To Grow Sweeter Produce, California Farmers Turn Off The Water - Polidicks

[QUOTE][IMG]http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2013/08/28/dryfarm-18226a48bbc23a8193c1596e1c57006ddb3af259-s40.jpg[/IMG] [I]At Happy Boy Farms near Santa Cruz, Calif., Early Girl tomatoes are grown using dry-farming methods. The tomatoes have become increasingly popular with chefs and wholesalers.[/I][/QUOTE] [QUOTE]A week without water can easily kill the average person. But a garden that goes unwatered for months may produce sweeter, more flavorful fruits than anything available in most mainstream supermarkets — even in the scorching heat of a California summer. Commercial growers call it "dry farming," and throughout the state, this unconventional technique seems to be catching on among small producers of tomatoes, apples, grapes, melons and potatoes. [B]...[/B][/QUOTE] [url]http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/08/23/214884366/to-grow-sweeter-produce-california-farmers-turn-off-the-water[/url]

[QUOTE=kaine123;42003153][url]http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/08/23/214884366/to-grow-sweeter-produce-california-farmers-turn-off-the-water[/url][/QUOTE] I guess that as long as you supply them with enough water to stay alive, the ratio of nutrients-to-water would be much higher, resulting in a sweeter product. Makes sense when you think about it, and it cuts down on water usage. I don't see any real problems with it other than the product being smaller than the current average, requiring more of it to fulfill the same need levels.

I remember someone telling me a story that exemplified this fact a long long time ago. It was about grapes and the man had gained the ability to control the weather, he made it perfect weather all the time and the fruit was huge, but tasted awful.

[QUOTE=frozensoda;42003247]I remember someone telling me a story that exemplified this fact a long long time ago. It was about grapes and the man had gained the ability to control the weather, he made it perfect weather all the time and the fruit was huge, but tasted awful.[/QUOTE] God and his silly antics

Huh, this is pretty smart.

[QUOTE]But in a highly populated state where water tables are dropping and rivers dwindling to trickles, Bucklin is confident, at least, of one thing: [/QUOTE] American farmers need to seriously start working on ways to use less water. I guess this is a positive..

[QUOTE=valkery;42003175]I guess that as long as you supply them with enough water to stay alive, the ratio of nutrients-to-water would be much higher, resulting in a sweeter product. Makes sense when you think about it, and it cuts down on water usage. I don't see any real problems with it other than the product being smaller than the current average, requiring more of it to fulfill the same need levels.[/QUOTE] You wouldnt really even need more of it to eat, since basically all thats lost is water content the nutrition is the same.

I can say without a doubt that the Oranges and grapes from my yard taste better then store bought ones and have never been watered.

[QUOTE=Rhenae;42003307]You wouldnt really even need more of it to eat, since basically all thats lost is water content the nutrition is the same.[/QUOTE] I'm pretty sure thats wrong to some extent. Since the fruits and vegetables have less water to spare, they use less of it to develop it's size and use more of it to develop more seeds and the various organic compounds that build up the flavour. Water is merely an ingredient of sorts towards building the fruit, it is not just there, it's a part of a chemical reaction. So yeah, you would technically need to eat more

A while ago my parents had a garden and they did this sort of thing, it made the homemade spaghetti amazing :v:

what if this is why tomatoes suck dick

[QUOTE=acpm;42005682]what if this is why tomatoes suck dick[/QUOTE] what are you doing

[QUOTE=Rangergxi;42003295]American farmers need to seriously start working on ways to use less water. I guess this is a positive..[/QUOTE] Now if only the same could be said for the dairies around here. "Oh hey this region is dry as balls and already has a rapidly shrinking aquifer, reckon I should make milk here ahyuk". Seriously, we get an average of 2-3" of rain PER YEAR, IF THAT. And rumor has it Mr. Palla, owner of many dairies around here, already has land purchased in Indiana for the time when our water dries up.

To be fair, even though they are smaller they have the same/a larger amount of flavor. Therefore you need to use less. Trust when when i say that sometimes too much flavor can be a bad thing.

