Santa Cruz County Agriculture & Gardening Digest

Food safety rules require that soil and irrigation systems be inspected and tested for pathogens after the floodwaters recede.

With the library/affordable housing project set to displace the market from its longtime home on Lot 4, director Nesh Dhillon aims to choose an interim spot during construction by this summer.

"It’s deeply offensive to have this happen to somebody who has been such a contributor to the fair and, essentially, to our lives," said former Watsonville mayor Dennis Osmer.

Stephen McCabe, emeritus director of research at the Arboretum & Botanic Garden, has recently named two species from the Dudleya genus.

As drought and climate change continue to wreak havoc on California's water supply, an environmental advocacy group is calling on the state to limit the cultivation of thirsty crops like almonds and alfalfa.

California has given the federal government its own counterproposal for apportioning reductions of Colorado River water, saying a plan offered by six other states would disproportionately burden farms and cities in Southern California.

State lawmakers are calling for investigation into corruption in the state's cannabis industry and the exploitation of farmworkers.

Federal regulators have ordered Union Pacific railroad to make sure a livestock producer gets the grain it needs in California to prevent millions of chickens and hundreds of thousands of cattle from starving.

Scientists have discovered that heavy agricultural pumping has drawn down aquifer levels to new lows and now threatens to devastate the underground water reserves.

Stanford scientists have genetically re-programmed plants to grow roots that change how they gather nutrients or water.

In the fall, rice fields in the Sacramento Valley usually shine golden brown as they await harvesting. This year, however, many fields were left covered with bare dirt.

Drought, human-caused climate change, invasive species and a “legacy” of environmental issues are permanently altering California’s landscape and placing some communities and ecosystems at increasing risk.

A modern-day Noah’s ark, California Plant Rescue collects seeds from rare plants and fights the permanent loss of irreplaceable species.

In 2021, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation announced pesticide notification programs to increase transparency around pesticide application. After a public comment period, the department selected four sites to pilot the program, including Watsonville.

Linda and Stewart Resnick have donated $50 million to UC Davis for an agricultural research center—the largest donation in the campus’s history—but the couple’s Wonderful Company is the state’s single biggest water user.

In a 50-page legal request, Central Coast activists are asking the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner to review all permits for pesticide applications issued this year within a mile of Ohlone Elementary, Pajaro Middle School and Hall District Elementary School in North Monterey County.

There’s a new wine tasting room in Scotts Valley called Inversion Wines, featuring wares from very small vineyards in the far reaches of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

As the first organic farming specialist hired by the University of California system, Dr. Joji Muramoto is uniquely positioned to help growers expand their organic capabilities. But he also understands the practical challenges facing growers.

The Santa Cruz Community Farmers’ Market board will vote soon on whether to move forward on an agreement with the city to relocate the downtown market. The timing—just a month before Santa Cruz voters decide on Measure O—is raising concerns.

Photos from Stanford University’s Ernesto Galarza collection documenting the bracero program were on view at the Salinas Sports Complex. Now county leaders hope to find a permanent place for the display, but until then the photos can be seen at the Monterey County Historical Society.

For the first time, members at the California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting will be able to sell goods from their farms and ranches. Called the California Marketplace, this interactive event will be held Dec. 4—one of several new features of the meeting, taking place Dec. 2-7 in Monterey.

It’s not always easy to know which wineries are practicing eco-conscious farming and operations. Edible Silicon Valley gathered various tips and things to look for when deciding which corks to pop.

Nesh Dhillon has managed Santa Cruz Community Farmers’ Markets for more than 20 years. During that time there has been an expansion of markets from Felton to Live Oak and the inclusion of ready-to-eat food.

First, there were clean beauty products, then clean cleaning products—and now clean weed. It’s about to be everywhere in the Golden State. So what, exactly, is clean weed?

Santa Cruz County has announced the launch of a pesticide notification program in South County. Created by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, it is one of four pilot collaborations aimed at residents close to land where agricultural pesticides are used.

Winemaker/restaurateur Mark Bright and his partners at Saison in San Francisco decided to create Saison Winery to showcase Santa Cruz Mountains wines. Now, the wines can be purchased at the new Saison Cellar tasting room in Los Gatos, located in the former home of Left Bend Cellars.

A proposal in the state Senate would spend up to $1.5 billion to buy “senior water rights” that allow farmers to take as much water as needed from the state’s rivers and streams.

Too many coastal Californians are buying plants wrong for our climate and installing gardens more suitable for conditions east of the Mississippi, says Martin Quigley, director of UC Santa Cruz’s Arboretum & Botanic Gardens.

Maria Ana Reyes began working in the fields when she was eight years old. Now, at 49, she cultivates 11 acres of her own in San Juan Bautista and Watsonville. She is a core contributor to Tera Farm—a produce box program with distribution points from Carmel to Menlo Park.

While Watsonville voters decide whether to extend Measure U, which would limit development of farmland, Watsonville native Stephen Rocha is working with DeBernardo Realty to convert his family’s 150 acres into a multi-use compound.

Winery owner and UC Santa Cruz chemistry professor Phil Crews teamed up with a group of researchers to conduct a study on how the taste of wine was affected by wildfire smoke.

With her ag tech startup, FarmX, Maria Fernanda Reyes wants to empower growers. FarmX is a cloud-based e-commerce platform that lets farmers to sell their products directly to grocery chains, restaurants and other buyers.