Home & Garden Santa Cruz 2024

Home & Garden

THE DROUGHT IS OVER

What does that mean for your garden?

BY JILLIAN STEINBERGER

SMILE, YOU'RE ON BIRD CAMERA

The latest bird feeders have video and audio so you can really watch your yard birds

BY BRAD KAVA

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editor’s note

Every day I look out at the yards in my neighborhood and I wonder why they aren’t all filled with food-bearing trees and crops. And worse, when I see people pouring gallons and gallons of water on their lawns, I wonder why they aren’t filled with drought-resistant plants, at least.

Well, part of the reason is we all don’t know how to grow. Someone has to teach us. That’s where this issue of Home and Garden comes into play.

Our writers chose their themes around growing your own, something that will help save the environment and the economy, as well as keeping our yards beautiful.

I’ve got a brown thumb and plants arrive at my house scowling like they are on their way to San Quentin.

“I am Groot,” they say, which translates to “I’m a goner.”

However our yard expert Jillian Steinberger promises me she can change things. If I follow her instructions, she says, my yard can be an oasis. So, she’s written two stories here to get us all on the way and she promises another later in the month for our Earth Day issue.

Writer Richard Stockton says growing weed is like growing weeds and anyone can do it.

Matthew Chipman found a garden-loving teacher who is educating high schoolers to farm, but not the corporate way. He teaches them sustainability and growing and sharing locally.

Thanks for reading and get ready to plant.

BRAD KAVA, EDITOR contents

SUSTAINABLE GARDENS

We can do so much to fight drought and grow beautifully P6

FOR THE BIRDS

Have you seen a bird feeder camera? P14

GROW YOUR OWN

This is one weed you may like P16

HIGH SCHOOL CROPS

Soquel High takes growing seriously P18

HOME AND GARDEN RESOURCES

Fix, improve and grow it yourself P20

staff

2701

BEE

No Drought

What does that mean for our gardens?

BY JILLIAN STEINBERGER

In 2021, we Californians would go on road trips, passing reservoirs that looked parched. Remember? Boat ramps were closed around the state. Strange things—rusty refrigerators, rusted vintage cars, and even old human (and dog!) bones emerged above the ‘bathtub rings’ revealed by the lower water levels. It was spooky. And we worried, texting pictures of the ravaged waterways to our friends.

But it just goes to show, life can change on a dime, and California’s waters ebb and flow through time. Now the waters are flowing, and we are recharging and refreshed. It’s a kind of grace, to have our gardens watered with the rains. California is officially no longer in a drought. And, this spring, there are mad super blooms in our deserts.

So, what does this mean for homeowners on the Central Coast?

After all these years learning how

to live with drought, can we now slough off the cultural changes we adopted in our landscapes, when we were worried about water, or at least worried about getting dinged on our water bills?

The answer is no. Even in wet years, water bills are expensive. And, mere mortals, the weather oracles at Accuweather cannot say with surety what’s in our future after 2025. Hopefully we’ll continue to enjoy the frequent winter rains that make our home a greener place to be. But, if I were you I’d hedge my bets.

Through much effort and communication programs, the State, local municipalities, water agencies, and numerous nonprofits

have helped us gain the skills to learn to live well, or well enough, with drought, particularly in the landscape. Which is important, because 30-70% of water use goes to the landscape, surprisingly. Many of us want lush gardens, regardless of the state of flow. And we’ve learned to create gardens that are lush and green indeed because we’ve learned to adapt to the parameters of this place. Sometimes this is a very, very dry place. We thought it would be like that forever, but things do change on a dime.

And honestly, this place is not so dry, even during a drought. Go to Imperial County down south. Or, go to Tucson. THAT is dry.

CAREFUL A honeybee forages for pollen or nectar from a native coast buckwheat flower, Erioganum latifolium, in Aptos. PHOTO: Jillian Steinberger

When you go to Calexico, California or Tucson, Arizona you see what drylands really are. In comparison, Coastal California is quite verdant.

CONTEMPORARY CALIFORNIA RESTORATION GARDEN

What this has done has not made us adapt our garden aesthetics and techniques to the weather; it’s made us adapt to what is sensible for California over all, across and through time. The ideal California garden today, according to the powers that be – such as the water agencies, municipalities, and nonprofits like Ecology Action, Rescapeca.org and Surfrider. org—has drought tolerant plants (generally Mediterranean plants and California natives), on drip irrigation, with a smart controller that automates ‘water events’ through ‘evapotranspiration.’ Australian and South African plants, many requiring minimal water, also have their fans. And mulch is ubiquitous. Playground bark, cedar chips, firbark nuggets, died black or red, nut shells, you name it. Maybe only in Northern California, not Southern California— but it should be.

