site with plantings identified or have pictures of plants
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Summer Gardens OTHER CONSIDERATIONS FOR SUMMER MAINTENANCE:
Assign Families One Week to Maintain the Garden Site. Several schools have implemented successful summer maintenance schedules by assigning families and students one week during the summer to maintain the garden. Phone calls, letters home to parents asking for their support, and sign-up at your next parent/teacher meetings are good ways to let families know how they can help.
Assure all participating family members have completed the necessary background checks or security clearance. Most families working in the garden may not necessarily working with children other than their own children. Therefore criminal background checks may not be necessary. However it is important that each of the families have completed any necessary volunteer sign up procedures that specific schools require such as volunteer online applications. Be sure the principal of the school has seen and approved of the list of volunteers and the list is posted in a place where maintenance and other key school personnel have access to the list. Arrange to Get the Water Key for Outside Hose Faucets. Remember that access to the building will be limited during the summer months. Arrange with your school principal and custodian to get keys for turning on the water when the school has closed for the summer.. Most principals and custodians are usually on-site several weeks after school closes so having access to the outside water faucets during the final weeks of summer is critical.
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Summer Gardens
Set up a Locked Storage Area or Tool Box with a Combination Lock. Tools, hoses, and the water key can be stored in this area. A log sheet can be developed for families to record when they watered and weeded so the next family will know what happened in the previous week. It is also helpful to have emergency contacts such as a key volunteer or an Extension Master Gardener who can be contacted if there is a problem with the plants, safety issues, equipment break down, vandalism, etc. Provide a Reference Notebook of Plants and Weeds in the Garden. Pictures, sketches, and/or descriptions of the plants which have been planted and their requirements for water, sun, and soil can also be collected and put in a notebook as a reference for the families who are maintaining the garden in the summer. Be sure to include pictures and sketches of weeds as well. This will help ensure that families will know which plants should be pulled.
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Maintain a Journal or Notebook in the Main Office for Keeping Grounds Staff Appraised of Your Project. In order for grounds keepers to be aware of the school garden projects, it is a good idea to keep a notebook in the school office. In many schools, groundskeepers are not responsible for maintaining our school gardens; they still need to be made aware of how the garden is maintained, who maintains the garden, and when the garden is maintained. The notebook should include the following: map of the site, information on plants, a watering scheduled that is followed, spray and pesticide restraints, list of key volunteers, and an “ongoing” journal of your work and scheduled work.
Encourage and Support Student Teams to Volunteer. This is an excellent project for a team of students in your school to help maintain the garden under the supervision of a screened volunteer or teacher. Many youth need to complete service hours for school, are looking for Eagle Scout projects or independent study options. Check in with the school counselors for high school and middle school if they have any youth who might be looking for these types of opportunities. Keep the Neighbors Informed. Don’t forget to keep the neighbors informed of the happenings at the garden site. They can help keep a watchful on your garden during those summer days when there are few people around. A letter or flyer from your students describing their project and how the neighbors can help is a great way to get the neighbors on board. Include directions and contact information for who/when to call if there is a problem.
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Summer Gardens
Remember, this is not the project of a single volunteer or an individual teacher. It takes many people to sustain a successful schoolyard project. By involving the school community and the community at large, the long term success and sustainability of a project will improve significantly. When youth, families and community members come together everyone wins Instead of returning to school in the fall where students are faced with the prospect of finding a bare garden full of weeds, students instead return to a beautiful and well maintained garden flush with vegetables and other edible foods ready for a fall harvest.
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RESOURCES
1. https://kidsgardening.org/gardening-basics-maintaining-aschool-garden-in-summer/ 2. http://www.csgn.org/sites/default/files/GFL_8.pdf
3. http://articles.extension.org/pages/71003/develop-yoursummer-maintenance-plan-for-school-gardens 17
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