The highlight of my week was visiting Farm Advisor Andre Biscaro at our Antelope Valley office in Lancaster. I went with Andre to visit one of his field trials. He is testing numerous varieties of alfalfa to see what works best in the hot, windy high desert.
Alfalfa has historically been an important crop in Los Angeles County. A 1940 Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce publication referred to alfalfa as "Green Gold", because it was considered very profitable, and listed the Antelope Valley, along with the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys as important production areas.
Alfalfa was traditionally grown to feed cows at the hundreds of dairies that existed in Los Angeles County. Those dairies have closed or left over the years. In fact, Andre's variety trial is on the property of what I believe is LA County's last commercial dairy. Farmer Nick Van Dam provided Andre with the space for his alfalfa variety trial, on land that had previously been used to grow onions, another important crop in the Antelope Valley.
The dairies are gone for the most part, but alfalfa is still an important crop in LA County, although it's no longer grown commercially anywhere in the county other than the Antelope Valley. According to the most recent LA County Crop Report (2007), there were 5,804 acres of alfalfa hay grown, valued at over nine million dollars. This is an interesting contrast to the 1940 LA Chamber Report which stated that 46,000 acres were grown that year, valued at $287,500.
I often see and find inspiration in the links between current events around Los Angeles and our county's agricultural heritage. This week my "ahah" moment came at the Compton Creek Symposium, an event put on jointly by my organization, UC Cooperative Extension, and the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council. This was a two-day event that brought together community, staff of government agencies, city officials and local non-profits to discuss the Compton Creek watershed and its renovation.
One symposium presenter, Reginald Fagan, talked about what Compton was like when he was a boy. He grew up playing alongside the creek, collecting shellfish and crayfish, and riding his bike and ponies along its bank. He was a member of the 4-H Bison Club active in Compton at that time. "When I was growing up here we all had gardens. Food wasn't an issue", said Fagan.
Another participant at the symposium told me about growing up in Compton in the late 1950's. "This was the country. There were dairies everywhere".
A piece of Compton's farm history is alive today in the community of Richland Farms, a neighborhood of approximately 400 homes, many on an acre or more of land, where residents own horses and livestock. In fact, I discovered that there is a very active youth equestrian group based in Richland Farms called the Compton Jr. Posse. I had a great time talking with their founder and Executive Director, Mayisha Akbar. Learn about this impressive organization at http://www.comptonjrposse.org/ .
During the two-day symposium, as participants shared their visions for the future of Compton and its Creek, urban agriculture and gardening were mentioned numerous times as viable components of that future. For example, Reginald Fagan is currently working to develop an agricultural resource center for Compton, The Timbuktu Resource Center and Learning Academy, which will engage local youth in sustainable agriculture. Others talked about creating a community garden near the creek. In fact, the approved regional plan for the area is entitled the "Compton Creek Regional Garden Park Master Plan". The plan includes native plants and trees, pocket parks, a community garden, and even a hitching post and watering trough for horses, along with many other features to enhance the area.
To learn more about Compton Creek, go to The Watershed Council website at http://lasgrwc2.org/programsandprojects/llarc.aspx?search=comptoncreek. A copy of the Compton Creek Regional Garden Park Master Plan, which includes history, photos, community input, maps and much more, can be downloaded at the Council's on-line document library at http://lasgrwc2.org/dataandreference/Document.aspx.
Aerial view of Compton, circa 1936. Compton Creek is in the foreground.
For a brief period each spring, cherries are available at several pick-your-own farms in Los Angeles County's Antelope Valley, mostly in the community of Leona Valley. Leona Valley is approximately nine miles west of Palmdale, and about 70 miles from downtown Los Angeles. Quite a few varieties of cherries are available, including Bings, Rainiers, Brooks and Black Tartarians.
Cherry picking is currently underway, and it's a great family outing. This coming weekend, June 20th and 21st, is the peak of the Antelope Valley cherry season, so now is the time to plan your trip. Many of the farms have tables where families can picnic, so you can make a day of it. Some of the Leona Valley cherry farms also produce and sell other items such as honey.
For directions and a list of farms, go to the Leona Valley Cherry Grower's Association website at www.cherriesupic.com/welcome.html . Be sure to visit Leona Valley before this brief, but sweet, season is over for another year.
Ripe Cherries
One of our talented Master Gardeners, Judi Gerber, is also a historian who has recently published the book Farming in Torrance and the South Bay from the Arcadia Press “Images of America” Series.
Los Angeles County Celery Production