ON MULCH

Because mulch protects the soil from wind damage, erosion and runoff. It retains moisture in the soil, and it protects plants’ roots from extremes of heat and cold. It deters weeds. It breaks down gradually and adds life to the soil-food web. Most plants perk up and perform better after being mulched—visible to most naked eyes, except the least tuned in. What is not to like about mulch? It's a freely available resource, that is waste or recycled—just call the tree guys and they’ll bring it on by— and it demonstrates, is very nearly the definition, of the Permaculture term, “stacking functions,” which means what it sounds like—getting multiple uses out of the same object or process.

WHAT NOW?

Should we now go back to our old ways? Should we allow our sprinklers to water the street, creating waterways in the gutter, worry free? Is it time to start planting tropical gardens? Maybe not. Of course, many of

REUSED Salvaged water meter covers are ‘upcycled’ for use as stepping stones in the author’s front yard garden on the Westside of Santa Cruz. PHOTO: Jillian Steinberger

us still love our roses, and we never stopped, although they are higher water plants. And we’re not just talking Rosa californica, our native rose—we’re talking floribunda and hybrid tea, what you give in a bouquet to kids at prom, to couples when they marry. How could you not, roses are so beautiful, it breaks your heart. And lawn, the nearly criminal element, has been out of fashion. But suddenly it seems like homeowners are feeling ok about putting lawns in again— hopefully with native California grasses, which make lush and beautiful now-mow lawns or natural meadows. No doubt, some of us will be tempted to revert.

SLOW IT, SPREAD IT, SINK IT

Another factor is that today the State and municipalities have made a complete turnaround. It used to be illegal in some places to keep rainwater onsite. It was seen as theft of a public resource. They no longer recommend that we send rainwater out to storm drains to flow down to the ocean, washing down car oil, garbage, pet waste, and other icky stuff down with it, which makes surfers and sea mammals sick with bacterial infections. Codes have changed and now rain is meant to stay OUT of the storm drains. Some municipalities

are requiring homeowners to redirect downspout water to their own landscape instead of the curb, in order to get new building permits. I know a family in Rio del Mar that was recently required to redirect all their downspouts in order to meet permit requirements.

(There is a great reference for homeowners that is worth a read. It is a slim but famous book put out by the Santa Cruz Resource Conservation District, called Slow it. Spread it. Sink it! A Homeowner’s Guide to Greening Stormwater Runoff, Practical Ways to Protect Your Property and the Environment from the Effects of Stormwater Runoff which is available online at rcdsantacruz.org.)

CHOICES

Homeowners are all over the map with how they want their gardens to look. Cottage, MCM, Zen, modern, kitchen, meadow, urban farm, and so on. Whichever garden we want to have, we can most likely make it sustainable, if we follow a few best practices, listed below. These are all great ways to go in the garden, whether driven by aesthetic, practical or lifestyle motivations. But consider that gorgeous restorative landscape that looks beautiful because it showcases what’s beautiful about California itself. Here, the constructed landscape

is in harmony with climate and terrain. Here are some of the tactics that create this kind of garden, which is organic to our conditions. This type of garden—whatever style it is—might be called Monterey Bay Friendly Gardens, or OceanFriendly gardens. This is where our aesthetic ideals mesh with the best practices of this place, the Central Coast, resulting in a gorgeous, wellwatered garden with plenty of visual interest that is fun to be in.

WATERWISE LANDSCAPE PRACTICES

Plant drought tolerant plants, especially California natives which have evolved to be here, along with the pollinators who depend on them.

(See below for a list of some tried and true native plants.) Install a drip irrigation system, and maintain it. Drip irrigation gives you maximum control over where water goes in your landscape. Like, you can deliver it directly to plants’ roots, with no overspray on the sidewalk. It also allows you to water plants with like needs, which is called hydrazones. For example, a fruit tree wants to be watered deeply once a week, or so. On the other hand, a lettuce plant may die if it goes too long without water, but it only needs a sip. So, it’s better to plant the fruit trees together, separately from the lettuces. And the big shrubs separate from the wildflowers. Make sense?

Switch out sprinkler heads for lowflow MP Rotators. Sprinklers waste water, but if you are going to use them, make the switch.

