My main task as president of the Central Coast Chapter of California Certified Organic Farmers (a position that sounds way more important than it actually is), is to help organize two meetings each year. Last night was our “Spring” meeting at the Grange hall in nearby Aromas, and it went really well. Part of the function of the local chapters is to connect with other growers and educate ourselves about problems and issues affecting us here in our region.
A couple sections of the meeting focused on strawberries. One of the big issues facing strawberry growers is a soil borne disease called Macrophomina which recently arrived here after spreading up the coast from Southern California. By late last summer nearly 30% of the plants in one of our fields had been killed by this awful disease, and other growers had it even worse. It’s not really hyperbole to say that Macrophomina could have drastic, negative impacts on the organic strawberry industry here. Last night, Steve Koike, a plant pathologist from the University of California Cooperative Extension, came and gave a presentation about it. We learned how Macrophomina is spread, what varieties of strawberries are most susceptible, and what can be done to slow it down. Unfortunately, it looks like the viable options available to growers are choosing resistant varieties and using very long rotations—meaning don’t plant berries in the same place for 5-6 years. We already use a 5 year rotation schedule which we could extend out another year if need be, but the bad news was that our beloved Albion variety turns out to be very susceptible. Steve told us that creating new resistant varieties is a top priority of breeders, but getting them into the pipeline is a very slow process. Of the existing varieties that show some resistance, none of them has the flavor that makes Albion our favorite. For now, we’ll stick with long rotations.
Another presenter at last night’s meeting was Eric Brennan, the only dedicated organic researcher in the nation working for the USDA. Eric talked about his field trials planting mustard cover crops in the furrows of fall-planted strawberry fields. Since strawberries are planted at the beginning of the rainy season, and the raised beds are covered with plastic mulch, they generate huge amounts runoff. In bare furrows this runoff can cause erosion that often sends large amounts of sediment into ditches and surrounding waterways. By planting cover-crops into furrows over winter, not only is the runoff slowed down to the point that it drops most of its sediment load, less water leaves the field in the first place. Instead it infiltrates the subsoil and eventually recharges groundwater aquifers—more critical than ever during a drought.
As interesting and educational as the presentations were, my favorite part of these meetings is often the opportunity to reconnect with other members of the local organic farming community. Because everybody is always so busy on their own farms, these opportunities come few and far in between. On this beautiful evening, it felt like a timeless scene that was in the original spirit of the old Grange hall—farmers getting together to compare notes and socialize.
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