“Our belief is that Mother Nature had this figured out long before we arrived, all we have to do is help her as much as we can.”
We Protect Bees
Our crops that bloom prior to fruiting can’t thrive without pollinators like honey bees. We spray naturally extracted minerals to aid in controlling harmful insects, but only at times when bees aren’t present. Pollinator nesting sites are identified and protected from possible contamination. Our managed honeybees receive a health inspection monthly.
We Protect Wildlife
Wildlife refuges, national parks, wetlands, and preservation sites on or near our farms are always identified and protected.
We work with nature instead of against it.
We Promote Biodiversity
We work hard to farm harmoniously with nature.
Where necessary, we plant native shrubbery and repair riparian areas to encourage a healthy ecosystem. Since birds and bats thrive in environmentally sound places, we have many of them around! We encourage owls and bats to live on the outskirts of our farms by providing birdhouses and bat boxes.
We release ladybugs to combat aphids and other harmful pests in the field. Our goal is to make our fields look more attractive than the neighbors so the beneficial insects stick around.
Working with nature brings us great benefits!
We Conserve Water
- Our field supervisors closely monitor plant growth to determine water needs.
- We use the most efficient irrigation equipment on the market to control the amount of irrigation water applied to each field. We use technology in the field like weather stations and weather apps that allow forecasting of precipitation and other weather conditions.
- Whenever possible, we irrigate with pressure compensating drip hose to get water right to the plants roots, where it needs it most. Additionally, drip tape minimizes drift, evaporation and run-off.
- We only irrigate at times of day that maximize benefit to the plants.
- We use a minimum amount of water to grow quality produce.
Limiting water use has been a priority for our owner, Dick Peixoto.
“We used to need 3-4 acre feet of water to produce what we now grow with only 1 acre foot of water. We’ve been working diligently in the past 20 years to cut our water use by utilizing pressure compensating drip hose, computerized pumps and automatic shut off valves,” he explains.
- We apply compost to increase water retention & water holding capacity.
- We use GPS laser leveling in the field to eliminate high/low spots and aid in uniformity and eliminate run-off. Cover crops and composting build the organic matter in the soil and allow water to be used and stored more efficiently.
We Conserve Energy
We are always looking for equipment that is more energy efficient – pumps, electric motors etc. and often change out older items for efficiency sake.
We Build Up the Soil
We recognize the soil’s needs and build up the nutrient content with varied planting to ensure strong and healthy plants. Some of our fields are left fallow (unplanted), some are amended with organic cover crops and all are amended with compost. These practices help revitalize the soil and build up the nutrient content. We select cover crops based on their ability to fix nitrogen, their ability to provide organic biomass and their ability to suppress soil-borne pests and diseases. We may also use cover crops to control certain insects and inhibit weed germination. Cover crops and compost are some of the integral ways we combat our problems without using harmful synthetic pesticides.
Our grower spends every day in the fields using tried and true farming methods which allow for proactive measures to be taken to ensure the soil produces the best quality produce.