Get a smart controller, which controls water through evapotranspiration. A well-programmed smart controller will be neither underwater nor overwater. They have been proven to reduce landscape water use. When you travel, you don’t need to worry about your controller. But if you want to worry, you can do an extra water run on your roses, say, from a good WIFI café in Mongolia, or Paris, if your neighbor texts you that they are wilting. But hopefully, the controller will make those adjustments on their own. For example, the Hunter Hydrawise line of smart controllers receive weather data through home WIFI, and have a phone and computer app.

Mulch your garden, at least 4” deep. See above.

Try rainwater harvesting. The rule of thumb is that in a 1” rain storm you can catch about 600 gallons of rainwater off of 1,000 square feet of roof. That’s a lot of water. There are numerous shapes and sizes to fit your landscape. Some units even fit flush against the house in a sideyard, leaving plenty of room to walk by.

Try greywater. Greywater is the answer, ultimately. If we really want to use our pure mountain water that flows from the Sierras wisely, then we will use it twice. With greywater, we send water from the laundry out to the landscape. We can also send tub, shower and sink

DRIP, DRIP Drip irrigation lines are laid on a newly planted native meadow, before putting down mulch for weed control and to finish the look. PHOTO: Jillian Steinberger

water out to the landscape.

It’s great for shrubs, fruit trees and roses. (But it should never be put on acid loving plants like rhododendrons and azaleas.) It’s really not gross.

Put in a rain garden, or a rocklined swale, or a dry creek bed, and pipe your downspouts into it. These landscape features look natural and can be beautiful. They are also called infiltration basins. They drain water into the soil, replenishing it and storing it. Piping downspouts into it directs water away from the house, helping to keep it dry, and prevent muddiness and puddles.

TOP LEVEL LIST OF NATIVE PLANTS – DO TRY THESE AT HOME

These native plants are tried, true and beautiful. Find them at your local nursery.

TREES/SHRUBS

Ceanothus arborius ‘Ray Hartman’— Ceanothus grows beautifully here. You see its true blue and purple or lilac flowers wherever you go in spring, and it is evergreen. ‘Ray Hartman’ is a large ceanothus

variety that grows to 20’ to 25’ high with true blue flowers. If you get it in ‘tree form,’ it will become a wonderful front or backyard tree with a broad canopy, covered in blue blooms. A sight to behold, and a very dependable, easy plant to grow here.

Toyon, Heteromeles arbutifolia— Also known as ‘Christmas Berry’, toyon has bright red berries during the winter holidays and beyond. It provides a natural holiday decoration if planted in a hedge or by the front door. Go hiking and you’re sure to see one on the path. It provides forage for birds in winter.

Blue Elderberry, Sambucas Mexicana—This is the plant whose berries are so popular in teas and syrups during cold and flu season. It is a natural immune booster. A beautiful vase-shaped shrub, it can grow to 30’, but generally in home gardens it is smaller and can be pruned down. The lacey white flowers are used to make cordials!

PERENNIALS

Sticky Monkeyflower, Mimulus spp. or Diplacus spp.—The world of monkeyflowers is wide and diverse. They come in many splendid colors,

flowers, against silver or gray foliage, Cleveland Sage also has an irresistible musky scent which makes for great smudge sticks and can be put in drawers. A favorite of bees.

WILDFLOWER

Douglas Iris, Iris douglasii—Yes, we have our own iris. And it’s fancy and evergreen, with a spreading habit. It looks like a grass all year, so it provides greenery even when not in bloom. Plant several of these beauties around the garden, and your native garden will soon become a fine garden.

Clarkia species—You may know clarkia as godetia or farewell-tospring. There are many species, and almost all are California natives. Members of this family have different growth habits, and flower colors commonly vary from white to light pink, hot pink, salmon and red. They can take full sun along the coast. Many will flower from spring through frost in bright shade. They freely self-seed but are never a pest! It’s perhaps the most reliable, carefree native wildflower we can grow here. Save the seeds!

GROUND COVER

and grow all around the State, in many different biotas. Most commonly in these parts we see the bright orange variety on the sides of mountains, but they grow very well in the garden, with a long bloom season from spring to late summer. I like the white variety, Mimulus bifidus, in shady places—white brightens up dark spaces. Mimulus puniceus, or red bush monkeyflower, is a fiery red focal point.

Rosey Buckwheat, Erioganum grand v. rubescens—This buckwheat is only one of many species that are adored as landscape plants, but it’s a really good one. In particular, it proves that creating colorful gardens using native plants is not a stretch. The round bright red-pink flowers are butterfly magnets.

