One of the keys to successful fruit and vegetable growing has always been finding good varieties. But "Good" means different things to different farmers.  To some, it simply means high-yielding and thus profitable.  To others, it means "appealing to consumers": tasty, attractive and user friendly.  The farming world is full of produce that achieves one [MORE ...]

Growing tomatoes takes a combination of good planning, specialized farming techniques, and the right location. But in the end, nature decides whether we'll have a good crop or a bad one, a short or long season, an early or late start.  We've raced against approaching storms and finished planting in the rain. Other years, we've [MORE ...]

There's never a good time for a heatwave, but the timing of the particular heatwave we're having right now could be worse.  If it doesn't last too long and the weather cools back down soon, it could kickstart our summer season into a higher gear without too much of a downside -- a dress rehearsal [MORE ...]

Earlier this spring, I mentioned in a newsletter that you would likely see "farm shaming" occurring in the news and social media: attacking farmers in California for their use of water. The shaming has begun.* Every Californian lives in a glass house where water is concerned. Without the vast, costly infrastructure that delivers water from [MORE ...]