Sunday, February 3, 2013

Oasis Farms - 700+ acres of veggies in the Imperial Valley



Farmer: Scott Howington
Farm name: Oasis Farms, distributed by Lakeside Organic Gardens
Location: El Centro, Imperial Valley, CA
Average yearly rainfall in El Centro: less than 3 inches
Growing method: Mostly organic, some conventional
Size of farm: 760 acres (1.2 square miles)
Years in operation: 19
Employees: ~10 full-time, ~26 for the growing season, hundreds during the harvest season
Growing season: October - June (the summer months are too hot to grow in)
Produce growing in January 2013: Lettuce, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, carrots, beets, chard, fennel, probably more
Produce sold to: Grocery chains, including Whole Foods, Wild Oats and Trader Joe's
Why grow organic? Because it's profitable
Fun fact: Rainy days are so rare in El Centro, the day it rained everyone took the day off. The next day was the day of our tour. Scott's truck nearly got stuck in the mud, and it took twenty minutes to scrape it off our shoes when we finished walking around.




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