I can always tell who the engineers are at the Mountain View–Nerd Central–Farmers Market by how excited they get when they realize that the spiral pattern at the heart of a head of the Romanesco sitting on my table is a fractal. I could probably sell more if I re-named it “fractalflower” but I guess I am too much of a traditionalist for that. The same pattern can often be seen, more subtly, on cauliflower as well. (I am a self-proclaimed farm nerd, so the above is in no way meant to be an insult.)
The fact that we have these “cool-season” vegetables at all at this time of year is testament to the strong influence of the Pacific Ocean which is only two miles away. This past week it has asserted itself in full force—we’ve had wet drippy mornings and the sun has only broken through intermittently for a few hours in the afternoon. Not that I’m complaining, we’ve been in this “fog-belt” pretty much as long as we have been farming and I’m thoroughly used to it now.
As with anything, there are good and bad aspects to farming under these conditions. On the positive side, we can grow high quality “cool-season” crops, like brassicas and lettuce, all year around. Herbs like cilantro, dill, and parsley, that are prone to bolting under hot conditions, grow more slowly and give us a longer harvest window here. Strawberries are another crop that likes it cool—less stress on plants, better quality fruit. Also among the positives: working conditions are almost always comfortable—we rarely have to worry about heat-stroke, and plants transpire less here meaning we don’t have to irrigate as often. One unexpected benefit is the fact that a naturally occurring parasitic fungus called beauveria bassiana thrives here in the fog belt and when conditions are right will wipe out cabbage aphids more effectively than any spray could.
On the negative side of things, the cool conditions definitely limit what we can grow outside. When we first started out in La Selva Beach (even closer to the coast than we are now) we made the mistake of planting out a large block of tomatoes. The plants initially did great and were loaded with green fruit. Then the blight set in and within a week or two the entire planting was reduced to a shriveled, brown mess—we harvested almost nothing. These days we grow all of the heat-loving crops, like tomatoes, peppers, basil and cucumbers, in high-tunnels. This keeps off the morning drizzle and increases the temperature, creating conditions much more to their liking.
All in all I feel quite fortunate to live and farm where we do. A while back a friend of mine illustrated just how rare this temperate band of fertile ground near the coast is this way. You set off from here on a driving trip across the country in the middle of summer under comfortable conditions. By the time you reach Hollister you switch on the air-conditioner —and on it stays all the way across to the Atlantic Ocean.
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