A big question in school gardens is:  what happens in the summer?  Who takes care of the garden?  What happens to the produce?

At our school, I begin recruiting families in May to adopt the garden for one week each over the summer.  The main job is watering.  If they have spare time, we wouldn’t complain if they pulled a few weeds.  I write up “summer watering notes” and mail them to each family, also posting a copy on our bulletin board.  Families are welcome to harvest anything they’d like during their week.  I think it builds owernship to come on campus during the summer and do the important work of keeping the garden thriving.  Through their work, families provide an important service and get a more intimate look at our program, hopefully building every broader support for coming years.

Here’s the Lay family, last week’s volunteer family.