Farm Notes

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving (and Hannukah!) holiday.

We finally got some rain last week—though much more is needed.  Including the dry second half of the last rainy season, this is the longest dry stretch that we’ve experienced since we’ve been here. Here in Watsonville, with the exception of Harkins Slough which our home farm is situated beside, nearly all of the five fingers of the freshwater slough system have dried up. The lack of rainfall has raised real concern about how the water situation will shape up for next season. It is generally accepted that even in a season with normal rainfall, growers in the Pajaro Valley pump more water out of the ground than is naturally recharged. This has led to problems with salt water intrusion into the aquifers near the coast. Things are exacerbated by strawberry growers who have to irrigate their fields over winter much more frequently than they would in a year with normal rainfall. All of this is sure to rekindle debate over whether to import irrigation water from the Central Valley, an expensive proposition that that the valley has so far resisted.

Although it sounds petty compared with greater concerns, the thing I miss about not getting any major storms so far is the exclamation point that they put on the season. On a farm like ours, when the ground is dry, there is always work to be done. A good wet storm at this time of year shuts you out of the field and gives an enforced break as it were. Because I tend to obsess about all of the things I should be doing around the farm, a nice winter storm has a way of putting my mind at ease. And, although I probably wouldn’t fare well during the harsh winters in the mid-western and eastern growing areas, I do at times find myself envious of the finality that a foot of snow cover on the fields would bring. A wet storm is as close as we will probably ever get.

On the bright side, we have more crops ready to harvest now than we typically have at this time of year, which will make for some nice winter CSA boxes. Remember we are down to every other week delivery. If you have any questions about the winter schedule and payments, please e-mail or call Sarah at (831)254-4918.