Strawberries and Caneberries

Lisa Bunin from Organic Advocacy and I have a meeting planned for this upcoming November 25 concerning the use of organic transplants in strawberry. Regulators will be on hand to clarify what the regulations regarding the use of these plants will look like for organic growers going forward.

Mark here - Mike presented this information at the "Mariscada meeting" held by Gerry Spinelli a couple of weeks ago. Excellent meeting by the way, but with very few people in attendance.

As part of the addition of the Santa Cruz County Behavioral Health facility next to our Cooperative Extension office in Watsonville, a big mural was added to the exterior wall of our auditorium. As you can see, this mural painted by local artist Bruce Harman, is really nice.

As part of a larger meeting on October 22 (next week Tuesday), I am giving an update on my SWD research - bait and kill, food source reduction and oviposition inhibition - at the Elk's Lodge in Watsonville.

Eye catching headline aside, the grass fly depicted in the first photo below has caught the attention of sharp eyed observers in area bathrooms. I've seen one too, and, yes, you guessed it, in a bathroom next to a fruit field.