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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] quality produce in California?

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  • From: Joe Seals <gardenguru AT yahoo.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] quality produce in California?
  • Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2007 22:24:09 -0700 (PDT)

I think there's too many generalities floating about.
 
1.  Most of the direct markets in California are "certified" (basically, you can sell it only if you've grown it).  The link I provided with my first reply post listed those markets.
 
2.  We also have "certified organic" and many of the vendors at these markets are exactly that.  That number/percentage, too, is rising dramatically each year.
 
3.  California is the largest grower of fruits and vegetables of most every kind for the country.  That we ship poor tasting fruits and vegetables all over -- including within our state -- has nothing to do with climate nor our small farmers who do the direct marketing.  It has to do with the fact that the largest growers who have enough to ship grow those cultivars that are suitable for shipping; generally that means taste is sacrificed.  Again, thank God for the small grower/farmer within our state who do sell direct to us Californians.
4.  I do recall a lot of these direct-sell "farmstands" that started out as real right-on-the-farm-grown entities.  As a kid, I can remember visiting them and getting REAL fruits and veggies.  They became so popular because of their very freshness that they started growing faster than they could keep up with.  Hence, they started buying in produce.  Some of the "farmstands" became tourist destinations and service stations, motels, and other stores sprouted up around them.  I thin kwe use the phrase "tourist trap" now.  Not a California monopoly, though -- I've seen this very phenomenon happen in many other states.
 
But the fact is, real farmers markets in California are thriving and a huge back-to-the-land and sustainability movement are happening.
 
It's been a while since I've been to THE Market in L.A.  But the Central Coast area is a farmers' market paradise.
 
Joe

Robert Schuler <sunnfarm AT verizon.net> wrote:
When I landed in the central valley of California the first thing I did like any good dirt farmer was to kick around the soil to see what kind of dirt they have. California has some of the best dirt around so I expected to find some tasty vegetables. I stopped into a well stocked farm market in September surrounded by thousands of acres of almond groves only to find the worst quality vegetables I ever saw outside of a supermarket. I asked where the vegetables were grown and they said Mexico!. California's climate seems well suited for growing fruits and vegetables with great structural integrity but no flavor. That is probably why they are so good at exporting produce to the east coast. I think our humid biologically active fungi infested east coast climate is best suited to producing vegetables with great taste but poor shipping qualities.
Sunny Meadow Farm
Bridgeton, NJ.
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Joseph L. Seals
Landscape Architect - Horticultural Consultant
San Luis Obispo, CA  93401
Home/Office/Cell:  805-550-9272



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