At Babe Farms in the Santa Maria Valley region, the rain has been dropping steadily since mid-afternoon Tuesday. “Overnight we’ve had over an inch of rain,” says Babe’s Ande Manos, who notes the forecast calls to receive four to six inches by Thursday night.
Babe, which runs a year-round operation and has several row crops including specialty root vegetables, lettuces, specialty greens and cole crops, does anticipate that the potentially muddy field conditions may cause some holdups. “We feel that we’ll encounter some delays entering and exiting the fields and planting may be temporarily suspended until the rain subsides,” says Manos. “Fortunately we’re situated on ground with adequate drainage and our crews are well prepared and we’ve harvested plenty of product prior to this rain.”
Getting ready for rain
To prepare for the rain, Babe readied itself by prepping the ground and water channels to divert heavy flows of water to allow for proper drainage with minimal damage to the cultivated fields.
Meanwhile over at Shanley Farms in Morro Bay, Ca., its preparations also included cleaning drains and moving debris to avoid potential plugging.
“The National Weather Service forecast from start to finish for us was five to eight inches of rain and so far we’re on schedule with their forecast,” says James Shanley of Shanley Farms. His concern is heavy overnight rain that could produce landslides and a flash flood. However, to date, he characterized the rain as a soaking rain that’s saturated the crop’s soils.
Growers optimistic?
In fact, Shanley sees a bit of an upside to the rain. “I had a freeze in my avocados and lost a significant amount of them. And this rain will separate the damaged fruit from the undamaged. The damaged fruit will fall to the orchard floor and the undamaged will maintain its contact with the tree so we’ll be able to do a salvage harvest that will endanger consumers of giving them bad fruit,” he says. He also adds that given the dry California conditions, this rain is much needed. “Our soils are so dry they could actually take it so this could be a bit of respite for us. We’re cautiously optimistic,” he says. Manos agrees. “In our current drought conditions we’re grateful for the rainfall,” she says, noting that the region has experienced to date abnormal winter weather patterns which included a very warm start, dropping into low temperatures and now the rain. “It’s helpful in replenishing our aquifers and improves soil quality.”
For more information:
Ande Manos
Babé Farms Specialties
Tel: +1-805-925-4144
ande@babefarms.com
www.babefarms.com
James Shanley
Shanley Farms
Tel: +1 (805) 323-6525
info@shanleyfarms.com
shanleyfarms.com