Wherever you are in this country, when you fix a nice salad to go with the holiday meals, think of Yuma, Arizona. Yuma is considered "Winter Vegetable Capitol" of the country. Right now crews of workers are following harvesting machines from dawn to dusk in fields all over Yuma County and the Imperial Valley to the west. This is the first of several crops that can be grown in a season. According to the Yuma Sun, production of winter vegetables here is a nearly $1 billion industry, employing tens of thousands of people. Kurt Nolte, executive director of the Yuma County Cooperative Extension is quoted as saying that last year farmers planted around 45,000 to 50,000 acres each of head lettuce and romaine and about 20,000 acres of leafy greens with head lettuce the most popular. But to make a good salad you also need broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and celery, all of which are also grown in the perfect winter weather of the desert Southwest. Then there are also citrus fruits and dates. More on these later.
No comments:
Post a Comment