White Sage, Salvia apiana—Make your own smudge sticks, and help stop the exploitive overharvesting of wild white sage. It’s a beautiful, peaceful, good vibe plant for the garden, which hummingbirds love. You can also put it in your drawers to chase bugs away. Every family should have one.

Cleveland Sage, Salvia clevelandii— Known for its beautiful blue or purple

Yerba Buena, Clinopodium douglasii— A native mint that is good for tea, it is a very low growing understory groundcover for dry shade, part shade, and riparian situations. You can also try growing it in a pot, or cascading over a wall.

LOCAL REBATE PROGRAMS

Some water agencies offer rebates for landscape upgrades. Check your water agency’s website to learn the rules and get applications.

City of Santa Cruz—Nada. Sad. City of Watsonville—Lawn conversion ($1 square foot), also free home water use consultations.

San Lorenzo Valley Water District— Rebates for greywater and smart controllers. Nice.

Scotts Valley Water District— Rebates for lawn replacement ($2 per square foot!), drip irrigation, smart controllers, and rainwater harvesting. Very nice.

Soquel Water District—Rebates for lawn replacement ($2 per square foot!) drip irrigation, smart controllers, greywater, rainwater harvesting, rain sensors, rainwater downspout redirect. Wow.

BLUE BLUE Ceanothus ‘Concha’, native to the central coast, softens a wall in Rio del Mar. PHOTO: Jillian Steinberger

Smile!

TWEET, CHIRP BEEP Do these winged wonders know they are being filmed? I swear they do. PHOTO: Brad Kava

You’re on bird camera

BY BRAD KAVA

Idon’t need an alarm clock in the mornings because the birds beep me. No, I don’t mean chirp, tweet or caw. They beep me. On my phone.

I got what I think is my coolest piece of technology for my yard and deck: a bird feeder with a built-in camera. It’s linked to my mobile phone and it gives me a notification

when a bird is eating my stockpile of seeds and feed.

They come all day long, all types, colors, shapes and sizes. And I swear, it looks like they know they are on camera. They look up at the lens and I hate to anthropomorphize, but I swear, it looks like they are posing like a teenager making a TikTok video.

It never fails to put a smile on my face and I’ve bought a few others to share with fellow bird lovers.

I researched these feeders a bunch online and settled on one called Birdsnap (if anyone is selling these locally, drop us a note at editor@ goodtimes.sc). Or, you may want to do some advertising and let people know you have these. I predict they will be a huge holiday gift.

It was on the cheaper side (now $129) and for an added fee, it promises an AI program that will identify the birds for me. For reasons I haven’t had time to figure out, that isn’t working for me, but I’ll get around to it sometime before the world ends.

There is a broad price range on these things, as with most tech toys these days, but they seem to have come down from the $150-$300 range since I bought one in January. Putting mine together was a bit of a struggle. Literally, since it takes a lot of force to get the covered roof on and off and I ripped open a finger doing it. But we all know the steep price we pay for cheap tech.

On its website, Birdsnap has an interesting message:

“Birdsnap's mission is to educate the community about the importance of local birds and how they contribute to a more balanced ecosystem.

“With our smart bird feeders, every bird lover can explore the world of wild birds, and you can also contribute extremely important information to bird migration and population databases, which will help experts better understand and protect them.”

I’m more than a little surprised to say that mine survived the big winter storms and is still standing like new. Also, it’s a security camera. It tells me when a person or dog is on my deck. I didn’t think of that function when I bought it.

I’d never heard of this device or seen one in a store before one of my Facebook friends in Kansas posted shots and videos of bright red cardinals scarfing down bird food. The minute I saw it, I knew I had to have one.

And it’s been a daily source of amusement. When I’m in a meeting and my phone vibrates, I look at it like I’ve gotten an important message, a news flash, perhaps. But nope, it’s my fat Blue Jay friend and his or her family lining up for meal time.

It not only broadcasts the birds live, but it saves a library of up to 60 days of feedings, which you can download or share on social media. (Sorry to my non-birder Facebook friends.) It has a microphone so you can hear the birds chirp right in your face and amazingly, it has air drop that links to my computer.

Meanwhile, while I can see the birds eating at my other non-techie, locally made, wooden feeder from a distance, nothing has given me the pleasure of watching these winged wonders do their closeups and model for the camera. I feel like my fuzzy friends are really my friends.

Keeping our community safe from sewage spills and keeping maintenance costs down are important. You can help by remembering this simple phrase: ‘Think Before You Flush. ’ Put trash where it belongs…in the trash.

Flushable does not mean flushable! Flushable wipes clog sewer pipes.

Wipes do not dissolve; even if you flush just one, wipes collect in pumps and valves causing clogs.

