Production Update

  The unusually late rain storm passing through yesterday and today has brought little more than sprinkles and mist down here in Watsonville. Strawberry growers always get nervous when rain threatens during harvest season. Ripe fruit breaks down quickly when it gets wet, and Botrytis or “grey mold” can set in. Yesterday’s “storm”, however, didn’t bring enough moisture to cause problems, and in fact, may have helped more than it hurt.

The biggest pest problem most organic strawberry growers are faced with is the two-spotted spider-mite. Left unchecked, these tiny sucking pests can dry up an entire field, leaving it completely unproductive for months at a time (we learned this lesson the hard way when we were first starting out). We have been able to get decent control by releasing a predatory mite (Phytoseiulus persimilis), which feeds directly on two-spotted mites and their eggs—something we do every three weeks starting in February. The populations of persimilis can lag behind those of the two-spotted mites, however– especially during hot, dry and dusty spells. Moist, cool conditions, on the other hand, can help tip the balance in favor of the persimilis. When I walked through the field yesterday on a scouting trip, I was heartened to see a burgeoning population of the conspicuous, reddish-orange persimilis, which seem to have gained the upper hand at long last.

Elsewhere on the farm, things have calmed down a bit from the spring insanity. Everything tends to fall into a more predictable weekly cycle of harvesting, planting and trying to keep up with the weeds at this time of year. Our new transplanter is working great and frees up more time for the other aspects of production. Employees Jonathan and Dustin are taking on more and more of the tractor driving chores which frees up more time for me to keep up with the maintenance and repair tasks for our trucks, tractors and implements. The rest of the old and new members of the crew are comfortable with the weekly routine and are efficiently getting things done. We’re plenty busy, but more like a well-oiled machine than a runaway train.