[QUOTE=lockdown6;42005857]Tomatoes are the shit man don't diss[/QUOTE] I'm allergic to [I]raw[/I] tomatoes so I have to eat them cooked

Yep I have two gardens in my backyard and this method has worked perfectly for me. All of my vegetables taste amazing and many of my friends that come by always ask if they could bring some home with them.

[QUOTE=Amez;42008782]Yep I have two gardens in my backyard and this method has worked perfectly for me. All of my vegetables taste amazing and many of my friends that come by always ask if they could bring some home with them.[/QUOTE] How productive is your garden? I've always wanted to start one, but either my garden space was taken up by flowers, or I didn't have one, or the climate kills fucking everything.

[QUOTE=frozensoda;42003247]I remember someone telling me a story that exemplified this fact a long long time ago. It was about grapes and the man had gained the ability to control the weather, he made it perfect weather all the time and the fruit was huge, but tasted awful.[/QUOTE] The problem with this is that normal fruit is not putting as much water as possible into itself, it's the breeding we did that made them do this. Same with tomatoes. So this "dry farming" is actually a way of battling the shortcomings of the breeds they use, other tomatoe breeds get really tasty by themselves.

[QUOTE=DaysBefore;42008940]How productive is your garden? I've always wanted to start one, but either my garden space was taken up by flowers, or I didn't have one, or the climate kills fucking everything.[/QUOTE] I did backyard gardening, for vegetables, seriously for two years. I got all kinds of good stuff out of it, from peppers to melons to tomatoes to strawberries, potatoes, and even corn, yes CORN! Nothing beats sweet corn you pick then cook and eat right then and there. However, it was a lot of work and I mean A LOT of work. When you count everything I did, from tilling and prepping the soil, to constant weeding, to dealing with pests, to building trellises and such, I was always busy tending to that garden. So, in my opinion, this is something you really need to like to do just because you like gardening, otherwise you'll eventually get tired of it and give up. That, or plant a low maintenance garden. I'm thinking of doing all cactus, since I live in So California and this is really a desert valley anyways.

I've had these.. Not really a new thing if you ask me.

[QUOTE=DaysBefore;42008940]How productive is your garden? I've always wanted to start one, but either my garden space was taken up by flowers, or I didn't have one, or the climate kills fucking everything.[/QUOTE] Very. I have fresh vegetables throughout the warm parts of the year, more than enough for myself. I usually end up giving out a good deal away to family and friends. It all depends on the size of your garden though. I have two large ones so there's quite a lot of produce. Also: It's A LOT of work. The hardest part is getting started but once all of the plants are grown all you need to do is keep them healthy. I usually check my plants when I take my dog out to the yard in the morning everyday and water them if deemed necessary. Things get difficult if your plants develop nutrient deficiencies or become diseased but there's lots of documentation online about what to do.

[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;42009026]However, it was a lot of work and I mean A LOT of work.[/QUOTE] I'm hoping it will be worth it, both because of the quality of the fresh vegetables and because of the time me and the wife will spend together. I assume you also save money in the long run, and that never hurts. We really wanted to try growing wheat and making our own bread, but I think we'll start with tomatoes and carrots.

Once your veggies start coming in you'll save money since you won't have to buy them AND they taste far far better than anything you can buy in a store. I mean, I never knew freshly dug up potatoes were so awesome, it's a completely different experience from market produce. And I too had so much that I gave baskets full of what I harvested to family members. You'd be surprised what even a very small patch of strawberry plants can produce once they start cranking out.

[QUOTE=acpm;42005682]what if this is why tomatoes suck dick[/QUOTE] iirc tomatoes are supposed to be smaller and sweeter; selective farming that favours colour, shape and size resulted in them tasting like taint.

[QUOTE=Rangergxi;42003295]American farmers need to seriously start working on ways to use less water. I guess this is a positive..[/QUOTE] No, we just need to have the water subsidies work differently. Currently you get a set amount of water to use, if you don't use it: what you did use becomes your new maximum. So farmers are forced to waste water, because they don't know if they'll NEED all that water next year.