Summer in the Gathering Garden
A big, big thanks to all of the families who helped water the Sacajawea Gathering Garden during Summer Break this year! Sacajawea's students will return to an interesting, lively outdoor space with so many learning opportunities.
There's a lot of garden to water! And your support kept things growing!
Thank you SO much for your time and care!
Getting Ready to Water?
From the composting bench on the East/school side of the garden (Padlock code: 3768), you'll need to get out these items:
Irrigation coupler
Watering wand
Screwdriver (helpful for prying off the irrigation cover).
Irrigation coupler (with spigot) & screwdriver!
Watering wand
In-ground irrigation cover in the grass behind the East/school side composting bench
Connecting to the in-ground water hook-up:
Make sure that the spigot is turned off.
Remove the round green irrigation cover and flip up the yellow cover on the irrigation valve.
Seat the irrigation coupler and rotate it a 360-degree + turn clockwise. Hook up the hose, turn on the spigot and you should be ready to water!
20240511_113136.mp4Detaching from the water hook-up:
Leave the watering wand on & running, and turn off the spigot (this reduces the water pressure in the line and makes it less likely you'll get sprayed when taking everything apart!).
Detach the hose from the spigot.
Using its handle, turn the irrigation coupler a full turn counterclockwise and pull it out when the coupler is loose.
Put the pieces away inside the padlocked garden bench.
Replace the green irrigation cover.
20240511_113110.mp4GENERAL TIPS:
Expect to spend about 45 minutes at the garden. Always check the soil moisture as you go, sticking a finger into the soil a couple of inches deep. Make sure that the water has gone beyond the top surface of the soil.
Watering at the soil surface (avoiding watering the leaves), when possible, is best. It can reduce plant leaves getting burned by the intense Summer sun.
Depending on the day, the hose sprayer is a bit leaky. While you water, expect to get refreshingly... wet.
There is NO public bathroom access at school. While there is a Port-a-Potty on-site, it's padlocked. You'll want to plan accordingly.
The bench padlock is set to our PTA's number, 3768. When you're done, the irrigation coupler and watering wand should be returned to the bench for safe-keeping.
In addition to watering the garden, please feel free to pick any food that your family will eat. If you're interested (and you find any), you can pull the weeds too!
If you take any pictures in the garden and are willing to share them, please email them to secretary@sacpta.com. We'd love to feature them on the PTA website/social media.
If you notice that there's a supply needed (or missing!) while you're at the garden, you can email us at admin@sacpta.com (example: Help! The tomatoes really need a cage for support!)
Garden Calendar
Your time slot scheduled HERE will be visible on the calendar below. To change the date you plan to come, use your original confirmation email and its Reschedule link.