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Santa Cruz County Agriculture, Food & Gardening Articles



The Pajaronian logo LOCAL NEWS
New interim manager: the Santa Cruz County Fair is a go

The interim manager of the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds has a message for the community as the summer draws near: with a team of people ready to help and a community ready for the much-loved event, the fair is on …

Image caption: They help feed the whole country, but life for California’s farm workers remains a struggle.
How California Feeds the Country

California stands as America’s agricultural powerhouse, growing half of its fruits and vegetables. Here’s how California farming has shaped the state, from the early missions to today’s “factories in the field.”

Good Times logo LOCAL NEWS
Upstart Mushroom Farm MycoSci is Growing Big Ideas in Watsonville

Chef Dory Ford’s Santa Cruz County operation grows the parasitic fungus cordyceps, the focus of the hit HBO series ‘The Last of Us’

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Setting the Table

Before foodies and food porn came California cuisine. These 10 people helped create a movement that celebrated dishes that are local, seasonal and sustainable.

San Lorenzo Valley Post logo LOCAL NEWS
Starting and Tending Your Native Pollinator Garden

By Marielle Martin In the Santa Cruz Mountains, April is a great time to start or rejuvenate a native pollinator garden. During spring’s cooler months, the soil is still warm enough for root growth, but air temps are cool enough …

Image caption: Archtitectural rendering of the design for the Alice Waters Institute for Edible Education.
Alice Waters at Aggie Square

The Alice Waters Institute for Edible Education will serve as one of the anchor tenants for the $1.2 billion project in Sacramento.

Image caption: For many years, chef Alice Waters has taught young people about the importance of sustainable eating. Now she’s building a new place of learning in Sacramento.
Interview With Alice Waters

The renowned Chez Panisse chef believes we’ve lost our connection to nature—and we’re afraid. She wants to help fix that.

The Pajaronian logo LOCAL NEWS
Board Chair and Manager leaving Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds

WATSONVILLE—Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Board Chair Don Dietrich has resigned his post, and interim Fairgrounds Manager Kelley Ferreira has announced his departure, Board Director Nick Calubaquib confirmed Monday. Dietrich, who made the announcement to his fellow board members last week, …

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.

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Community Garden Grows a Following

City of Scotts Valley seems to have something for everyone. From dining to theater to shopping, locals are able to enjoy a variety of options and opportunities, but there’s one hidden gem that few people know about: the Annette Marcum …

The Pajaronian logo LOCAL NEWS
Group seeks removal of Santa Cruz County Fair Board president

WATSONVILLE—In the latest chapter in the drawn-out saga at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, a local group has created an online petition to remove Board President Don Dietrich. The petitioners say that Dietrich has shown a lack of leadership, and …

San Lorenzo Valley Post logo LOCAL NEWS
The Busiest Month in the Garden

By Josh Reilly March might be the busiest month in the garden. For the Spring vegetable garden, you’re selecting and planting seeds in flats or in soil. You are prepping your veggie beds with compost, either by scratching it in …

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.

The Pajaronian logo LOCAL NEWS
PV Water approves contracts for College Lake work

The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PV Water) Board of Directors approved contracts to construct the College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project during a special meeting on Feb. 1. The College Lake Pipeline Project will construct a six-mile, 30-inch water …

Voices of Monterey Bay logo LOCAL NEWS
On the frontlines of pesticide exposure

Editor’s note:  This story is the first of “Adrift,” a three-part series by Environmental Health News, and palabra, a multimedia platform of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, on pesticide use in California that finds rural communities of color and …

San Lorenzo Valley Post logo LOCAL NEWS
Rainwater Capture

By Josh Reilly It might be an odd time to talk about rain barrels and rooftop rainwater capture. As of late January, we have already picked up about 40” of rainfall in the SLV. Our gardens and landscapes are now …

Good Times logo LOCAL NEWS
Public Scrutinizes Firing of Santa Cruz Fairgrounds CEO

Nearly 100 people filled the Fine Arts Building at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Tuesday to attend the Fair’s Board of Directors meeting. While Fair Board meetings don’t normally draw a large audience—former CEO Dave Kegebein says some days saw …

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.

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The Mountain Gardener | Get Your Bare-Root Edibles Now

The other day I visited three local nurseries to see what’s new in their bare root edible selection. In addition to the classics, I found a ton of new varieties for containers and smaller home gardens. Now is the time …

The Pajaronian logo LOCAL NEWS
Ag industry reeling from floods

PAJARO VALLEY—As the intense series of atmospheric river storms wane, many farmers and agriculture workers across the state of California are left reeling from flood impacts. Many streams, creeks and major rivers in Northern and Central California overflowed their banks …

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.
Working together with many volunteers, this crew feeds 65,000 people in Santa Cruz County every month.
California’s Oldest Food Bank Pays It Forward
California’s first food bank has helped residents of Santa Cruz County for more than 50 years.
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.
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