Grow Your Own

REMEMBER

A beginner’s guide to growing your own pot outdoors

BY RICHARD STOCKTON

Weed is so easy to grow it’s called weed. The best way to learn how to grow is to follow the advice of the best pot farmer in your neighborhood, or apartment building, but I can get you started.

INDOORS OR OUTDOORS?

I focus on outdoor grows here: Growing cannabis outdoors is way cheaper and easier. When you grow outdoors, you don’t have to provide most of the supplies Mother Nature requires. Sunlight is the best grow light there is.

There is risk outdoors. Your outdoor grow will deal with bugs,

deer and thieves who will try to steal your weed if they know about it. I know a grower who sleeps in her patch at harvest time.

Theft is a real thing. Visual privacy is the answer; you don’t want people outside your yard to be able to see your plants. And remember, with enough sunlight you will grow Christmas trees. Some strains yield up to 1,000 grams per plant. Sativas can grow to 10 feet.

GET SOME SEEDS (OR NOT)

In Santa Cruz, April or May is a perfect time to start from seed, but if your growing time is shorter, buy six clones (maybe $15-$20 a clone)

end up with your legal six female plants. And six female plants grown to maturity and properly cured will give you from 3 to 6 pounds of premium bud. It can take three to six months to grow, harvest and cure your buds, longer for tall sativa strains.

GERMINATE YOUR SEEDS

A wet paper towel on a plate works— keep it damp and warm. When they pop, you’ll see the white seedlings emerge and then you can put them in cups of potting soil or straight into your grow plot. You can just start your seeds in the ground and water like crazy.

The plot thickens! There are many cool grow mediums to experiment with, but it’s easier to grow in organic composted soil. One of the simplest nutrient systems that works well is Dyna-Gro, but there is a lot of other good stuff; talk to your grow supply store.

WHEN THE MALES SHOW THEIR BALLS, YANK THEM

from a dispensary; they will all be females and you’ll harvest quality sinsemilla (without seed) bud.

You’ll buy seeds from a dispensary or online (from $50 to $100 for a pack of 10 or 20 seeds.) Probably all you’ll need are 12 to 15 seeds. If you want to go deep into local Santa Cruz Skunk genetics, check out santacruzmountainseeds.com. Jeff Nordahl of Jade Nectar has a video about this awesome pre-Skunk strain on YouTube.com.

The flower of the unfertilized female plants is where the THC is, so you will pull the males so they don’t fertilize the females. If you pop (sprout) 12 seeds and pull half of them because they’re males, you

To harvest high THC bud, you must pull the males before they fertilize the females. Start sexing them after solstice, the longest day. Only female plants produce bud and keeping them from being fertilized keeps the THC production going into the flower and not into making seed. If you see wispy white hairs appearing where the stem meets the stalk, congratulations, you’ve got a girl! Male plants have grapelike balls which fill with pollen. Pull these males before their sacs burst open and spill pollen everywhere. Once a male starts growing balls, that’s when the trouble starts—the same as in any species.

My grower buddies tell me to water a lot when they sprout and are young; back the water off when they get larger and not at all when they are flowering. If you’re growing in pots, you need to water more often.

Once the buds develop trichomes, little crystals, you’re getting ready. When the white hairs start turning brown, harvest. Hang your stalks upside down in a warmish, ventilated, dark space. When you can take a stem and snap it, it is dry enough. Take your weed down, trim the buds, cure them in a paper bag, then put your killer buds in glass jars.

Think globally, grow locally.

WHEN IT WAS ILLEGAL? Now you can plant it. Photo: Tarmo Hannula

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Gardening 101

Students Learning to Garden Sustainably

BY MATHEW CHIPMAN

Thomas Bentley, the alternative agriculture teacher at Soquel High says by learning gardening at an early age, students also learn about community.

“Through alternative agriculture, students are learning skills on how to be better neighbors, when you make a bouquet or grow veggies you’re helping to build your community,” he says.

While there are lots of school garden programs in Santa Cruz, most of them are focused on teaching gardening to elementary schools. A big part of what makes Soquel

Agriculture unique is that it is the only public school in Santa Cruz teaching high school-age students urban farming skills.

When Bentley took over the agriculture department at Soquel in 2017, he decided to move away from the principles of the national high school program Future Farmers America which holds a greater focus on industrial agricultural careers.

Those practices are largely seen today as unsustainable, and Bentley said he is aiming to take the program in a more alternative direction. Where students learn about how to grow food for their

food waste going into a compost system which in turn creates fresh soil for the garden.

