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Nevada County Agriculture, Food & Gardening Articles



Image caption: DWR’s report on groundwater sustainability plans was illustrated with this photograph of a wheat field irrigated by groundwater in the southern San Joaquin Valley.
DWR Flushes Six Groundwater Plans

The San Joaquin Valley plans, serving low-income Latino communities, were deemed inadequate for preventing dry wells and sinking land.

Image caption: Fresh and dried fruit, wine, nuts and more can be found at Casa De Fruta, a venerable stop for drivers traversing Pacheco Pass.
Roadside Attractions

California is the top agricultural producer in the U.S., and a top beneficiary of visitor spending. So naturally, we’ve got fun, food-driven tourist magnets.

Image caption: Dairy products are California’s top agricultural commodity, but the industry is often criticized for its impact on the environment.
Sustainable Sustenance

California is a leading producer of agricultural crops. So it’s not surprising to find cutting-edge ideas taking root here.

Pumpkins & Apples: Autumn’s superstars

The morning air has a bit of a chill and the leaves are changing. The markets are bursting with pumpkins of all shapes, sizes and colors; apples are ripe for the picking. Pumpkins and apples have a few things in …

High Sierra Caviar: Pine Cone Kitchen’s Black Garlic

Self-proclaimed foodies and garlicologists Greg Lusson and Kayla Burton stumbled into a ramen house and tried black garlic. That meal changed the trajectory of their lives. Black garlic is less spicy than white garlic. It’s easy to digest and offers …

Sierra Valley Art + Ag Trail: Celebrating ranchers, artists of the Lost Sierra

The Sierra Valley comes alive on Sept. 24 with local ranchers, artists and makers highlighting all the homemade goods grown and produced in this expansive mountainous region of Northern California. Back for its fifth year, Sierra Valley Art + Ag …

Image caption: Dig into daily tips provided by two master gardeners.
Welcome to Sacramento Digs Gardening

We’ve made our proprietary content management platform available for fellow publishers.

Truckee River Winery: World-class wine, in our backyard

By Karen Barchas Are you a local who thinks you have to drive down the hill to taste fine wines? Or do you live elsewhere and think you have to choose between enjoying Tahoe’s myriad activities and having a great …

Spring wine outings

Wine and wildflowers make a great spring pairing only a short drive from the shores of Lake Tahoe. Heading to Sierra Foothill wine country has long been a favorite spring outing for my friends and I that was put on …

Image caption: César Chávez in 1979, originally photographed for U.S. News & World Report.
What’s the Best Way to Celebrate César Chávez Day?

Californians have the perfect opportunity to remember César Chávez by making March 31 a day of service.

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Holding Back the Bud Boom

California’s cannabis business is blossoming, but industry experts tell the Sacramento Bee that the state is leaving money on the table.

Image caption: RCDs look after the land, whether it’s used for grazing, growing, or getting out into nature.
California Dirt

What do resource conservation districts protect? Pretty much everything that’s worth saving.

Image caption: California’s three-year-old legal cannabis industry is already struggling. Here’s why.
The Crisis in California’s Legal Cannabis Industry, Explained

Cumbersome state bureaucracy and competition from their illegal counterparts has made life perilous for California’s nascent legal cannabis businesses.

Image caption: Some small composting facilities, made necessary by a methane-reduction law,  have been set up in or near community gardens.
Compost Belongs in the Garden

Californians Against Waste was one of the main advocates behind SB 1383, which requires California to divert 75 percent of its organic waste from landfills. California Local talked to CAW’s Nick Lapis to learn more about what it does and …

Image caption: At the dump, food waste is methane-producing garbage. At a farm, it's a valuable part of the food web.
Back to the Land, Not the Landfill

In 2022, California trash haulers will begin turning millions of tons of methane-emitting organic waste into a new cash crop: compost.

Featured

RCDs look after the land, whether it’s used for grazing, growing, or getting out into nature.
California Dirt
RCDs were created to avoid a repeat of the Dust Bowl. Now they work with landowners to preserve the air, water and natural habitats that sustain us all.
Dairy products are California’s top agricultural commodity, but the industry is often criticized for its impact on the environment.
Sustainable Sustenance
Greener ways to feed the world’s growing population
Fresh and dried fruit, wine, nuts and more can be found at Casa De Fruta, a venerable stop for drivers traversing Pacheco Pass.
Roadside Attractions
Apples and berries, steaks and dairy...and much more
They help feed the whole country, but life for California’s farm workers remains a struggle.
How California Feeds the Country
California, a state known for high-tech and show business glitz, is also America’s farming powerhouse.
How California reclamation districts turned millions of acres of wetlands into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush.
Reclamation Districts: Turning ‘Swamps’ Into Farmland
From its earliest days as a state, California has been trying to turn marshes into productive land.
Since the Gold Rush era, land reclamation has cost California 90 percent of its wetlands.
How Land Reclamation Hurts California’s Environment
The hidden price tag of “reclaiming” swamps and marshes as usable land.
The 1965 law known as the Williamson Act has been responsible for keeping about half of California's farmland out of the hands of developers.
The Williamson Act: How the Law That Protects California’s Farmland Works
More than half of California farmland is under contracts that prevent its development.