San Joaquin County Agriculture, Food & Gardening Digest

Find more about a possible community garden to be developed on an unused parcel in downtown Manteca.

THE SALINAS VALLEY is the setting for fecund soil, labor rights movements and John Steinbeck novels.Squeezed into one 90-mile-long wedge between the Gabilan and Santa Lucia mountains, the valley’s residents constitute less than 1% of Californians but have shaped the identity of the whole state.

There are 35 new trees along Bessie Avenue in Tracy thanks to the volunteers who helped plant them in celebration of Arbor Day.

The Ripon Garden Club is working with the city to donate a rose garden near Stouffer Park.

An outdoor food truck and container area is being considered for Library Park in downtown Manteca.

The public is invited to the Ripon Chamber of Commerce sponsored 39th Annual Main Street Day on October 19.

Many California farmworkers have long lacked safe and affordable places to sleep — an issue thrown into sharp relief after last year’s mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, which left seven agricultural workers dead.

The recently released San Joaquin County Crop Report showed a decline in the top four local agricultural products.

The City of Manteca community benefit agreements with three recently approved marijuana dispensaries aim to generate a minimum of $1 million for city coffers.

Garden Joy community garden is working with the Manteca Unified School District to help meet its goal of locally sourcing 20 percent of school meal produce by the next school year.

A look at the training program for beginner farmers offered by the Center for Land-Based Learning in Woodland.

A look at the 2023 San Joaquin County agriculture report: $3.22 billion in production by 3,340 mostly small family-owned farms.

The chemical, used for decades, can harm babies’ developing brains. Farmworkers and people living near fields are most at risk. The EPA issued a rare emergency order.

A Free Family Fun Night is scheduled for Friday, August 9 at Mossdale Landing Community Park, 700 Towne Centre Drive in Lathrop.

A judge has halted a union effort at the Wonderful Company, throwing into question a new state law designed to make it easier for agricultural workers to organize.

A Kings County judge today issued a temporary restraining order against the state that pauses its unprecedented move to crack down on groundwater depletion in California’s agricultural heartland.

San Joaquin County community group Ray of Hope is urgently seeking donations of food and school supplies to help fill the summer gap in meals for school age youth and to prepare for the coming school year.

The $4.5 billion Sites Reservoir project is advancing after a judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by environmental groups.

The Manteca Unified School District began its free Seamless Summer Lunch program on May 28 for children ages 2 to 18.

The centerpiece of California’s water wars pits Gov. Newsom against local communities and environmentalists. A new report says the benefits of the tunnel exceed the cost since other water supplies would cost more.

Sacramento is seeking public comment on its "Urban Forrest Plan" to increase the trees in the city with priority given to areas in North and South Sacramento.

Calivirgin of Lodi was awarded the 2024 Olive Oil Producer of the Year for the second year in a row.

The Ripon Farmers Market season is open again, Thursdays starting at 5PM from May through September at 929 West Main Street.

17 trees were planted at Yosemite Village Park on Arbor Day April 25 by the Manteca Garden Club with the City of Manteca.

Following strong February rains, the Bureau of Reclamation announced increases in Central Valley Project water allotments.

The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources advisors has published a new website with information resources for small acreage landowners raising livestock.

The Wence family loves food—and creating new restaurants. So when Jaime and Esther Wence decided to open a new restaurant in Isleton, they had plenty of inspiration.

Commercial beekeeper Andrew Strehlow estimates he’s had 1,000 hives stolen over the years. The latest theft, of 96 hives from a Fresno County orchard, was his last straw.

Buu “Billy” Ngo, a co-owner at the widely adored Kru Contemporary Japanese Cuisine, has been named as a semifinalist for Best California Chef from the James Beard Awards.

Beehives, tractors and more are getting stolen from farmers.

State Sen. Scott Wiener wants to allow California cities and counties to designate “entertainment zones” where bars and restaurants could serve alcoholic drinks that people can consume on public streets and sidewalks.

In a sign of the ongoing threats to its precious groundwater stores, half a dozen regions in California rank among the world’s most rapidly declining aquifers.