In the tri-county area which encompasses Salinas, Santa Cruz, and Monterey counties there is a $5 billion farming industry affecting thousands of people. This industry provides produce nationwide, but due to pesticide use and unsustainable water practices, there is a multitude of social justice issues being reported, including pesticiderelated cancers and poor working conditions for farm workers.

A huge part of Soquel High’s agriculture program is teaching students about these wider issues and encouraging them with ways to advocate for changes in the community which is so economically reliant on farming.

“What's so cool about this is we get to deal with hands-on issues that impact our community while beautifying our campus,” Bentley said.

As a firm believer that food is the best way to build community Bentley wants his students to have the skills necessary to grow and share food with their friends and neighbors.

“Most of my students aren't going to go into farming– a few will but everyone is going to be human, everyone is going to be a neighbor and what we’re teaching is what it means to have eco literacy.”

communities while utilizing the contours of the natural landscape, protecting the environment, and utilizing native plants and animals to keep nature in balance.

“We wanted to take a more social justice-oriented path since we’re one of the only alternative ag programs in the country, we are figuring out how to do it because they are so few and far between.”

Due to this shift towards urban farming and waterwise landscaping over industrial farming and livestock keeping, the large orchard at the high school has been developed into a permaculture green space for students to eat lunch and hang out, with fruit trees and perennials.

Participating students shared that some of their favorite parts of this program were the way the land and food all connect, such as cafeteria

Bentley's program is heavily inspired by classes he took at Cabrillo College and Santa Cruz Permaculture that provide resources for adults to learn about ecological literacy, which includes possessing knowledge about sustainable water use, reducing your carbon footprint and developing a better understanding of nature.

“When I first got into permaculture I learned about it through books, but you can read all you want and find some skills but permaculture is more fun to learn about with other people. I recommend Cabrillo's permaculture classes. After I took classes I felt I was ready to start exploring.”

And Bentley suggests students bring their knowledge back to their neighborhoods.

“To have character, to be a good neighbor you should be able to make a bouquet or bring fruits and veggies for your friends and neighbors, you should have these skills no matter where you go,” he says.

HIGH SCHOOL PLANTS Soquel High School has state of the art gardening center. PHOTO: Mathew Chipman

RESOURCES

ALLTERRA SOLAR

207-B McPherson St., Santa Cruz 831-425-2608, allterrasolar.com

AMERICAN LEISURE PATIO

1118 Ocean St., Santa Cruz 831-423-2425, americanleisurepatio.com

ANNIEGLASS

310 Harvest Drive, Watsonville 800-347-6133, annieglass.com

APPI POOL AND SPA

1527 Commercial Way B, Santa Cruz 831-476-6363, appipool.com

APTOS LANDSCAPE SUPPLY

5035 Freedom Blvd., Aptos 831-688-6211, aptoslandscapesupply.com

APTOS FEED AND PET SUPPLY

7765 Soquel Drive, Ste. C, Aptos 831-685-3333

ARTISANS AND AGENCY

1368 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz 831-423-8183, artisanssantacruz.com

A TOOL SHED

3700 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz 831-477-7133, atoolshed.com

BAKER BROS. APPLIANCE

31 E Fifth St., Watsonville 831-722-1776, BakerBrosFurnitureAndAppliance.com

BATTERIES PLUS

101 Mt. Hermon Road, Scotts Valley 831-439-6720, batteriesplus.com

BAY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

3333 Clares St., Capitola; 48 Rancho Del Mar, Aptos; 2028 Freedom Blvd., Freedom; 420 River St., Santa Cruz; 255 Mount Hermon Road, Scotts Valley; 1481 Main St., Watsonville; 831-479-6000, bayfed.com

BAY PLUMBING SUPPLY

2776 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz 831-475-2900, bayplumbingsupply.com

BOTANIC AND LUXE

110 Cooper St., Ste. 100F, Santa Cruz 831-515-7710, botanicandluxe.com

BRASS KEY LOCKSMITH 220-A Mt. Hermon Road, Scotts Valley 831-438-4904, brasskeylocksmith.com

BREZSNY ASSOCIATES, CHRISTIE'S INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE SERENO

720 Front St., Santa Cruz brezsnyassociates.com

CAROLINE'S NON-PROFIT THRIFT SHOP

8045 & 8047 Soquel Drive, Aptos 831-662-0327, carolinesnonprofit.org

CENTER STREET ANTIQUES

3010 Center St., Soquel 831-477-9211, centerstreetantiques.com

CENTRAL HOME SUPPLY

808 River St., Santa Cruz, 831-201-6167; 180 El Pueblo Road, Scotts Valley, 831-201-6178; centralhomesupply.com

CITY OF SANTA CRUZ PUBLIC WORKS

831-420-5160, cityofsantacruz.com/government/ city-departments/public-works

CLARK'S AUCTION CO.

56 Old El Pueblo Road, Scotts Valley 831-706-8776, clarksauctions.com

CLEMENTINE & CO.

126 San Jose Ave., Capitola 831-889-8290, clementineandcompany.com

CORRALITOS FEED & PET SUPPLIES, INC.

1486 Freedom Blvd., Watsonville

2895B Freedom Blvd., Corralitos 831-722-7884, CorralitosFeed.com

COUCH POTATO

3131 Soquel Drive, Soquel 831-462-4636, cpotato.com

CYPRESS COAST FENCE

836 Walker St., Watsonville 831-783-1500, cypresscoastfence.com

DELTA GLASS

1811 Freedom Blvd., Freedom 831-724-6385, Delta-Glass.com

DIG GARDENS

7765 Soquel Drive, Aptos, 831-688-7011; 420 Water St., Santa Cruz, 831-466-3444; diggardens.com

DOMINICAN OAKS

3400 Paul Sweet Road, Santa Cruz 831-462-6257, dominicanoaks.com

DONNER LAND AND HOMES, INC.

1624 Dons Road, Boulder Creek donnerland.com

ECOLOGY ACTION

877 Cedar St., Ste. 240, Santa Cruz 831-426-5925, ecoact.org

EXPERT PLUMBING

2551 S. Rodeo Gulch Road, Ste. 7, Soquel 831-316-7338, expertplumbingca.com

F. JOHN LABARBA CONSTRUCTION

741 Redwood Drive, Santa Cruz 831-423-1109, FJohnLaBarba.com

FAR WEST NURSERY

2669 Mattison Lane, Santa Cruz 831-476-8866, farwestnursery.com

FIRST ALARM SECURITY AND PATROL

1111 Estates Drive, Aptos 831-685-1110

FLOOR COVERINGS

INTERNATIONAL—MONTEREY BAY

2320 Del Monte Ave. Ste. A4, Monterey 855-991-9767, FCIFloors.com

THE GARDEN COMPANY

2218 Mission St., Santa Cruz 831-429-8424, thegardenco.com

GENERAL FEED AND SEED

1900 Commercial Way, # B, Santa Cruz 831-476-5344

GOODWILL

ccgoodwill.org

GOPHERS LIMITED

303 Potrero St. Ste. 39, Santa Cruz 831-335-2400, GophersLimited.com

GRANITEROCK

303 Coral St., Santa Cruz, 831-471-3400; 540 West Beach St., Watsonville, 831-768-2500; Graniterock.com

GRO REAL ESTATE

831-387-6237, gro-realestate.com

HOME BY ZINNIA'S

262 Mt Hermon Road, #102, Scotts Valley 831-201-4906, homebyzinnias.com

HOME/WORK

1100 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz 831-316-5215, shophomework.com

HOUSE SENSE

831-588-3570, housesensehomes.com

IBEW

10300 Merritt St., Castroville 831-633-2311, ibew234.org

ILLUMINÉE

402 Ingalls St., #23, Santa Cruz; 719 Swift St., #59, Santa Cruz, 831-423-1121, illuminee.com

INTERLITE SKYLIGHT

420 Kennedy Drive, Capitola 831-462-1700, interliteskylight.com

INTERIOR VISION FLOORING & DECORATING

2800 Daubenbiss Ave., Soquel 831-219-4484, interiorvision.biz

IRONHORSE HOME FURNISHINGS

3825 Clares St, Capitola 831-346-6170, ironhorsehomefurnishings.com

JASON GRAHAM CONSTRUCTION

131 Center St Ste 1, Santa Cruz 831-818-6792

J.C. HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING

831-475-6538, jcheatingsc.com

JOSHUA ZELMON STONE DESIGN 180 Little Creek Road, Soquel 831-818-0111, joshuazelmonstonedesign.com

KATHY RUNYON, MONTEREY BAY PROPERTIES 620 Capitola Ave., Capitola 831-325-7300, kathyrunyon.com

K&D LANDSCAPING

62C Hangar Way, Watsonville 831-728-4018, kndlandscaping.com

KIMBERLY PARRISH, ANDERSON CHRISTIE, INC.

831-421-1177, kimberlyparrishrealestate.com

KNOX ROOFING & GARDEN BOX

46-A El Pueblo Road, Scotts Valley 831-461-9430, knoxgardenbox.com

LOREN MORSE EXP REALTY

1003 41st Ave, Santa Cruz 831-345-8912, LorenMorse.eXpRealty.com

LAUREEN YUNGMEYER, STATE FARM

230-F Mount Hermon Road, Scotts Valley 831-423-4700, statefarm.com

LAUREN SPENCER, REALTOR

824 B Mission St., Santa Cruz 831-662-6522, mysantacruzrealestate.com

LENZ ARTS

142 River St., Santa Cruz 831-423-1935, lenzarts.com

LYDIA HARVILLE, STATE FARM

1044 41st Ave., Santa Cruz 831-476-6665, lydiaharville.com

MAIN STREET REALTORS

2567 S. Main St., Soquel 831-462-4000, mainstrealtors.com

MADANI TEAM, ROOM REAL ESTATE

6990 Hwy 9, Felton

831-234-6683, roomsantacruz.com

MONUMENT LUMBER

2111 Freedom Blvd., Watsonville 831-724-7537, MonumentLumber.com

MOUNTAIN FEED AND FARM SUPPLY

9550 Hwy 9, Ben Lomond 831-336-8876, mountainfeed.com

MR. SANDLESS

831-747-7476, mrsandless.com

NATIVE REVIVAL NURSERY

831-684-1811, nativerevival.com

NATURAL SELECTION FURNITURE

607 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz

831-423-4711, naturalselectionfurnituresc.com

OM GALLERY

1201 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz 831-425-9107, omgallery.com

OUTDOOR SUPPLY HARDWARE

1601 41st Ave., Capitola 831-316-3823, osh.com

OUTSIDE-IN

7568 Soquel Drive, Aptos 831-684-0186, outside-in.myshopify.com

POTTERY PLANET 2600 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz 831-465-9216, potteryplanet.com

RAINBOW CARPETS & FLOORS

416 Airport Blvd., Watsonville 831-728-3131, rainbowcarpetsandfloors.com

REDO CONSIGN

SAMAYA'S ECO-FLOORING

SANDBAR SOLAR AND ELECTRIC

2656 Mission St., Santa Cruz 831-469-8888, sandbarsc.com

SAN LORENZO GARDEN CENTER

235 River St., Santa Cruz 831-423-0223, sanlorenzolumber.com/garden-center

SAN LORENZO FLOORS

3113 Scotts Valley Drive, #4534, Scotts Valley 831-461-1300, scottsvalley.abbeycarpet.com

SAN LORENZO VALLEY WATER DISTRICT

13060 Hwy 9, Boulder Creek 831-338-2153, slvwd.com

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BUILDERS

831-359-4300, santacruzbuilders.com

SANTA CRUZ CONSTRUCTION GUILD

santacruzconstructionguild.us

SC41 FURNITURE

2701 41st Ave., Soquel 831-464-2228, sc41.com

SELESA WEBSTER, US BANK

110 Morrissey Blvd., Santa Cruz 831-687-1224, selesa.webster@usbank.com

SIERRA AZUL

2660 East Lake Ave., Watsonville 831-728-2532, sierraazul.com

SOLAR TECHNOLOGIES

705 N Branciforte Ave., Santa Cruz

831-200-8763, solartechnologies.com

SSA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS

303 Potrero St., Ste. 40-C, Santa Cruz 831-459-0455, ssala.com

TIDY EVOLUTION

Mia Keenan, Professional Organizer

831-331-5097, tidyevolution.com

TERRA NOVA ECOLOGICAL LANDSCAPING

831-425-3514, terranovalandscaping.com

TESTORFF CONSTRUCTION

9047 Soquel Drive, Aptos 831-684-2117, TestorffConstruction.com

THE SPA AND SAUNA CO.

707 River St., Santa Cruz 831-425-7727, hotspring.com

TOM RALSTON CONCRETE

241 Fern St., Santa Cruz 831-426-0342, tomralstonconcrete.com

TRANSFORMATIONAL COLOR

831- 435-9706, transformationalcolor.com

TURK THE ROOFER

3330 Gross Road, Santa Cruz 831-479-9653

WALLIS WOODWORKS

2608 Mission St., Santa Cruz 831-460-9183, walliswoodworks.com

WESTSIDE FARM AND FEED

817 Swift St., Santa Cruz 831-331-4160, westsidefarmandfeed.com

WOODSTOVE & SUN 510 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz 831-425-5123, woodstoveandsunca.com